My Disciple Died Yet Again Chapter 311-320

Chapter311: Can the Gift be Converted to Cash?

The entire place was in a sullen mood. Forget about Ness Cesary Sect which hosted the tournament, the faces of the people from other clans and sects did not look all that good either.

Among the top three of each of the Essence and Foundation categories, other than the champions being wandering practitioners, the runner-up of the Foundation category was also a wandering practitioner brought here by Hua Lin as well. There were only a total of six people, and Wandering City actually occupied half of the positions.

When did wandering practitioners become so incredible? Why weren’t they aware of it?

In an instant, everyone could not help but worry about the Azoth Core category as well. It couldn’t be that wandering practitioners would win it as well, right?

“Grandma.” A voice transmission suddenly sounded in Zhu Yao’s ears. She looked around, and her eyes landed on a tall youth in the outer ring who was nodding at her. “Grandma, it really is you. You’re finally back.”

“Student Little Cang?”

“Mn.” He hurriedly nodded. “It’s been five years. I thought that I would no longer be able to see grandma.”

“…” Why did she feel like he was cursing her to die?

Zhu Yao sized him up for a moment. So this is the male protagonist all grown up. He sure has grown taller, and his looks have changed as well. If not for the word ‘bug’ on his face, she really wouldn’t have been able to recognize him. In the past, he had a face with common features, like a random passerby. Now that he had grown… He still looked like a passerby. It was too hard to discern him from anyone else.

“Not bad, student Little Cang. You managed to form your Azoth Core so quickly, rather incredible.”

“It’s already been five years…” He smiled, replying. Earlier, I saw Brother Bai’s battles. I heard that… I never expected in just five years, he managed to once again reach the Foundation level. He’s the one that should be called incredible.”

“Mn, he’s rather incredible alright.” She acknowledged this point. After pondering for a moment, she added. “The main point is that I taught him well.”

“…” Is it alright to praise herself like that? “Grandma, you’re still the same as ever.”

“That’s right, I’m still so youthful and beautiful.”

“…” That’s not what he meant, hey. “Grandma, it will be my match up next.”

“Ou, break a leg!”

Ye Qingcang smiled. With a joyful mood, he nodded towards her and turned to step onto the ring.

Suddenly, at the very center of the ring, the light of a formation flashed. A disciple whose body was covered entirely in blood suddenly fell from the sky. With a thud, he slammed onto the ground,  stunning  the entire crowd.

“Sect… Sect Master…” That person only had a single breath left, yet he still struggled to reach out his bloodsoaked hand, looking towards a man standing on the right side of the grandstand.

“Kan Yong!” That man suddenly stood up, recognizing the disciple on the ring. No longer in the mood to care about the tournament, he flew down to lift the disciple up. The expressions of the crowd changed as well, as they headed down onto the ring one after another.

“What happened? Why are you injured so badly?” Office Shell Sect’s Sect Master Gu frowned, and asked in a sullen voice.

“Sect Master, return… return to the sect.” He held onto the Sect Master Gu’s sleeves, and said as he spat out blood. “Heretic practitioners… broke the barrier formation. The sect disciples are…”

“Heretic practitioners!” How was that possible? Heretic practitioners actually dared to openly attack a deity sect! “Return… immediately! There’s a Demigod…” The disciple spat out his final mouthful of blood after he spoke. He had already drawn his last breath.

This time, everyone else, and not just Office Shell Sect Master, was stunned.

“How is that possible?” Qu Ying was the first to express his doubts.

Heretic practitioners had always acted on their own, and there were hardly any instances of them appearing in a group, let alone working together to attack a deity sect. Furthermore, a Demigod practitioner was present among them! When did a Demigod practitioner appear among the heretic practitioners?

Office Shell Sect Master immediately pulled out his sect’s Order Talisman and circulated spiritual energy into  it. However, there wasn’t a single reaction from the talisman. He circulated several times more, but the talisman suddenly popped, burning up and turning into ashes.

“This…” His face instantly paled. If he was still doubtful earlier, then presently, he had certainly grown anxious. Order Talismans were necessary equipment for every Sect Master. With the talisman, no matter where one was, he or she would be able to see the situation of the sect. Furthermore, this talisman was usually connected to a Great Mountain Barrier Formation. If it were to lose its effects, it would mean that the formation had already been destroyed.

His expression turned cold. Putting his hands together  in front of him, he spoke to the crowd of sect masters. “Fellow sect masters and sovereigns, we deity sects had always been working hand in hand. The heretic practitioners presently are acting brazenly, daring to attack my Office Shell Sect. I hope that, as fellow upright deities, everyone here will aid my sect in escaping this predicament.”

When his words fell, the various Sect Masters that were still harmonious with each other earlier, revealed complicated looks one after another. Clearly, they were unwilling to lend their support. Are you kidding? They were here for Ness Cesary Sect in the first place. They were waiting for the tournament to end, and then seek an opportunity to snatch a portion of Skybond Peak. Wouldn’t their efforts be wasted if they left now?

“Sect Master Gu, the situation is still unclear, and the legitimacy of this piece of news hasn’t been ascertained. You must be act too impulsively.” “That’s right, Sect Master Gu. If Office Shell Sect is indeed in a crisis, we will naturally lend a helping hand. However, this matter has yet to be made clear of, wouldn’t it be a little inappropriate if we head over now?”

“Presently, the tournament has yet to end. Many disciples from the various sects have worked hard all for this very moment. If we leave now, the disciples will have to wait many more years for the next opportunity.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Everything can be discussed after the tournament.”

Sect Master Gu of Office Shell Sect was trembling with anger. He never expected that the various sects would add insult to his injury. His Order Talisman was already destroyed, yet they actually still dared to say that the situation was unclear. Clearly, they just wanted nothing to do with him.

“Hmph!” Hua Lin however disdainfully snorted. He swept a glance at those Nascent Soul Sect Masters that were filled with unwillingness on their faces, and he unconsciously released his Demigod might. “Didn’t fellow esteemed ones hear from this disciple that there’s a Demigod among the heretic practitioners? They actually dared to attack Office Shell Sect today, and most likely, they might not be too far off from your various sects the next day.”

The expressions of the other Sect Masters changed one after another, and only then did they realize the severity of this issue. This was especially so for those who did not have any Demigod Sovereigns in their sects, looking even more flustered than the rest. He’s right. There’s already a Demigod among the heretic practitioners. They might not dare to force their way into large sects like Ness Cesary Sect, but when it comes to those without a Demigod, wouldn’t they be able to come and go freely?

“Sect Master Gu, if they’re not going, I will go with you.”

“Many thanks, Sovereign Hua Lin!” Office Shell Sect Master’s was instantly filled with gratitude.

Since Hua Lin had spoken up, the other Demigod Sovereigns did not feel appropriate to stand by and watch either, and they had no choice but to express their intentions to head over as well.

With the Demigods taking the lead, the other Sect Masters had no choice but to go too. Thus, the Great Inter-Sect Tournament was put to  a  halt. With the Office Shell Sect Master taking the lead, all of the Nascent Soul and Demigod practitioners who lead their parties to the tournament, mightily rushed over to provide aid, while the other disciples went back to their respective homes. Even a large portion of Nascent Soul practitioners had followed the main group as well, leaving only three of them behind to keep watch.

————————————————————

Zhu Yao felt that little tyrant had done well in making his existence known. He had successfully garnered fans from the various sects and clans. It was about time to go home and raise his skills. Once he were to look a little better, she would then slip out again… Uhh, bring him out to garner more fans, she meant.

“Little tyrant.” When Zhu Yao found little tyrant,  he  was being surrounded by a circle of fans.

“Grandma.”

Zhu Yao curiously looked at the crowd of fans behind him. “These are?”

“They are all my former senior-martial brothers and sisters.” He honestly replied.

“Ou.” So they’re not fans, huh.

“Grandma, are we returning now?”

“Mn.” Zhu Yao pointed at the little bird on her shoulder, who seemed like he was slowly pecking on rice grains. “Little Eighth is already asleep.”

The two of them rose into the air. Just as they were about to fly out of Ness Cesary Sect’s mountain gate, Ye Qingcang came chasing after them.

“Grandma, brother Bai, are you two going to leave already?” A hint of unwillingness flashed across his face.

“Mn.” Zhu Yao nodded. Little tyrant spoke up as well. “We will meet again if fate allows it!”

Ye Qingcang pondered for a moment. Then, he took out a bottle and passed it to little tyrant. “Brother Bai, this is an Azoth Formation Pellet I refined. However, I have already formed my Azoth Core, so I am no longer able to use it myself. I believe that you will soon have the prospects of forming your Azoth Core, so I shall give this to you.”

Little tyrant’s face twitched for a moment. It was something good, and he had good intentions as well. However…

He unconsciously recalled a matter from when he was young. Medicinal pellets were refined from corpses of plants like Grandma. Within that pellet was all Grandma. Lots and lots of Grandmas…

Ugh…

“Many thanks to brother Ye for your goodwill, but Grandma has never allowed me to use medicinal pellets.” A certain Grandma: “…”

→＿→

What does this have to do with me? I didn’t forbid you from eating any, it’s just that I don’t have any, alright?

Ye Qingcang turned to look at Zhu Yao.

“Uh… Little Cang, you should keep it to yourself. Refining a rare treasure like the Azoth Formation Pellet is not easy. If you truly wish to give something, why don’t you… convert it into cash and give it to me!” Ever since she found out the importance of spirit stones, her entire being had commercialised. “How much is one Azoth Formation Pellet in the market again…? Ehhh? Little tyrant, why are you pulling me?”

“Brother Ye, goodbye!” Little tyrant pulled onto a certain person who was still trying her best to obtain cash, and flew off. So embarrassing.

“Wait… Wait a minute! How about exchange it for a bag of high grade spirit stones? It’s a very good deal! Actually, why not give me a fifty percent discount… or even thirty percent is fine too!”

Little tyrant flew even faster. As he flew out of Ness Cesary Sect, he ignored a certain person’s resentful glare.

“You wastrel!”

“…”

“Inverted elbow.”

“…”

“You are unaware of the value of oil and rice when you’re not the master of the household!”

“Grandma!”

“What?” “The spirit stones Sovereign Hua Lin gave us back then hasn’t been spent yet!”

“Who ever complains having too much money? You must know how to save for rainy weather, young one. Do you understand the feeling of not being able to eat a single fruit? Do you understand…” Zhu Yao paused. “Heretic practitioners!”

“What?” Little tyrant was startled.

“Not good, Ness Cesary Sect is in trouble!” He sensed the presences of heretic practitioners, and then turned to rush back in the direction they came from.

Not far away from where she was, a blinding white light flashed. The mountain that was still floating in the sky earlier suddenly exploded like extravagant fireworks, the explosion resounded through the clouds. The place was filled with scattered pieces of rocks and thick smoke. The Great Mountain Barrier Formation instantly activated, enveloping Ness Cesary Sect along with the exploded parts.

Little tyrant’s and Zhu Yao’s expression changed, as they increased their speed and raced back. However, they were instantly stopped outside by the Great Mountain Barrier Formation, while dust clouds had already filled the place within. This entire situation happened too quickly, and the start of this incident occurred right in the direction of the Main Peak of Ness Cesary Sect. Many disciples from the various clans and sects who had yet to leave were gathered there, and almost eighty percent of Ness Cesary Sect disciples were all there as well.

If they were fortunate, they would have been able to raise their barriers in time. For those who are unlucky,  however, they had most likely died on the spot.

The entire place was in chaos. Screams of injured disciples could be heard everywhere.

Above the shattered Main Peak, an enormous teleportation formation suddenly appeared. Dozens of Nascent Soul practitioners appeared from within it. They were dressed in various ways and they comprised of both genders. Furthermore, every single one of them was shrouded with a trace of ominous aura.

Heretic practitioners!  

Inverted Elbow (胳膊肘儿往外拐): Elbows are usually bent inwards,  which  signifies  “being  selfish”.  While   “turning outside”, or simply the elbows being inverted, in a derogatory sense, signifies the type of selflessness where you do  not recognize what’s right or wrong. Basically, this is a metaphor to describe someone who did something harmful to a close friend or colleague.

Chapter312: Suicide Attack

“Heretic practitioners!” Someone shouted out. The disciples who had just escaped death by an inch earlier, were instantly thrown into panic once more. There were even disciples who flew on their swords in the direction away from the mountain, but were blocked by the Great Mountain Barrier Formation, unable to leave. The formation that could block foreign enemies in the past, was now a cage trapping them within.

“Calm down!” A loud roar resounded. Immediately after, a Nascent Soul pressure was released, silencing the disciples from various sects.

The person who called out was Qu Ying. Presently, his heart was filled with panic as well. Though the enemies were similarly Nascent Soul practitioners, he could not fight off dozens of them after all. There were only three Nascent Soul Elders who remained in the sect, and they were basically not their match. If the place were to grow even more hectic, then it would be disadvantageous for them. Thus, he had no choice but to do his best and lead the disciples far away from the Main Peak, towards a secluded mountain farthest away.

The dozens of Nascent Soul practitioners watched this entire situation unfold with expressionless faces. When that teleportation formation finally disappeared, as though they had suddenly received some sort of order, they began to throw attacks at the crowd.

Qu Ying’s expression paled. He immediately brought up a barrier to protect the crowd of disciples behind him. He had thought that these Nascent Soul practitioners were aiming for Skybond Peak. Never did he expect that they would first initiate attacks on them.

The other two Elders reacted as well, as they raised their hands to support the barrier.

“Hurry, inform Sect Master and the Sovereigns.” Qu Ying turned his head and instructed a disciple.

That disciple had a panicked look as he pulled out a voice transmission talisman with trembling hands. However, no matter how he cast the art, the runes on the talisman would not light up. “Elder, the voice  transmission  talisman…  is ineffective. It can’t connect to Sect Master.”

“Then head out and chase them back here.” “But… the Great Mountain Barrier Formation has already activated. We can’t get out at all.”

Qu Ying’s expression was deathly pale, and only then did he realize that the sects had tricked. They had done well in luring the tiger out of the mountain. Most likely, these heretic practitioners had long planned on taking down Ness Cesary Sect. Taking the opportunity while the crowd was present at the tournament, they intentionally first made a commotion in the faraway Office Shell Sect, luring them over to provide aid. Once all of the powerful practitioners had left, they then initiated their attack. Furthermore, they had long cut off all of their escape paths.

Qu Ying gritted his teeth so forcefully that they cracked. The heretic practitioners sure had ambitions of wolves. Presently, this place was filled with elites from the various clans and sects. All of the seedlings with great aptitudes were gathered right here. As long as these disciples were killed, the various sects would definitely have a lack of successors, and their decay would be inevitable. Furthermore, now that they had lost the protection of the powerful practitioners, these disciples who had cultivation levels below Azoth Core did not have any strength to retaliate at all.

It was no wonder these heretic practitioners did not charge towards Skybond Peak right as they appeared, but instead, headed directly towards the crowd of disciples. As long as they were to kill these disciples, it would be akin to destroying all of the sects in the cultivation world.

Because he understood all of these in an instant, his will to stop them from succeeding grew even further. He desperately maintained the barrier, protecting the people within. As for those who did make it into the barrier in time however, he was powerless to help them. He could only watch on as the heretic practitioners massacred them.

Even if that was the case, how could three Nascent Soul practitioners block against dozens of people who had the same cultivation level? In less than fifteen minutes, cracks had already appeared on the barrier. One mystic art after another was still heartlessly bombarding onto the barrier.

Unable to hold it out any longer, Qu Ying puked out a mouthful of blood, and that barrier shattered resoundingly. Lights emitted out from several mystic arts came flying towards the crowd, carrying heavy killing intent.

His heart was filled with despair. Could it be that the heavens wanted Ness Cesary Sect destroyed? Boom–

Suddenly, countless lightning bolts came descending from the skies, slicing through the Great Mountain Barrier  Formation and tearing the air. In an instant, all the pressure was scattered, and the Great Mountain Barrier Formation shattered resoundingly. The entire area was filled with dazzling lightning sparks.

Lightning type mystic arts!

He raised his head in disbelief, only to see two people standing atop the sky. The two people whom he never thought would appear.

“Little… Little martial aunt…” The lightning  bolts  that seemed to carry the might of the heavens earlier, were actually released from her body. How could that possibly be!?

In the next moment, the pressure of a Demigod came pressing down on the dozens of Nascent Soul practitioners. Even though the pressure was not descending on his body, Qu Ying felt his heart clench, and the shock on his face grew heavier. A Demigod! The little martial aunt whom everyone had silently acknowledged to have left Ness Cesary Sect, was actually a Demigod Sovereign. Furthermore, this power she possessed… was far richer than the two Sovereigns presently in their sect. He instantly felt as if he was seeing things.

Towards these dozens of heretic practitioners who were clearly here to massacre the entire sect, Zhu Yao did not hold back in the least, as she released her Demigod pressure without concealing it in the slightest. Initially, she had  thought  that they wouldn’t be able to hold up against her, but strangely, they were actually standing firmly, as though they were not affected by her pressure at all. There were even two of them who initiated attacks against her.

The hell! These people must be on steroids!

“Little tyrant, fall back, towards the crowd.” Zhu Yao instructed him, and then summoned lightning bolts with a wave of her hand, instantly scattering the mystic arts shot out by the two people. The two white lightning bolts did not  dissipate right after, but had instead gone on to attack the two heretic practitioners. Like chains trapping the two of them, the powerful lightning might instantly rendered them powerless.

After Zhu Yao captured the two of them, like firing artillery shells, she once again cast an art, attacking the rest of the heretic practitioners and successfully capturing another two.

With the difference in levels, even if there were dozens of them on the other side, they could not possibly match her.

Only about nine of them remained. Zhu Yao was still continuously releasing her power, when the remaining few suddenly retreated with haste, towards Skybond Peak at the very top.

As expected, they’re here to loot a burning house? Just as she was about to chase after them…

“Yu Yao!” Her master suddenly called out.

Zhu Yao paused, instantly sensing four abnormal spiritual auras behind her. When she turned to look, she saw the four people whom she had captured earlier was beginning to emit out a red glow, and it continued to grow brighter.

“Self-destruction!” Her master’s voice clearly resounded in her ears. Zhu Yao just wanted to say: The hell!

Self-destruction. Nascent Soul practitioners even.

Furthermore, this was even the first time she had experienced a suicide attack. It was already too late to stop them. In a flash, Zhu Yao appeared amidst the crowd. Circulating all of the spiritual energy in her body, she raised a defensive barrier. Then, she hurriedly added a few more mystic arts, crafting a formation in an instant.

In the instant the formation was formed, the four Nascent Soul practitioners exploded like nuclear bombs, and the blasts bloomed in all directions. Her line of sight was instantly enveloped by the white light of the explosion. The entire Ness Cesary Sect turned into ashes right at this moment. All of the plant life and buildings had all turned into mere flying ashes. Even the floating mountain that they were standing on, had instantly turned into dust.

If not for the formation Zhu Yao placed, even if they were not caught up with the explosion, the crowd would have already fallen to their deaths. Even though Zhu Yao was a Demigod, she was unable to hold up against the self-destruction of four Nascent Soul practitioners at once. Adding that she had to protect the few hundreds of disciples behind her as well, for a moment, she felt her mind trembling, and there were even traces of the spiritual energy in her body going into a rampage. After finally managing to safely land the crowd onto the ground, she opened her mouth and puked out blood.

“Granny!”

“Grandma!”

Little tyrant and Ye Qingcang shouted out. Zhu Yao immediately sat down to adjust herself. Taking a few deep breaths, she then took a look within herself. Probably because she possessed the Chaos Origin spiritual energy, she realized the spiritual energy in her meridians had already calmed down. The lightning spiritual energy which she guided out earlier was in a rampage earlier, but was immediately suppressed by those transparent strands of spiritual energy.

In an instant, she had already opened her eyes. “Little martial… Sovereign.” Qu Ying took a step forward, his face was filled with immense guilt. Never would he have expected that the person who saved the entire Ness Cesary Sect, would be her! He opened his mouth several times, as if he wanted to say something. However, he felt as if no matter what he were to say now, it was already too late.

“Do a roll call.” Zhu Yao however did not care about his complicated emotions. Looking around, he realized that not only Ness Cesary Sect, even the entire forest had turned into a flat piece of land by the explosion earlier. From her line of sight, everything was just scorched earth.

As expected of a weapon of mass destruction. If she hadn’t been here earlier, most likely, not a single person from Ness Cesary Sect would have survived. She could not help but question just what were these heretic practitioners trying to accomplish. Normally speaking, though heretic practitioners had ruthless personalities and would not hesitate to use any means to accomplish their goals, they were people who cherished their lives the most as well. To self-destruct without any hesitation, and four of them altogether even, was indeed a little strange. It seemed like it was not as simple as taking revenge or robbing resources. There must be an even larger goal behind all these. “Hurry and look up in the air!” Suddenly, a disciple exclaimed out.

The crowd raised their heads one after another, only to see a lonely single mountain floating in the air.

“Skybond Peak!” Qu Ying stared with wide eyes. “How… How is that possible?”

The self-destruction earlier had even destroyed the forest within a hundred kilometers radius, yet Skybond Peak was still intact!

“There’s people over there! It’s those heretic practitioners!”

There were indeed several people standing on their flying swords in the vicinity of Skybond Peak. They were the few remaining Nascent Soul practitioners from earlier. They distanced themselves several meters away from each other, forming a strange formation. Furthermore, the dazzling lights of a formation could be seen between them.

“Hurry and look at Skybond Peak!” Another disciple cried out. The entire Skybond Peak suddenly shook  like  a  blurred  image for a moment, and then, in a blink of an eye, they disappeared in front of everyone’s eyes. It was as if it had been erased from the sky itself.

“This… What in the world…” The crowd exchanged glances as they astonishingly watched this strange event unfold. They could not believe such a large floating mountain like Skybond Peak would disappear from everyone’s eyes just like that. Even those few Nascent Soul practitioners had disappeared without a trace.

Even Zhu Yao could no longer sense their presences in the slightest.

The hell, just what in the world was that formation?

“Teleportation formation!” Her master’s voice resounded in the depths of her heart.

Zhu Yao was startled. “Can teleportation formations transfer an entire mountain?” Those few practitioners were the Foolish Old Men, right!? “That formation must have been activated by an unique energy, and not spiritual energy.”

“Unique energy…” Zhu Yao’s heart clenched. She suddenly recalled that Pervert Cheng from that dimensional space. “Is it an unique energy like Little Eighth’s blood of a God Race?”

“Yes, but it’s not godly energy.”

If it isn’t godly energy, then what is it?

“A formation like this isn’t capable of transferring long distances. Its exit most certainly requires a large amount of spiritual energy as support for it to succeed. Most likely, the place the mountain has been transferred to, possesses spiritual energy far richer and denser than usual.”

Spiritual energy far richer and denser than usual? Zhu Yao was startled for a moment. It seemed as though something was popping up in her mind, but she just could not recall what it was at all.

 “Foolish Old Men” is a reference to the Chinese fable “Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains”. You can look it  up  on Google, though be warned that the attached picture on the Wikipedia article about this is a little… ahem… lewd.

Chapter313: Protect the Dandelions

“Grandma, do you know the goal of these heretic practitioners?” Little tyrant frowned as he asked. “I’m getting the feeling that Skybond Peak isn’t simply their goal.”

Ye Qingcang nodded as well. “Furthermore, these people seem to be extremely familiar with formations and barriers. They appeared within the sect without making the slightest sound.”

“Barrier!” Zhu Yao felt a light bulb flashing in her mind. She instantly recalled the matter that she couldn’t think of earlier, and immediately after, her heart skipped a beat. Gritting her teeth, she cussed out. “The hell!”

She turned around, and with her feet on her flying sword, she flew quickly in a certain direction.

“Grandma…”

“Granny…”

Before the two could even react, they could no longer see Zhu Yao’s figure. They exchanged glances, and then, pulling out their flying swords one after another, they chased after her.

Zhu Yao flew extremely quickly, panic filled the depths of her heart. She wished that she could teleport right in this instant. She finally recalled of a nearby place where there was dense and rich spiritual energy. Tranquil Valley! The demons’ gathering site she appeared in. Though the amount of spiritual energy within the valley itself was extremely scarce, the barrier outside the valley was constructed with condensed spiritual energy. Back then, with just a slight touch of her hand, the spiritual energy that seeped into her body directly pushed her towards the Foundation level. It could be seen just how dense the spiritual energy within it was.

Most likely, the spiritual energy of the entire Tranquil Valley was being used by that barrier, in order to protect the demons within.

According to her master, such a large-scale teleportation formation would not be able to send something too far away, while Tranquil Valley was the closest to Ness Cesary Sect. The more Zhu Yao thought about it, the more panicked she became. If those heretic practitioners truly did transfer Skybond Peak over there, then the demons at the valley would… She was not naive to think that heretic practitioners would have such good hearts to let off the residents that were living there.

Zhu Yao flew quickly, and the span of a few breaths, she arrived at Tranquil Valley. However, from afar, she could see an enormous mountain floating in the sky, and it was slowly sinking into Tranquil Valley.

Her heart instantly beat faster, feeling enraged to point of wanting to cuss out at their moms. Sizzling flames of fury seeped out. These heretic practitioners sure are motherf**king imbeciles. At first, she thought that they would have merely transported Skybond Peak over. Looking at things now, they were actually thinking of sinking Skybond Peak into Tranquil Valley itself, wanting to use the advantageous barrier of Tranquil Valley to conceal it!

If Skybond Peak were to fall, it would be strange if those demons did not turn into flattened pancakes.

Zhu Yao’s heart clenched. While she charged into the barrier, she began to chant an art. Several dozens of lightning streams flew towards the few Nascent Soul practitioners. The formation between them instantly scattered, and they flew off in several different directions. With the lack of the formation supporting it, Skybond Peak began to descend even faster.

Zhu Yao did not even have the time left to cuss out at their moms as she directly flew to the depths of the valley. Like a construction jack, she then desperately pushed against the entire mountain, slowing down its descent.

“Grandma…” Little tyrant and Ye Qingcang  came  rushing over at this moment as well, as they looked at Zhu Yao whose face was flustered red from supporting the mountain.

“Head down, scatter the demons. Have them flee to the edges.” Zhu Yao gritted her teeth as she held on.

“But, you…”

“Hurry and go! Just say it’s ‘Grand Qian’s’ order. They will follow you two.” At the brink of life and death, she had  no choice but to become Grand Qian once more.

Ye Qingcang and little tyrant exchanged glances for  a moment. Then, as they gritted teeth, they obediently turned around and went to scatter the indigenous people.

Zhu Yao took in a deep breath, and then circulated her spiritual energy to meticulously cover Skybond Peak. She wanted to use her spiritual energy to move it out of Tranquil Valley, however, she saw those few Nascent Soul practitioners coming back. They did not initiate their attacks at the very first moment, instead, they simply looked in her direction with cold and expressionless faces.

“Just who are you people? And what’s your goal?” Zhu Yao asked in a sunken voice.

However, they did not have any reaction!

A few moments later, one of them suddenly flew towards her, the spiritual energy around his body began to tremble intensely.

The hell! Self-destruction again!

These people must have entered a cult, right? Why did they like killing themselves so much? Like hell I will allow you to self-destruct here!

“Little Eighth!” Zhu Yao shouted out loudly.

A ray of red light suddenly charged into the skies, the cry of a Phoenix resounded through the clouds as boundless fiery light shone across the horizon. A fiery sea of purple flames instantly formed in the air, and any object in contact with the flames was instantly turned into ash. Even the heretic practitioner that came charging over disappeared into the flames.

The entire Skybond Peak was surrounded by purple flames. An enormous purple Phoenix occupied the sky, dancing and spiralling. With every flap of its wings, a large sea of flames would emerge. The Skybond Peak that was still incomparably large earlier, like an ice-cream which was placed in an oven, began to slowly melt, decreasing in size at a speed visible to the naked eyes. In a few moments, Skybond Peak was reduced to one-fifth of its original size.

“Great, good job, Little Eighth!” Zhu Yao silently  gave  his little brother a praise.

The moment those words fell, the Phoenix in the sky suddenly seemed to have its flames extinguished. With a sizzling sound, it returned to the size of a pigeon and fell down. All of the flames earlier disappeared without a trace.

The hell, do you have to be that weak to praise!?

Zhu Yao caught him. “Little Eighth…” How can you run out of battery at the key moment?

“So tired!” Little Eighth pattered towards her shoulder, and then, like a dead bird, he laid on it, motionless. “So tired. I want to sleep! Seventh elder sister, you’re abusing a young Phoenix.”

“…” The hell, you didn’t even finish your work, yet you have the face to say I abused you!?

Zhu Yao had no choice but to cast the Nine  Heavenly Lightning Art and summon a lightning bolt with the thickness of a bucket from the skies, instantly striking onto Skybond Peak which had long been burnt beyond recognition. The entire mountain began to turn into countless pieces of shattered rocks, exploding in all directions. She then immediately cast a wind- type art to blow all of the shattered rocks out of the barrier of Tranquil Valley. “Yu Yao!” Her master’s voice once again resounded.

In the next moment, several air tearing noises came from her side. Zhu Yao dodged to the side as several icicles brushed past her body. In the next moment, a woman wielding a crescent wheel knife came attacking her.

Zhu Yao immediately summoned a spiritual sword and parried, the crescent wheel knife instantly shattered into two.

Not the slightest bit of shock could be seen from the female heretic practitioner’s face, as she summoned yet another spiritual sword to attack Zhu Yao. The remaining few Nascent Soul heretic practitioners surrounded her at this moment as well. Most of them summoned spiritual swords and icicles, and the attacks rained down in a dense manner.

Zhu Yao placed down a defensive barrier to block against the rain of attacks. Though the attacks were concentrated, she was not afraid at all. At the very most, dealing with them was but an inconvenience. Furthermore, she had to be careful and prevent the attacks from falling onto Tranquil Valley, so it was inevitable for her to be a little tied up. Just as she was busy dealing with the attacks, the spiritual energy surrounding the female practitioner closest to her, suddenly began to tremble once more.

The hell, just how dedicated are they to self-destruction? They will self-destruct whenever they get the chance. Are you all paparazzis?

Zhu Yao grew anxious. Turning a lightning stream into  a whip, she attached it onto a spiritual sword and strongly swung it. The female practitioner’s Dantian was struck head-on, stopping her spiritual energy from gathering. Under this strike, her spiritual energy scattered completely, so her self- destruction naturally stopped. Furthermore, she received a grave injury and she began to puke out a large amount of blood. However, she merely paused for a moment before continuing throwing other mystic arts to attack her. Not a single change could be seen on her face.

This wasn’t right! Something was very wrong. The longer Zhu Yao fought, the stronger the strange feeling she had in the depths of her heart. Something was very amiss… with these few people. The way they were attacking was akin to throwing away their lives. However, every single one of them was strangely calm, as if they were not afraid of pain. Are they really villains? Aren’t villains supposed to be talkative? Before every single fight, they will always say a couple of lines to threaten, instill fear or gloat at our demise, right? Looking at their behaviour, they had clearly picked up the wrong cold and mighty characters’ scripts!

It was if… they were puppets that only knew how to attack.

Zhu Yao whipped broken another heretic practitioner’s Dantian when he was prepared to self-destruct, as the suspicion in the depths of her heart grew even heavier. Just what in the world are these heretic practitioners?

Those few heretic practitioners suddenly stopped, and then scattered quickly in all directions. Zhu Yao thought that they wanted to flee, but they then stopped not far away, and the distance between them was coincidentally out of the range of the lightning streams in her hand.

In the next moment, the remaining eight people began to self- destruct their Nascent Souls.

Zhu Yao’s heart skipped a beat! The hell! The hell! The hell!

Do you guys have to be so persistent in dying!? If eight of them were to self-destruct together, it would be akin to a nuclear bomb!

And from the looks of things, she would be unable to stop every single one of them in time. As long as one of them were to succeed, Tranquil Valley below would be completely doomed.

I definitely musn’t let them self-destruct. However, even if she were to expand her barrier like before, it was impossible to protect the entirety of Tranquil Valley.

What to do? What to do?

Realmspirit, you ass, hurry and lend me a hand! Earth is about to be destroyed by nuclear weapons!

The red glow from their bodies grew even denser, and just as they were about to explode…

Suddenly!

“Pea…” A green light flashed from her chest. An enormous pea appeared in the sky and with an ‘aahh’ sound, it opened its mouth wide. The eight people who were still in the process of self-destructing earlier, instantly turned into eight rays of light and entered Peapea’s mouth.

“Ahmmuu!” Peapea closed its mouth and then returned to the size of a basketball, before flying back to her hand.

Zhu Yao: … What happened just now?

“Peapea, why did you eat something strange again?” Zhu Yao could not help but want to pull open its mouth. “Putting aside the demonic beast you teleported back then, they’re living human beings this time! Even if you’re hungry, you can’t just eat anything! It doesn’t matter if you get gastric pain, but what about my master who’s stuck in there as well!?”

“Pea…” Peapea rolled about, and then suddenly opened its mouth. “Burp~” It let out a resounding burp.

A light white wisp of air floated out from its mouth, and Zhu Yao trembled from the sight of it. Was it her imagination? Why did she feel that the wisp of air had the figure of a human, and that it had a head, face, and body? Furthermore, the word “soul” seemed to be written on its clothes.

“Peapea…”

Zhu Yao instantly went crazy. This wasn’t teleportation! Peapea had truly just eaten humans! And it had even spat out a soul! “Don’t turn into a zombie, hey! This is a cultivation novel, not post-apocalyptic world novel, hey!!”

“Yu Yao…” Her master’s voice suddenly sounded from within Peapea. “Those few heretic practitioners are not humans.”

“Eh?” What did he mean?

“Their bodies are entirely covered in deathly aura. They had been dead for a long while, but their souls were forcefully trapped within their bodies, turning into puppets.”

“Puppets?” Zhu Yao was startled. “But they are capable of using mystic arts, and they were casting them with ease.” If they were puppets, they could not have possibly retained the cultivation levels of their former lives.

Yu Yan sank into silence for a moment. “Using mystic arts naturally require costs. Earlier, I mentioned before that the formation they used require an unique spiritual energy to perform the teleportation.”

“Unique spiritual energy…” Zhu Yao opened her eyes wide.

“They used the souls that were sealed within their physical bodies!”

“…”

Chapter314: Victims’ Delusional Stone

After these people died, their souls were sealed within their physical bodies and could not escape, and their bodies were then refined into puppets by someone, this was what her master meant. The person controlling them was using the energy of their own souls to cast the mystic arts they had in their former lives. The more they used arts, the more their souls would be consumed.

Zhu Yao felt a chill as she heard this. Just what kind of venomous mystic art was this? This was clearly an act of scattering people’s souls. It was no wonder the soul she saw earlier was but a thin wisp of smoke.

“Then what Peapea did earlier was to…?”

“It’s Bai Yuan’s Dantian.” Yu Yan replied with a sunken voice. “The purest water of River of Forgetfulness found at its very source. That was why it was able to separate the deceased souls from their bodies.”

As he spoke, Peapea consecutively burped out seven times. With every burp, white smoke with the shape of a human being would emit out from its mouth, and every single one of them was incredibly thin. They were several times weaker than the ghosts she saw in the Netherworld. It was as if they could be scattered with just a light breeze of the wind.

Zhu Yao cast an Afterlife Art, sending those souls into the Netherworld. Pondering about this, the appearance of these few heretic practitioners were truly extremely ominous. Just who in the world could refine such human-shaped puppets?

Back then, no matter how much of a bastard Cheng Qingdiao was to use demonic beasts for experiments, his goal was to ascend. The level of this experiment had however jumped to experimentation on primates, right into human experimentation. This development was too quick, she couldn’t process it at all! Just what kind of world did she find herself in? Why was every single person here a technological genius!?

Zhu Yao had Peapea revert back to the size of a pearl and then kept it. With a chest filled with suspicions, she flew back to Tranquil Valley. The appearance of Skybond Peak earlier had torn through a hole in Tranquil Valley’s barrier. Strangely, the barrier seemed to possess a self-regeneration ability, as it was already beginning to close the tear.

A self-regenerating barrier was very rarely seen! At the very least, based on her knowledge, there hadn’t been a single one. She wondered just who built it?

Wait a minute!

Earlier, those Nascent Soul practitioners wanted to use this barrier to hide Skybond Peak. In other words, they knew from the very beginning that it could regenerate itself?

“Master, have you ever seen such a barrier?” Zhu Yao asked a little anxiously.

“No.”

Even her master did not know about it, yet those puppets were aware of it. Could it be that the person controlling those puppets was related to the barrier of Tranquil Valley? Zhu Yao felt a chilli n her heart. Just who was that person? What did that person want to do to Tranquil Valley? The ones living there were just indigenous people with IQ that had stepped into the borders of idiocy!

“Master, are  you  able  to  find  out  who  placed  down  this barrier?”

Yu Yan was silent for a moment, before replying. “There should be three thousand minor formations within this formation, and all of their properties are different. It had circulated on its own for a very long time, and does not require to draw spiritual energy from practitioners. If we wish to find the practitioner who constructed this formation, I’m afraid it might not be easy. However, as long as it’s a formation, there should be a formation core and a mantra to activate it.”

Zhu Yao’s eyes shone. “You’re saying it’s possible to find the formation core in this valley?”

“Mn.”

If the formation core could be found, then at the very least, she could find out some useful information.

Little tyrant and Ye Qingcang came right at this moment. Zhu Yao immediately took the strong men in by force, and then headed to look for the formation core. Taking the opportunity when the barrier was still regenerating, there should be ripples of spiritual energy emitting out from the formation core. She immediately expanded her divine sense to the maximum, and in an instant, the entire Tranquil Valley was within her eyes. She had at first thought it would be easy, but because spiritual energy was pouring in from outside the barrier due to the tear, there were several places emitting out ripples of spiritual energy. She remembered every single one of these locations, and then headed to each one to have a look.

In the end, she found an anomaly in front of a stone wall. That stone wall which looked regular at first glance, did not look any different from the rest of the stone walls all around Tranquil Valley, however, one could faintly sense spiritual energy seeping out of it, though not really evident. Strangely, when she swept her divine sense across it, she did not feel the slightest bit of obstruction, but an endless stretch of an empty, void world.

“Grandma, what is that?” Little tyrant suddenly pointed at a small shattered rock beneath the wall.

That rock did not look all that unique, however, after careful observation, she realized a hint of golden light would occasionally flash from it, as though it was emitting out flowing light when sunlight refracted from its surface. However, this refraction was occurring a little more frequently. It seemed like this was the formation core.

Zhu Yao immediately descended onto the ground with her flying sword, and then walked there at a quick pace. Squatting down, she carefully looked at that rock. Suddenly, that rock seemed to have its power turned off, as it stopped shining. Was it just her imagination?

“Little tyrant, the rock that we were looking at earlier was this one, right?”

“Mn.” He nodded. “It’s this exact piece.”

“Then why isn’t it shining anymore?” The barrier in the sky was still not yet completely restored either. “It can’t have run out of battery, right?”

Zhu Yao repeatedly sized up the piece of rock, and had even used her divine sense to inspect it. There was not the slightest bit of irregularity to it at all, let alone any flowing of spiritual energy.

Could it be that she was wrong? Zhu Yao looked around her surroundings, stood up, and then looked at the large stone wall in front. She knocked on it forcefully as a test, and it was a stone wall alright. It was rather hard too, and it did not look like a formation core either. Why did she not sense anything when she tried inspecting it with her divine sense then!?

“Granny!” Ye Qingcang suddenly cried out, as he pointed beneath her feet with a shocked look.

“What is it?”

“The… rock, I saw it moving a little earlier.”

Zhu Yao was startled. She carefully looked at that piece of rock from earlier. It was still quietly staying put on the ground, without any noticeable difference to be seen. “Are you certain?”

“Mn.” He heavily nodded.

Zhu Yao then inspected it carefully again.

It was a formation that not a single person had discovered for many years, and even the demons were unaware of it as well. Could it be that this formation core was able to move on its own? This was simply too intelligent, right?

However, even after looking at it for such a long time, she didn’t notice anything at all. She had no choice but to give up.

In the end, when she took two steps back, Ye Qingcang once again sounded out. “It… It moved again.”

She had no choice but to inspect it again, but she found nothing off about it again.

The moment she stood up, Ye Qingcang called out for the third time. “Granny, believe me. It moved again just now.”

The hell! You’re making me out as a fool here!

This time, Zhu Yao had kept an eye on it, and then carefully compared it from before. Indeed, several centimeters of the soil around the rock had loosened a little. The rock had  truly moved. “This can’t possibly be a rock spirit, right?” Zhu Yao nudged the rock and rolled it about. It was completely impossible to discern that it had turned into a spirit. “Little Cang, if you have an eye disease, you have to cure it!”

“Granny…” Ye Qingcang felt like crying.

“Alright, alright. I believe you.” Zhu Yao was irritated as well. With a flip of her hand, a ball of flames appeared above her palm. “Whether it can move or not, we will know once we test it out, right?”

She intentionally leaned the flames towards the rock. In the end, before she had even gotten close, that rock immediately rolled far away.

The rock once again emitted out the golden glow they saw earlier. Two large words flashing with golden light, like captions, appeared above the rock – You beast!

Zhu Yao: “…”

Little tyrant: “…” Ye Qingcang: “…”

Was it cussing at her? It definitely was, right!?

Those two words slowly floated up. Like a projection, it floated up a meter high. Not only did the words grow larger, they became bolder as well. And then, a golden light flashed as the words changed – You’re not even letting off a rock!

Yo, it sure has a huge temper. It seemed like it was truly the formation core, and an intelligent type at that.

“Be obedient and stay put!” Zhu Yao immediately stepped forward to grab it. “Let me look at you.”

That rock however was extremely defiant, flying right up. The row of words above it changed once more – What are you trying to do to my body?

“…” Why did she feel like she was an evil tyrant trying to tease a young girl? She just wanted to inspect the heart of the formation core and deduce the shape of the formation. The rock nudged and then flew five meters away – Don’t come over here, I rather die!

Everyone present: “…”

Just how much did it hate people touching it? You’re a freaking formation core, do you have to be that concerned about your chastity!?

The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched. She immediately cast an art to form a net of spiritual energy in the air, blocking the formation core rock’s escape route. Then, as she retracted her hand, the rock came flying towards her.

The formation core rock began to forcefully smash against the spiritual energy net, but its effort was in vain as it continued to fly towards her.

The words above the rock began to change like a flooding message board.

– You greedy beast who covets my body, don’t touch me! – You all will regret this!

– Don’t, don’t touch me!

– Please let me go?

– Ah! Don’t!

– It hurts~

Zhu Yao: “…”

Little tyrant: “…”

Ye Qingcang: “…”

The hell, just what version of intelligence does this rock have? Just what kind of things are inside its head? I clearly haven’t done anything yet!

Zhu Yao held onto the rock with a darkened expression, and she could not help but add. “Don’t be afraid, I will be gentle.”

The two little ones: “…”

Eh? This seems to be developing in a strange direction?

Just as Zhu Yao was about to insert a strand of divine sense into the rock in her hand, it suddenly began to heat up. As Zhu Yao was not prepared for this, her hand fumbled and loosened. The rock immediately flew out and emitted out a light dozen times more blinding than before. Even Zhu Yao could not help but narrow her eyes.

A row of words once again floated above the rock – You guys will pay for violating me.

The hell am I violating!? -Faints!-

This old lady did not do anything at all. Also, just who in the world has the fetish of violating a piece of rock!?

Just as Zhu Yao was about to retort, she shockingly realized she could not move any part of her body at all. What was going on?

“Grandma!” Little tyrant suddenly cried out.

Zhu Yao looked forward. The stone wall that did not have the slightest of movement earlier, suddenly revealed an enormous golden formation, as foreign symbols filled the entire wall. Before she could even clearly see what the formation looked like, she was assaulted by a powerful pulling force.

Even little tyrant and Ye Qingcang was sucked into the formation. Right before she entered the formation, she could faintly see a new row of words appearing above the rock.

– Other than my owner, no one else is allowed to touch me.

In the next second, light flashed in the surroundings. The place was filled with golden flowing lights, and they flowed towards the back, as though her entire being was speeding forward.

In less than ten minutes, she once again fell downwards. Right at the moment she was about to land face flat on the ground, the restriction on her body was released. She hurriedly cast a wind- type art, preventing the three of them from meeting the fate of being crippled in time. However, her head was still stuck into a pile of mud.

Pueeh…

It had been a long time since she crawled on the ground. Just as she was about to check on the other two, she heard a female voice behind her.

“You did pretty well, rock spirit.”

Chapter315: You Should Have a Heart Demon Inside You

A woman in black robes suddenly appeared in this barren space. She had a very bewitching appearance, and charm was exuding out from every single one of her movements. Raising her hand, she looked like she wanted to touch the rock that was floating in the air. However, her hand simply passed through it, and her entire body swayed a little right after.

“You did pretty well, rock spirit.”

That rock sparkled with golden light, a row of words appeared above it – At your service, mistress!

“These people will definitely die from the heart demon, and they sought it themselves as well. Though it’s a pity about those puppets of mine… However, this way, no one will know about my mistress… Ehhh!?” That woman’s expression gravely changed, as she looked at Zhu Yao who was crawling up, astonished. “Y-Y-You… Why are you fine?”

“Ah?” Zhu Yao patted off the dust from her clothes. “Should something have happened to me?” “You… Why aren’t you in deep slumber, trapped within your heart demon?” Her eyes were wide open, and her face was filled with utter disbelief.

“How should I know?” Zhu Yao rolled her eyes. “Most likely, your heart demon system has short-circuited?”

“Impossible… Everyone possesses obsessions, and through desires will one fall into a land of dreams.” She muttered. “Everyone has their own heart demon, so how you possibly not have one?”

“And you’re blaming me?” The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched. “If you can’t figure out this problem, then don’t think about it anymore. Let’s have a nice chat about what you’re plotting here, shall we?”

Zhu Yao immediately threw a lightning bolt over. With a loud bang, she instantly turned the soul and rock charred black on the outside, and tender on the inside.

Rock: — What happened to the promise of having a nice chat? Woman: Same question!

Zhu Yao immediately summoned a set of soul imprisoning chains, trapping that woman’s soul. With a flash of lightning light, like a screen with bad reception, the woman’s figure distorted a few times, before slowly turning white and falling onto the ground.

Seeing this, the rock spirit shone with a brilliant golden light and charged right at Zhu Yao.

Not even bothering to glance at it, she sent a slap right towards it, instantly slamming the rock into the ground. With the pressure of a Demigod released, that rock instantly lost the strength to retaliate. Three words appeared above it.

— Ah. It hurts~

Zhu Yao did not pull any punches this time, as she directly sat right on the rock. Her eyes swept towards the white soul on the ground.

“Speak. Were you the one who launched a surprise raid on Ness Cesary Sect, and created those Nascent Soul puppets?”

Than woman was unable to resist, yet she still pulled the corner of her lips and laughed out ominously. “So what  if  I am?”

“Why did you do all those things? What’s your goal?” Zhu Yao continued to ask.

The woman did not reply immediately, and her eyes were filled with contempt. “Heheh, you think you have what it takes to know of my masterplan?”

Zhu Yao flipped her hand, and lightning sparks once again filled her entire body. “With what I’m capable of, you don’t even have the strength to retaliate at all.”

“Speak. Just what are you trying to do? Who is this mistress you speak of?”

The woman’s expression stiffened for a moment before immediately returning to normal. She did not reply, but the rock which Zhu Yao was sitting on could not hold it in any longer. Golden light shone brightly. As though it was afraid Zhu Yao wouldn’t see it, the light even tilted towards the side, revealing a string of words.

Mistress will never forgive you!

Zhu Yao was startled for a moment, and right after, she thought of an idea. “I really wish to see how is your mistress going to take me on?”

– Hmph, my mistress is incredible. Everything in this world should listen to her commands.

“Yo, who doesn’t know how to make up a lie? Where is your mistress? Call her over here and let me have a look!”

The rock seemed to have grown anxious, as golden light shone even more brightly than before. Just as a string of words were about to appear…

Suddenly, the trapped soul emitted out a bright red light, instantly breaking through Zhu Yao restraints and then flew in her direction. Zhu Yao’s figure moved, taking a few consecutive steps back.

That woman however stopped next to the rock. With her five fingers hooked, she suddenly struck at the rock. Her fingertips passed directly through the rock.

“Hmph, useless!”

The rock that was still shining with brilliant golden light earlier, flashed a few times, revealing a final string of words.

— You’re, not mistress’s envoy…

Then, it completely dimmed. It no longer had any signs of life, turning into a regular shattered rock.

The hell, what’s this situation? Internal conflict?

Zhu Yao was stunned for a moment. Just as she thought about restraining the female soul again, the red light from her body shone even brighter. This simply looked just like – self- destruction! The hell, why self-destruction again?

Zhu Yao cast an art, wanting to stop her. However, strong winds suddenly blew around her, instantly blocking her entire line of sight. That ominous and slightly complacent laughter sounded from within.

“This dimensional space will soon be mine. The Three Realms will all be mine!”

Three Realms? This person’s goal is to unify the Three Realms? Isn’t this something the Devil race always desire for? Does a soul like you have to really act like an avant-garde?

“I suggest that instead of stopping me, why don’t you keep watch over those two who had fallen into their heart demons? They are destined to die here!”

When her words fell, a powerful push force assaulted her. Zhu Yao immediately retreated towards the area next to little tyrant and Ye Qingcang, and then brought up a barrier.

An enormously loud explosion resounded. The woman was all blown apart, and her pieces scattered in all directions. Red light filled her front line of sight, and only dense smoke could be seen from all around her.

Zhu Yao cast a wind-type art, slowly dispersing the dust and smoke. The place where that woman was standing on earlier was now replaced by an enormous hole.

Died?

What happened to the promise of unifying the Three Realms?

Was it all talk?

“Master?” Come and resolve my doubts.

“That woman earlier was most likely a strand of divine sense away from her original body.” Yu Yan said in a deep voice.

“Divine sense?” Zhu Yao was stunned for a moment. “And I thought she was a ghost.” She clearly had yin energy circulating around her body. “That was just a disguise.”

“In other words, her original body isn’t here.”

“Mn. She most likely knew that she isn’t able to defeat you with just a strand of divine sense, and thus decided to self- destruct.”

Being capable of separating her divine sense proved that she was most likely a Demigod. The number of Demigods in the cultivation world could be counted by hand, yet she had never seen one that looked like that woman.

Furthermore, who was this mistress the rock spirit spoke of?

Why was she getting the feeling that this instance was becoming even more difficult?

***

A thousand kilometers away. A person in white robe wobbled, and a scent of blood suffused from her body, as if she was about to puke out blood. Clenching her fists, she suppressed the urge down.

In front of her, a kind-looking middle-aged man walked over. He bowed, and then said. “Sovereign, we were still a step too late. Office Shell Sect is already… Haah, we did not discover any remnants of those heretic practitioners. What should we do now? Do we still head back to Ness Cesary Sect to continue the tournament?”

“Mn, let us go!”

——————————

It had already been four hours, yet little tyrant and Ye Qingcang was still asleep. Zhu Yao had used several methods, yet no matter what she did, she could not wake up the two from their deep slumber. She had even tried to enter the two’s divine senses, but no matter how she called out to them, they did not have the slightest of reactions.

It felt as though the two of them had already entered a deep state of hypnosis, and were unable to wake up no matter what. Furthermore, as time went past, their expressions worsened. It looked as though they had encountered a difficult question that they could not solve.

Earlier, that woman mentioned  that  the  two  of  them  had fallen to their heart demons. Heart demons originated from the desires found in the deepest parts of the humans’ hearts. How could she possibly know what their desires were!? If they wanted to escape, they had no choice but to rely on their own realizations. Zhu Yao instantly felt a sense of powerlessness.

What to do? At the very least, it would be good to see what kind of heart demons they had!

Ting!

Just as she pondered about it, a familiar sound suddenly rang. The notification bell that was silent since the start of this version finally rang once more, even Zhu Yao was startled a little.

A conversation window instantly appeared before her, and a string of damnable words were on it. “Heart Demon Mirror” Artifact. A good partner for souls. Do you want to know the secrets of others? Do you want to know the other face of the person you love? The Heart Demon Mirror can satisfy all of your requests. Let all secrets be exposed, and let all lies be forced upon ghosts! Heart Demon Mirror, an item that you deserve to have. The rights to interpretation of this product lies with the user. If it is used to break the law, then it’s all done by the user!

Why did she feel as though she had become a paparazzi.

Ting!

Please choose:

Go alone (That’s a little lonely)

Go with a partner (With a man and woman paired, work will never be tiring) Go with a group of three (Dear, you have very unique tastes)

Go with a group of many people (Cover your eyes, those below eighteen years of age please exercise caution)

The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched. What’s with this immoral set of options? Was this truly not a selection panel for certain unhealthy videos?

Though she had long known that Realmspirit had terrible morals, she did not expect it to be this incredibly horrendous. With a darkened expression, she tapped on B.

The conversation window flashed, instantly disappearing before her eyes. What replaced it was a pair of screens, which looked as though had come from a television set. They appeared above little tyrant and Ye Qingcang, who were still lying on the ground. Furthermore, they were even fifty-one inches in length, and had high definition.

She was beginning to feel even more like a paparazzi who was peeking at others’ secrets, what to do?

“Sound Storing Stone?” Her master’s cold  voice  suddenly rang in her ears.

Zhu Yao was startled, as she directly pulled Peapea out. “Master?”

Peapea flashed with a white glow, and her master’s figure appeared next to her right after. “This floating object is very similar to the ‘Sound Storing Stone’ (television) of your world!”

“You can  see  it!?”  Zhu  Yao  was  completely  dumbfounded. Why did she feel as though her master’s functionalities had leveled up after that trip to her world?

“Mn!” He nodded. He stepped forward, and then actually tapped on the “On” button, something he had taught himself to do.

Zhu Yao: “…”

The screens flashed, and then slowly showcased the videos. Zhu Yao was able to recognize little tyrant in the middle at first glance. Was that his heart demon?

The content of the videos was rather similar to that precognitive dream she had back then, but the scenario was very hectic, and that it was starting from when little tyrant was young. Similar to what Zhu Yao knew, he was first an astounding disciple in the Inner Sect. However, after he failed to establish his Foundation and exposed his penta spirit veins, he was chased out of the sect. What’s different from reality was, she did not appear. Little tyrant became a wandering practitioner, but because of his cultivation level which had dropped to incredibly severely, he was bullied everywhere he went, and had gone through a very difficult life. The final scene was little tyrant curling himself up in the corner of a wall, trembling. Then, an ominous voice resounded. “No one cares about you, no one is worried about you. It’s fake. Everything is fake…”

Even little tyrant’s actual face was beginning to turn green, as a strand of deathly aura rose from his body.

“Little tyrant!” Zhu Yao could not help but call out.

The person in the screen seemed to have paused for a moment. The person who curled up into a ball, slowly raised his head. His pair of eyes slowly regained clarity, as he shouted out. “Grandma?”

In an instant, the entire scene began to collapse and shatter…

Zhu Yao was stunned as well. Her voice was effective? Joy filled the depths of her heart, only to see that scene change right after, as a new scenery replaced the former.

The hell, there’s a series of heart demons?

Chapter316: Heart Demon Immunity Skill

The scenes shown on the screen continued to change. Every single time, the two of them would experience different lives, yet they were all different from their lives in reality. Various incredible developments would surface halfway through, and they would routinely have their hearts questioned, with every question deepening their despair. It was basically a documentary on “just how many possibilities are there in my life”. There was even a faint feeling that whenever it was time to choose the path of their lives, they would powerlessly be guided into despair.

Ye Qingcang at the side was the same as well. Though the contents were different, the methods were completely the same.

So this is a heart demon. It was simply an all-rounded psychological harassment, and the type which used negative examples. Should she celebrate the fact that the two of them had sufficient immunization, preventing the heart demons from breaking through their final line of defense?

However, if they were going to be tested like this over and over again, their minds would crumble eventually. They would be influenced by the scenarios within, and then, they would submerged within their own minds, unable to escape ever again.

“Master… What should we do?” This was simply an endless cycle of nightmares. Though they should be aware that they were all fake, they would still be influenced by them after staying inside for a long time. She could see that as the number of times they experienced the heart demons increase, the more they were unable to discern an illusion from reality.

Yu Yan sighed. “These are their own knots in their hearts. If they are able to see through them, their state of mind and resolve will naturally improve, and their cultivation will rise. If they are unable to see through them…”

Then they will die! The little radish that she raised through great difficulties had yet to ripen, how could she possibly watch on as he continued to drown? She could do nothing but watch…

Eh, wait a minute!

Why didn’t she get caught up by her heart demon? If her master was not affected because he was just a strand of divine sense, then why was she standing here alive and well? This was illogical! Ting!

A conversation window suddenly popped up.

Congratulations on discovering a hidden skill – Heart Demon Immunity, a passive skill. You receive the title: Pui! You shameless bystander!

The hell is this Heart Demon Immunity? Clearly, it was added later on, right? Also, the point of this message was the retort at the back, right? Also, what are you trying to say by bolding that?

Before she could even retort, the screens hanging above little tyrant and Ye Qingcang suddenly vibrated, and then, they actually began to close in on each other. The two fifty-one inches high definition screens turned into a single screen of a hundred and two inches!

(+﹏+)~

Was this to cut costs? The scenes being shown synchronized as well. Little tyrant and Ye Qingcang appeared inside at the same time, and the contents were uniform too. However, probably because they had passed the trials before this, the scenario this time was different from the miserable lives from before. It was a scenario where they had paved their way through the Great Dao, and the time was set several hundred years later. The two of them had both nourished their Nascent Souls, though Ye Qingcang had become the Sect Master of Ness Cesary Sect, while little tyrant had become the leader of wandering practitioners. The both of them had immense fame behind their names, and were both high-leveled individuals.

While Zhu Yao was wondering what the trial was this time, Ness Cesary Sect and Wandering City were suddenly attacked. When she saw the leader behind the assault on both locations, Zhu Yao simply felt like cussing out – motherf**king b*tch!

Wasn’t that extremely familiar face… hers? How did she become the boss of the villains!?

Behind the screen, little tyrant and Ye Qingcang both had shocked expressions as well. Fortunately, she had merely flashed her face before leaving the scene right after. Otherwise, she would have truly wanted to look for the person who came up with the scenario for this heart demon, and give him some counselling.

However, the moment she flashed her face, the scenario within the screen instantly changed. She was cussed by the people inside as a b*tch, and the Great Dao paved by little tyrant and Ye Qingcang was in complete turmoil. Filled with killing intent, the various clans and sects, along with wandering practitioners, all surrounded and attacked Tranquil Valley. On one end was the crowd who wanted to take revenge and seek justice, while the other were two people who had been nurtured to how they were now because of the guidance of that person.

The two youths fell into a dilemma.

That strange voice suddenly resounded once more. DIfferent from the temptive nature that clearly wanted to pull them into the abyssal depths like before, this voice was dull and merely asked a single question: Which side should I stand on?

The hell! She could not help but cuss out at the person who came up with this question. This was too hard to choose, wasn’t it?

This was basically a dead question! If they choose to stand on her side, they, who stood at such a high position but decided to cover for their enemy, would betray the trust of the masses. If they were to choose the greater good and exterminate her, then they would turn ungrateful, people that repay good deeds with blood. No matter which side they choose, they would be wrong. It was basically asking them: Are you going to forgive her and

become an unjust bastard? Or are you going to kill her, and become an ungrateful bastard?

Either choices would lead them down the path of depravation!

Zhu Yao could not help but hold her breath. This should be their final heart demon. This question is even harder than the ones in university entrance exams, hey.

She could do nothing else other than watching their two faces and their final decisions. Little tyrant was already covered in sweat, and his face looked like it was in pain. Ye Qingcang was the same as well, and even the word ‘bug’ on his face was fading and darkening over and over again, making its presence known.

For some reason, Zhu Yao had a feeling that the answer to this question could possibly remove this bug once and for all. Ye Qingcang became a bug because his sins were too heavy, as he killed to stop killing. However, because she forcefully intervened, he had still yet to walk on the path of slaughter, and neither was his hands stained in blood yet. However, no matter which answer he were to choose, he would most likely be destined to walk on the same old path.

She could not help but keep her eyes on the screen and hold her breath, as she awaited his choice.

He suddenly raised his sword and closed his eyes. As if he had made some sort of decision, he loudly said. “Granny is my benefactor, and thus this Ye cannot lay his hands on her. My fellow daoists trust in me, and I cannot betray their trust either. This Ye doesn’t have a way to appease both sides, nor will I make a decision to stand on either side. I hope that with my life alone, it will be sufficient to pay for all her past sins.” After he said that, with a twist of his sword, he instantly stabbed into his own body.

Zhu Yao was completely dumbfounded. He actually gave up on choosing and did not stand on either side. Instead, he firmly held onto his own heart. In a certain sense, he had indeed managed to find a win-win solution. After that stab, the erratic spiritual energy around his body instantly calmed down, and even the word ‘bug’ on his face had faded quite a bit. Only a faint and shallow mark remained. Zhu Yao grew excited. Could this be considered as a blessing in disguise?

Little tyrant was left!

She hurriedly turned her head back to the screen. Behind the screen, Ye Qingcang had already committed suicide, and his body began to turn transparent. He was leaving the heart demon, and little tyrant was standing right next to him. Strangely, the crowd did not pay much attention towards Ye Qingcang who was lying on the ground, and was instead looking intensely at the standing little tyrant. In the first place, they were illusions born from their hearts, so naturally they would not possess much emotions.

That voice once again sounded: What is your choice?

The crowd behind the screen shouted out in unison as well: What is your choice?

Little tyrant’s expression was clouded. He could not help but glance at the “dead” Ye QIngcang on the ground, and was stunned for a moment. Then, he raised his head and swept his eyes across the approaching crowd. His eyes, however, began to clear up little by little, and he suddenly laughed out loud.

As though he had thought of something funny, his laughter ripple across the air, spreading towards every corner.

“What’s my choice? I don’t choose anything.” He suddenly spoke, giving an answer that was out of everyone’s expectations. “Why do I have to answer such a nonsensical question? I have known grandma since I was ten. Though he has a sharp and bad tongue, she is the first person to ever truly care about me, even when that child was not even the slightest bit related to her. In this world, she is the only person left who kept a piece of pure and unadulterated kindness, kindness that not a single other person in the cultivation world ever possesses. In her eyes, it felt as if the world looked completely different from ours. Not only did she teach me how to cultivate, she is more importantly someone who has taught me how to be a person. During the time when everyone gave up on me, she was the only one who said it didn’t matter. With someone like that, you’re saying she’s the one who attacked Ness Cesary Sect and Wandering City? Don’t make me laugh. You people are asking me what my choice is? I choose, to believe her! I believe that she wouldn’t do something like that. I believe that these choices do not exist in the first place. I believe that everything, everything here, is but a mere illusion.” Zhu Yao was instantly moved. As expected, she did not pamper him for nothing. He actually saw through the heart demon’s nature.

With every “believe” he said, his body would shine with a white light, and it was growing brighter and brighter. Then, the screen cracked, shattering resoundingly!

Ye Qingcang who was lying at the side sat up at this moment as well, panting out loud. He finally woke up from his heart demon.

“You woke up!”

“Granny…”

Zhu Yao was joyous, and she hurriedly turned to look at little tyrant at the side.

The hell, what was going on? Clearly, little tyrant was the one who broke through the heart demon, so why was his present state even worse than before? Sweat was not the only thing coming out of his body, as even blood was leaking out now, hey! “Little tyrant!” Don’t scare me, hey!

“Grand… Grandma…” He tried his best to open his eyes. Though he was awake, his expression showed that he was in worsening pain, and the spiritual energy surrounding his body was incredibly chaotic!

“He’s about to form his Azoth Core.” Yu Yan said in sullen voice. He had received an enlightenment from the heart demon.

Eh? So soon?

Yu Yan sliced his hand in the air, breaking open a passage of flowing light. “There is no spiritual energy here, bring him out to form his Azoth Core.”

Only then did Zhu Yao regain her senses. She hurriedly carried little tyrant up and walked into the passage.  “Little Cang, follow after me!”

“Ou!” Ye Qingcang was stunned for a second, before hurrying after the three people into the void space that was suddenly sliced open. The moment he entered it, flowing light flashed across his eyes. In the next moment, they had already returned to Tranquil Valley.

“Take the opportunity while the barrier has yet to restore completely, and head out!” Zhu Yao pointed to the remaining small hole in the barrier in the sky, and then flew out on her flying sword while carrying little tyrant.

The moment they got out of the barrier, the surrounding spiritual energy began to rapidly pour into little tyrant’s body.

Zhu Yao brought him to stable ground and sat him down. “Little tyrant, focus and calm yourself down. Don’t think of anything else and concentrate on forming your Azoth Core. Understand?”

“Mn.” Little tyrant nodded, a streak of blood leaked out from the corner of his lips again. Sitting in a lotus position, he then began to guide spiritual energy into his body and break into the Azoth Core Realm. The chaotic five types of spiritual energy slowly calmed down, and they began to orderly gather in little tyrant’s body.

Zhu Yao placed down a few formations in his surroundings. Then, with Ye Qingcang, they took a few steps back and kept watch over him.

Probably because his state of mind and resolve had risen by a huge amount this time, little tyrant was very successful in forming his Azoth Core. Other than the rampage of spiritual energy in the beginning that caused his meridians to receive some injuries, the process had been really smooth and steady.

Chapter317: Removing the Bug of Righteousness

Just like that, little tyrant spent three whole days meditating.

Three days later, the spiritual energy that was endlessly pouring into his body finally began to calm down. His wounds were also beginning to close on their own, and faintly, the pressure of an Azoth Core could be felt.

The core was formed!

A certain master who had been silently watching this entire process while standing by his disciple’s side all this while, suddenly took a step forward. With a wave of his hand, he placed down a barrier surrounding his stupid disciple.

“Eh?” Zhu Yao curiously turned her head around. What was this about?

Yu Yan silently glanced at him. “His core has been formed.”

“I know.” I can see that myself though? “Yu… Yao!” He sighed, as he gave her a ‘Why is my disciple so stupid?’ expression. “After the formation of an Azoth Core, lightning tribulation will definitely descend.”

“Uh…” Zhu Yao instantly understood. Hell, she had actually forgotten about this. Most likely, the one being zapped would still be her!

The corner of her lips twitched a few moments, and then she silently placed down countless formations for herself, including another defensive barrier. “Hoho… Master. Let me handle something like this on my own!” It felt like whenever her master’s about to be zapped by lightning, he’s exceptionally unreliable, and something like that had already happened several times as well.

Yu Yan frowned. As though he had recalled some very bad memories, he silently acknowledged her actions.

After pondering for a moment, he still felt a little dissatisfied. He reached out his hand pulled his stupid disciple into his embrace. Mn, he felt better now.

“Gran… Granny, this is?” Ye Qingcang however was confused. Was something big about to happen? Or was an enemy about to attack? To the extent that such powerful defenses were necessary?

“Hoho… You will understand in a moment.” Zhu Yao bitterly smiled. She raised her head and glanced at the sky, her face turned stern. “It’s here.”

Ye Qingcang raised his head to take a look, only to see the sky which was still clear for thousands of kilometers a second earlier, had begun to darken. Large amount of lightning clouds gathered. This was the lightning tribulation directed at the formation of Azoth Core! So she was actually worried that Brother Bai wasn’t able to beat the lightning tribulation?

“Granny, don’t worry. Brother Bai has a firm heart, he will definitely beat this lightning tribulation safe and sound.”

Zhu Yao replied with two words: “Ho ho!” Raising her head, she glanced at the sky. “I say, student Ye, are you sure you’re not going to stand a little further away from me?”

“Eh!?” Boom!

A snow-white flash of light tore through the skies as a tribulation lightning bolt descended. It struck towards… Zhu Yao.

Student Ye who was zapped charred black: “…”

Countless unidentifiable animals galloped through the depths of his heart.

Wasn’t it Brother Zhiyuan who formed his Azoth Core? Why were the tribulation lightning bolts striking at granny instead? Furthermore, it seemed like granny was very certain that this situation would occur too, as she had placed down barriers beforehand, which lead to the lightning bolt striking straight at him, leaving her completely unscathed!

“Gran… Granny…” This did not make sense!

“Haah! I already told you to stand further away from me!” Zhu Yao reached out her hand and pulled him into the formation. The lightning bolts in the sky grew even more excited, as they crackled and struck down relentlessly. Furthermore, all of them were striking in their direction, with not a single one landing on Bai Zhiyuan.

Student Ye Qingcang felt incredibly confused. Just who was forming his or her Azoth Core here, hey?

His heart was filled with doubts, yet a chilling intent suddenly shot out from the side. His heart trembled from the chill. When he turned to look, he saw a man was currently glaring at him coldly next to granny. In an instant, he felt like two ice daggers were stabbing right at his chest.

Ehh?

Earlier, granny seemed to have called him her master. Why was he looking at him this way? What did he do wrong?

So cold, so scary. He suddenly felt like heading out to get struck by lightning instead, what to do?

Yu Yan: Someone familiar with my disciple, is hateful as I have expected!

“Seven, eight, nine, ten…” Zhu Yao very patiently counted the

lightning bolts. Don’t you dare troll me. A total of eighty-one lightning bolts, and not a single one more. Otherwise, it’s a loss for me.

“Granny…” Ye Qingcang meekly wiped off the dust off his arms, which were soon to be frozen stiff due to a certain someone’s gaze. Trying to divert his own attention, he spoke up. “You… knew that the lightning would fall on you right from the beginning, right?”

“Ah? Fifteen… Sixteen… Seventeen…” Zhu Yao was focused on counting, so she did not hear him well.

He had no choice but to repeat his words. “I said, granny, you’re intentionally blocking Brother Zhiyuan’s tribulation lightning bolts, right?”

“Intentionally?” Zhu Yao rolled her eyes at  him.  “Who  the hell would intentionally do such a thing? How about you try to intentionally do it in front of my eyes!?” “Then the formations that you placed down earlier were…”

Zhu Yao glanced at him. With a heart filled with sour emotions, she sighed. “Habits become second nature, dear youth!”

“…” What did that mean? Were the lightning bolts actually striking her on their own accord? He was stunned for a moment. After pondering for a little, he felt that it was impossible. Lightning tribulation was the manifestation of the laws of the Heavenly Dao itself, how could it possibly strike the wrong person? In order to bend the laws of the Heavenly Dao, incredible power was required. Granny must be worried about Zhiyuan, and thus was willing to endure the pain of the lightning tribulation on her own accord. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. He turned to glance at the figure at the back, whose Azoth Core was growing firmer by the minute. In his eyes, a hint of envy could be seen floating about.

Within the heart demon earlier, he had actually heard Bai Zhiyuan’s answer as well. Speaking of which, both of them were pitiful people, as they both had the poorest aptitude. Though he had the fortune of being taken into the Inner Sect, the number of rolling and scornful eyes he received were still no less than being an Outer Sect disciple, while Bai Zhiyuan was once a genius with duo spirit veins, who had fallen to the very bottom of the valley. Their fates were similar, and they had both encountered a grandmother who treated them both with sincerity. Before this, he had thought that Bai Zhiyuan was even more pitiful than he was. After all, he climbed up from the very bottom, so he had nothing to lose. However, Bai Zhiyuan once had everything he wanted, but in the end had everything snatched away. A reality even crueler than his. However, right now, he was a little jealous of Bai Zhiyuan. Because, no matter what were to happen to him, granny would always stand by his side.

“Twenty… three, or was it four? The hell, I think I might have missed one. Just how many have I counted?”

Ye Qingcang smiled, the envy in his eyes grew brighter. “Granny sure treats Brother Zhiyuan really well.” It’s a pity that no one has ever treated me with wholehearted sincerity.

Zhu Yao was startled. She turned to look at him. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What is it?” He had a confused look. Zhu Yao frowned. For a moment, the word ‘bug’ on his face grew a little darker. Earlier, it was so light to the point only a mark was present, but now, a greyish colour could be faintly seen. Oh young one, just what kind of thoughts did you have just now? Don’t go back to your former path!

“What did you just say?”

“I said, granny sure treats Brother Zhiyuan really well.”

“Don’t I treat you well too?” Zhu Yao asked back.

“…” Ye Qingcang blanked for a moment, only to shake his head slowly right after. “That is indeed true.”

Zhu Yao sighed, and then said as she patted on his shoulder. “Little Cang, do you have something you want to tell me?”

He stiffened. The expression on his face changed a couple of times, yet he did not speak up for a long while.

“If you have something to say, then say it! Don’t be wishy- washy like a girl!”

Ye Qingcang clenched his fists, and then took a deep breath. He turned to look towards her and said. “Granny… Actually, I have always wanted to ask you this. Back then, when you brought Brother Zhiyuan out of Ness Cesary Sect, you did it because you were afraid that he would be bullied for possessing the penta spirit veins, and hence you were willing to hand over Skybond Peak. Furthermore, you even took him in as your disciple and brought him away. I’m… a penta spirit veins holder as well! Why didn’t you inform me…” He did not continue after that. Zhu Yao however, understood his intentions.

“You wish to ask why I chose to take in little tyrant as my disciple, and not you, right?”

He nodded, and then immediately explained in anxious manner. “I… It’s not like I want to have a dispute with Brother Zhiyuan, it’s just… I just want to know the reason.” He wanted to know just why she had always thought Bai Zhiyuan was more talented than he was.

“I know!” If he truly was jealous of Little Bai, he wouldn’t have risked his life along with them. Zhu Yao sighed. Then, he looked at him sternly and said. “Little Cang, tell me this. If back then, if we have truly gone to look for you, and told you about us being ousted from the sect, what would you have done? Would you have left with us?”

Ye Qing was dumbfounded, and then his expression paled.

“You wouldn’t! Zhu Yao replied on his behalf. “Because if you had gone with us, it would be akin to betraying the sect. Most likely, you would even be chased after by the sect.”

“I…”

“I’m not trying to lecture you!” Zhu Yao continued. “It’s understandable that you would choose not to leave. After all, even if you had come along with us, it would just be an additional baggage for me. Then, let me ask you this as well. If you were little tyrant, and I wasn’t a Demigod practitioner trying to conceal my own cultivation level, but a mere Azoth Core practitioner, would you have left the sect?”

No! Ye Qingcang lowered his head. Because, with his personality, even if he were to find out that he possessed the penta spirit veins, he wouldn’t accept being ousted out of Ness Cesary Sect so easily. Even if he were to be thrown into the Outer Sect, he would still think of ways on his own, and seek opportunities for himself to make a stand.

“See, this is your difference from little tyrant.”  Zhu  Yao patted on his shoulder and sternly said. “The reason why little tyrant followed me out of Ness Cesary Sect, was because he trusted me enough. He believed that his grandma wouldn’t hurt him. Even if he were ousted from the sect, even if were labeled as a wandering practitioner, even if he had to cultivation from the start once more, he believed in me. Not to mention, when he left, he once resented the sect, resented his past master, and had even resented everyone, except me, whom he felt indebted to. The first thing he thought of, was not what he should do for his own future, but how he could repay his grandma for enduring all these grievances. With all his heart, he believed in a senior, a friend, or even an elder sister like me. How can I possibly not pamper him a little bit more?”

Ye Qingcang was stunned. His face was filled with astonishment and confusion, as though he understood her words, but felt that things had turned even more blurry as well.

“Little Cang, you asked why I didn’t choose you? Both of you possess penta spirit veins, and both your cultivation levels were similar as well. However, have you ever thought that you yourself are different from little tyrant in the first place? The two of you have never stood at the same spot. Have you ever place your trust on someone from the depths of your heart, like little tyrant has?”

“……”

“Little Cang, we are cultivating to become deities. However, the premise is that we have not become deities. We are all humans, and all humans have feelings. No one in this world will treat you well for no reason. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Little tyrant ventured. He believed in his grandma with all his heart. Even when he understood that he would become a wandering practitioner living a harsh life from then on, he did not turn his back, and followed me without any hesitation. But Little Cang, what have you ventured on? Have you ever believed in someone with all your heart? If not, why should I  have chosen you?”

Ye Qingcang was dumbfounded, and he did not regain his senses for a long while. The echoes in the depths of his heart grew louder, and a single word filled his heart – trust!

He was alone ever since he was young. Because of his stubborn personality, he had always relied on his own to grow stronger a single step at a time. He felt that as long as he worked hard, even if he did not have a good aptitude or talent, he would still be able walk on this path. He had never requested help from others, so naturally he would not have comprehended the meaning of trust. Even way back then, when he had a miraculous encounter, the first thing he thought of was to conceal that fact. He only told granny when he had no other choice.

However, the stronger he became, the larger the hole in his heart was. Especially when he saw granny and Bai Zhiyuan together, the feeling that he was missing something grew even more intense than ever, and a sense of inferiority faintly grew. All this while, he could not understand why this was happening. However, he now understood that the thing that he was lacking in the depths of his heart, was trust. The true goal behind that heart demon, was to have him clearly see this fact.

At that moment, he felt that the things he chased after and tried to conceal with all his might, were a little laughable. Joy suddenly filled the depths of his heart, as if the sun had appeared behind the drifting clouds.

Zhu Yao however widened her eyes in utter disbelief.

“Young man, let me look at your face!” The bug… disappeared!

Chapter318 Come One Come All, Let’s Conduct a Meeting

Zhu Yao could not help but want to raise Ye Qingcang’s face for a clearer look. Before she could even reach out her hand however, she suddenly felt an icy intent next to her, and something cracked resoundingly next to her ears. The formation she placed down to resist the heavenly lightning bolts had instantly shattered apart.

The bright heavenly lightning bolts roared out, zapping all three of them.

Zhu Yao who reached out her hand: “…”

Before she could even react, she felt her waist tightening, and then, she was pulled into the embrace of someone who similarly had a charred smell. With a stern look, Yu Yan cast a Dirt Removal Art on him and his stupid disciple, then he calmly placed down a new formation. His face was calm and collected, as though the person who broke the formation earlier was not him.

Looking at a certain disciple who was still half-stretching out her hand and glancing at Ye Qingcang, he frowned. He reached out to hold her chin, and then forcefully turned her  face towards him, and was only satisfied when he was the only figure in her eyes.

Then he turned his head and looked at that unknown substance at the side with narrowed eyes. His cold aura flowed in all directions.

Unknown substance Little Cang simply trembled, and cold sweat constantly dripped from his forehead. Though he did not know what he had done wrong, he faintly sensed that he should take a few steps back.

However, in the next second, he was no longer able to continue pondering for the reason, as the next heavenly lightning bolt was already striking down. Not to mention, he was not in the range of the newly placed formation!

————————————

In a single day, two of the righteous deity sects were lost. Practically all of Office Shell Sect’s disciples were massacred, and when the reinforcements of the various sects had arrived, the entire Office Shell Sect had already turned into a sea of blood. Most of the survivors were in a daze, as though they had suffered from some immense shock. Even after questioning them back and forth, the reinforcements still could not piece everything together, let alone finding clues about that so-called Demigod heretic practitioner. Furthermore, this was not the end. When the crowd had rushed back to Ness Cesary Sect, the sight in front of them had dumbfounded every single one of them. Ness Cesary Sect, who had been passed down for over thousands of hundreds of years, was destroyed in a single day, levelled to flat ground. Fortunately, there were no grave casualties among the disciples. However, the laughable thing was that the people who saved them from this crisis, were the two people that Ness Cesary Sect had ousted a few years ago. For a moment, the crowd from Ness Cesary Sect felt exceptionally conflicted in their hearts.

When Zhu Yao rushed back to meet up with the sects, she was shocked to see that other than Qu Jiang, Qu Ying had come forward to welcome her back as well. Though, his face was an exceptional sight to watch, as it continued to switch between being green and pale, as though he did not know how he should face this former little martial aunt. The colour of his face continued to change again and again. Even Zhu Yao could not stand giving him a few more glances.

“Thank you, little martial aunt, for your saving grace.” Qu Jiang bowed in front of Zhu Yao. “It’s best that you call me Zhu Yao.” She said without a mind. “I’m no longer your little martial aunt. You’re making it sound so strange right now.”

Qu Jiang was startled, and even Qu Jiang at the side had stiffened. A moment later, he changed his way of addressing her. “Sovereign… Thank you, Sovereign, for your help. If not for Sovereign’s protection, not just Ness Cesary Sect, I’m afraid the entire world of deity sects would have encountered an inescapable huge tribulation.”

“It’s just a small matter, there’s no need to be polite.” Zhu Yao replied with a smile.

Qu Jiang did not keep up with the courteous talk either, as he lead Zhu Yao into the inner hall. His intention of burying the hatchet was part of the reason he came out to welcome her as well, as he wanted her and Bai Zhiyuan to return to Ness Cesary Sect. In this present state where their nest had been destroyed, Ness Cesary Sect was indeed in a dire need of a protector like her. However, her earlier words evidently meant that she no longer had the intentions to return, so naturally he had no choice but to lay these thoughts to rest.

When Zhu Yao entered the inner hall, the various clans and sects were already in a great uproar, arguing with each other. When they saw that she had appeared, they quietened down for a moment as they bowed towards her. Zhu Yao nodded in return, before she walked towards the highest row of seats while following Qu Jiang’s lead. This time however, she no longer had to stand.

Hua Lin enthusiastically waved his hands at her.  “Old… friend. Over here, over here.” He called out as he looked at his own surroundings. Realizing that there were no longer any empty seats, he unceremoniously nudged an early-stage Demigod Sovereign on his right. “Hey, move over.”

That Demigod Sovereign was startled, as if he had never thought that a Demigod practitioner like him would be given such a disgusted look in the open. His face had turned green from fury. He turned to look at the other Demigod practitioners, and they had all turned their heads away, acting as if they hadn’t seen anything. He could not help but let out a cold snort, and then unwillingly moved to an empty seat near the edge.

“There’s an empty seat here, quick, come over.” Hua Lin shamelessly pointed at the seat that was given up just earlier, as he called out to Zhu Yao. The practitioner who just left earlier tripped and almost fell. Even if you’re a wandering practitioner, you shouldn’t be this shameless, hey!

The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched. Ignoring that practitioner’s resentful glare, she sat next to Hua Lin. Why did she feel as if she had inadvertently garnered a bundle of hatred?

“The heretic practitioners sure have gone mad. On this day alone, they dared to openly launch attacks on Office Shell Sect and Ness Cesary Sect. They will most certainly attack the other deity sects in the coming days. If this danger is not eliminated, I’m afraid the deity sects would be uneasy day and night.” A Nascent Soul practitioner said indignantly.

“Though that is the case…” Someone however had an opposing opinion. “The heretic practitioners have always been scattered, blending among the wandering practitioners. It is extremely difficult to locate them. Furthermore, the various sects have sustained damage from this incident. We should instead focus on recovering our forces and build up our strength.”

When one of the practitioners heard this, he immediately flared up. “Wait a minute! How long are we supposed to wait? The disciples of our Office Shell Sect had all died in the hands of those heretic practitioners, when should be the right time to avenge them? Not to mention the heretic practitioners must have sustained some degree of damage from this incident, we should be taking this opportunity to push for victory.”

“Right not, the situation surrounding the  enemies  are unclear, it would be extremely unwise to make a move on them now!” Another person stood up to object. “It should be clear from seeing Office Shell Sect’s situation. Our enemies were actually capable of retreating all their forces even before our prompt arrival. This indicates that the capabilities of the heretic practitioners shouldn’t be underestimated.”

“That is sound.” Another person spoke. “Earlier, the disciple that came to report this incident mentioned that there was a Demigod practitioner among them. Furthermore, when we arrived, we were unable to catch a glimpse of even a single heretic practitioner. Who knows just how many Demigod heretic practitioners are there?”

“However, if we don’t make a move on them now, I’m afraid that they would pose a greater threat in the future.”

The hall was once again filled with intense debate, and Zhu Yao frowned at the sight of this. She finally understood why these people had been here for several days. Clearly, they were split into two factions – one which wanted to let go of this incident, and one which wanted to fight. The faction which wanted to fight believed that they should take this opportunity to deal with the heretic practitioners in order for them to cultivate peacefully in the future. The other faction however felt that the damage they had received this time was too huge, no good outcome would result from further fighting, and that it wouldn’t be too late to fight after recouping their losses.

In general, the faction which was keen of fighting was comprised of sects which had more losses, like Office Shell and Ness Cesary. The faction that wanted to let things go was made up of the rest which did not have any losses to speak of.

The more Zhu Yao listened in, the more frustrated she became. If this argument was to carry on, there wouldn’t be an end.

“Umm…” She could not help but voice out. The hall was instantly silent, as the crowd turned their eyes towards her. As the new Sovereign who had saved the disciples of the various clans and sects, the crowd trusted her to some degree. “Uh, I just wish to ask… Just who are the heretic practitioners who had assaulted Office Shell Sect?” The crowd was stunned for a moment, and they began to exchange glances.

“So no one know?” Then the fart are you guys fighting about!?

The faces of the crowd paled, as though they had truly never thought of this problem till now.

The hall was silent for a short while, before a Nascent Soul practitioner finally stepped out and spoke. “Putting aside who did it, all heretic practitioners in this world simply do not have any good in them. They should be exterminated as soon as possible.”

The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched. This logic was simply too incredible. “Then how are you planning to find these heretic practitioners?”

He instantly went mute.

In a broad sense, the term ‘heretic practitioner’ was just a label. It referred to opportunistic practitioners who did not cultivate in ways acknowledged by the public. They were practitioners who were even more lawless and disorganized than wandering practitioners. Without a clear goal, how were they going to find them just by this single label? Heretic practitioners wouldn’t write the word ‘heretic’ on their faces after all.

“Junior-martial sister Zhu’s words are logical…”  Sovereign Wu Fu who had been sitting at the top suddenly spoke as he looked at her with a smile. “We should indeed clearly locate our enemies before taking action. However… presently, our Ness Cesary Sect’s Skybond Peak is already in the enemies’ hands. Countless treasures can be found within, and I’m afraid heretic practitioners will make use of the items inside to strengthen themselves. Presently, they already possess the guts to openly launch assaults on deity sects, once they strengthen themselves…”

Before he even finished, the faces of the people below paled one after another. Oh, right! Our enemies already possess such huge amount of resources. If they were to strengthen themselves even further, it will spell trouble. At that moment, the practitioners belonging in the faction of letting go, were clearly shaken.

“Oh, you’re  talking  about  Skybond  Peak?”  Zhu  Yao  said without a mind. “Don’t worry, it’s not in the hands of those heretic practitioners.”

“It’s not?” The crowd was stunned. Clearly, they did not believe her words.

Zhu Yao chuckled at Qu Jiang. “I’m sorry, Sect Master Qu. I accidently burnt that mountain away. Completely.”

“What?” Wu Fu immediately stood up. Even the crowd below was giving her faces that looked as if they were looking at an idiot. “You… Y-You… You burnt away Skybond Peak?”

“Uh… It was an operational mistake!” When speaking of this, she really felt a sense of guilt from burning down someone’s house. “Umm… I saw those heretic practitioners move Skybond Peak away, so I chased after them at the heat of the moment. But I can’t possibly move it back on my own, right? You guys should understand that I’m a frail woman… So I… Hoho, I think you guys understand by now!”

Crowd: … They didn’t want to understand her words in the least, alright? That was Skybond Peak, left behind by an ascended ancestor. There were countless treasures within! How could she possibly burn it away just like that!?

Everyone could not regain their senses for a while from this shock. Every single one of them felt like scratching the walls right now!

“Haah, so be it!” Unexpectedly, Qu Jiang was the first  to collect his calm, as he let out a long sigh. Though his heart was bleeding, he still spoke in a consoling manner. “At the  very least, it’s much better than being left in the hands of the heretic practitioners.”

The crowd all looked as if they wanted to cry as well. In the first place, they participated in the tournament for the sole reason of attempting to take a slice of the pie. Who would have known that the pie would be stolen in an instant, and that it would be burnt into a crisp the next moment? Not a single one of them managed to get even a bite into it. These fluctuating emotions were simply too much to handle.

“Junior-martial sister, have you truly burnt Skybond Peak away? Or did it disappear because of other reasons?” Wu Fu suddenly asked in a meaningful manner.

Zhu Yao frowned. “Other reasons?” What did he mean?

Wu Fu chuckled. “This lowly one is simply curious at the fact that such a huge mountain could actually be burnt into ashes.”

“What are you trying to get?” Little tyrant instantly flared up. “Are you saying that grandma has taken Skybond Peak as her own?”

“I didn’t say that.” Wu Fu continued to speak with a smile. “I just pointed out a suspicion, that’s all. Back then, the ones who chased after the heretic practitioners consisted of junior-martial sister and two disciples, and these two disciples…” He glanced at little tyrant and Ye Qingcang. “Their relationships with junior- martial sister are more than just superficial. When it comes to what actually happened back then, no one else knows for sure.”

When he put it that way, the crowd began to reveal doubtful expressions as well. Indeed. Skybond Peak possessed countless treasures, how could any sane person be willing to burn them all away? “Sovereign, your words are too degrading.” Ye  Qingcang could not help but speak up as well, his tone was filled with anger. “If granny had coveted the treasures within Skybond Peak, when she was the only person who could enter Skybond Peak back then, she could have taken all she had wanted. Why would she wait till now? Furthermore, granny has long attained the cultivation level of a Demigod, what use to her could the items in Skybond Peak possibly have?”

“They are of no use to her, but that might not be true to others.” Wu Fu intentionally swept his eyes across little tyrant and Ye Qingcang, and then continued.  “Furthermore,  other than medicinal pellets and talismans, Skybond Peak contains countless mystic artifacts, and some at the tenth rank as well. How could anyone not be moved?”

“Like we would even want the items inside!” Ye Qingcang immediately refuted.

Wu Fu however simply let out a cold snort, and did not reply. The crowd could not help but look at Zhu Yao with suspicious gazes after listening to his words.

Just as little tyrant and Ye Qingcang was about to speak up, Zhu Yao immediately pulled them back. She turned to look at Wu Fu, and with seemingly good mood, she said. “Sovereign Wu Fu, what you’re meaning to say is, I have hidden Skybond Peak, and then intentionally told you all that I have burnt it, so that I can keep it all to myself?”

“Junior-martial sister, naturally, I believe you. I simply wish that you can explain to us in more depth about this matter, so that everyone here can better understand the situation.” Wu Fu gave an even more harmonious smile, and his expression looked as though it was saying he was doing this for her own good.

“I don’t have anything else to explain!” Zhu Yao swept her eyes across the crowd, instantly feeling a little fatigued. It seemed like seeking justice and thwarting the heretic practitioners were all but empty talk. In the end, everything fell behind the word ‘benefits’. “Skybond Peak has been  burnt away. End of story.”

The suspicion in the eyes of the crowd grew heavier.

Zhu Yao continued. “However, I indeed did not take a single item from within, nor did I hide the mountain itself. If you guys truly want an explanation…” She sized up the crowd. “Then let me analyze the situation for you!” “The items within Skybond Peak are categorized to nothing more than a few – medicinal pellets, talismans, cultivation arts and mystic artifacts. Now that I have already become a Demigod, unless it’s a medicinal pellet that can allow me to ascend instantly… am I supposed to keep the rest of the pellets and eat them like they’re candies?”

“As for talismans, you guys should be aware that I have the penta-spirit veins, right? Activating the talismans can’t possibly be faster than casting the arts myself. Unless I’m bored with my longevity and sacrifice speed during battles, I will simply be seeking death if I use talismans to engage my enemies.”

“Of course, there’s cultivation arts inside as well! Just how retarded must I be to cripple my present cultivation level and choose to pick up a new cultivation art? What, I got bored to the point of cultivating it for fun?”

“Then what about mystic artifacts?” Wu Fu asked in a sullen voice, his smile grew deeper. “I believe junior-martial sister is extremely aware that there’s even tenth rank mystic artifacts among the mystic artifacts in Skybond Peak. Presently, there’s not many tenth rank mystic artifacts in the cultivation world.”

“As a matter of a fact, I really don’t covet them.” Zhu Yao rolled her eyes at him, as she continued to drop disdainful remarks on Skybond Peak. “I am a tenth rank artificer myself. The products refined by Wang Shang are neither stylish nor equipped with good functionalities. Do you think this old lady would even want them?”

“…” The hall was instantly enveloped in silence.

“You… You’re a tenth rank artificer…?” Wu Fu was stunned as well. “That’s… That’s impossible.” The flying sword she was using was even at the second rank. Just what kind of artificer would be so frugal like her?”

“Daoist Yu is right.” Hua Lin stood up and pulled out the spiritual ship. “This spiritual ship I have in my hands is something she refined and bestowed to me. It is a tenth rank mystic artifact at the extreme grade.”

When his words fell, everyone in the hall collectively held their breaths.

Zhu Yao: “…” Uh… That wasn’t something she refined! Student Hua Lin, it is not good to lie. The original creator himself is listening over here!

Chapter319: Truth Behind the Sect Massacre

With Hua Lin as a witness, the suspicions of the crowd instantly disappeared.

Wu Fu’s expression however sank. Gathering his earlier smile, he stepped forward and looked at the mystic artifact in Hua Lin’s hand. Then, he said. “What can one mystic artifact prove? Is there a mark on it that can possibly prove her words?”

This time, even Hua Lin could not help but frown. “When I say this mystic artifact is something she refined, naturally, it is refined by her.”

Wu Fu still did believe it. “I simply feel that it doesn’t look too realistic for a tenth rank extreme grade mystic artifact to appear. Furthermore, since she’s a tenth rank artificer,  she can’t possibly have only made a single mystic artifact, right?”

“You wish to look at my other products?” Zhu Yao glanced at him.

“I hope that junior-martial sister can give me some pointers.” “Are you certain?” Zhu Yao asked once more.

Wu Fu frowned, and still nodded his head.

“Fine then!” Zhu Yao sighed. “Actually, back then when I was still in Skybond Peak, I had refined several mystic artifacts, but I did not bring them along with me.”

Wu Fu’s expression turned joyous, evidently not believing her words as he said in a mocking manner. “Now that sure is unfortunate.”

“But…” Zhu Yao’s tone changed. “That doesn’t mean they’re not being held onto by someone else!”

“What do you mean?” Wu Fu’s expression changed. At that moment, he had a bad feeling.

“I’m saying, I did not bring out even a single one of the items that I have refined, and left them all in Skybond Peak.” Zhu Yao looked at the crowd. “After so many years, I believe there should be one or two disciples in the sect who have fancied my mystic artifacts, and have tried to keep and use them.” “Hmph, you’re saying that some of the mystic artifacts in Skybond Peak are refined by you?”

“You don’t believe me?” Zhu Yao chuckled. “It’s fine if you don’t believe me, but back then, I learnt of an interesting formation, and had thus inscribed it into the mystic artifacts. If one wish to use one of these artifacts, he or she needs to first chant an incantation. We will be certain one I chant out this incantation.”

After saying that, Zhu Yao did not care about his changing expression, and immediately shouted out loud within the hall. “Cheng Qingdiao, you sick-ass pervert!”

When her words fell, flashes of light appeared one after another. Dozens of mystic artifacts instantly flew up and floated in the air, emitting a white radiance that looked as if they were responding to her call. Even a bell-like eighth rank defensive mystic artifact had flown out of Wu Fu’s storage pouch.

Zhu Yao turned to glance at him, and chuckled. “It seems senior-martial brother Wu Fu likes the mystic artifacts I refined as well. Oh right, do you want me to repeat the basic functionalities of these mystic artifacts, and their respective construction methods? After all, you even carried one with you for so long, but this is the first time you have heard of it’s activation incantation, so it being inconvenient at times is inevitable.”

Wu Fu’s expression was instantly dyed in green, looking especially fascinating. He no longer let out a single croak.

The various clans and sects were now looking at the people of Ness Cesary Sect differently. They were clearly using the artifacts that she had refined, yet they were instead biting her back and accusing her of theft. This course of action by Ness Cesary Sect was truly shameless.

Zhu Yao did not intend to shame Ness Cesary Sect at first either, after all, this sect was once her former home. However, Wu Fu continued to bite on her without letting go, which infuriated her a little. Furthermore, that Skybond Peak had almost killed the demons in Tranquil Valley. Little Eighth had even expended all of the godly energy he managed to gathered so far because of this matter, and had yet to wake up even now.

As for those mystic artifacts, they were indeed refined by her. Back then, when she came out of the dimensional space, though Little Eighth had resurrected, at the bottom of her heart, she still hated that pervert Cheng Qingdiao. Thus, out of boredom, she secretly learnt from Wang Shang and refined a bunch of mystic artifacts, while inscribing this incantation, which taught by her master, within them. However, who would have expected that the mystic artifacts she refined would actually be more popular that the original products in Skybond Peak. These Nascent Soul and Demigod practitioners of Ness Cesary Sect actually hauled them in.

As someone who was so cooperative in digging his own grave, Wu Fu could be considered the best in this aspect in the cultivation world.

***

“Sovereign, how do you think we should deal with this matter concerning the heretic practitioners?” The crowd finally circled back to the matter at hand. Probably because they found out that she was tenth rank artificer, there were now faint hints of them seeing her as a leader figure, as they began to ask for her opinion.

Zhu Yao had thought about this. “I feel that no matter the decision to fight or rest, there is a need to first find out who are the culprits behind the destruction of Office Shell Sect.” The crowd nodded. Indeed, finding the true culprits were indeed the most important task.

“However… Countless Office Shell Sect disciples have already lost their lives, and those who were fortunate to survive had all turned insane… With our chain of clues broken, I’m afraid that no one else had seen the looks of the culprits…”

“That might not be the case!” Office Shell Sect Master Gu suddenly stood up, as though he had just thought of something. With an excited look, he said. “I recall that there’s a piece of Visual Recording Stone at the core of the Great Mountain Barrier Formation. It’s usually above the formation core, and because it’s required to supply the formation with spiritual energy, it has never been activated. However, the assault of the heretic practitioners had coincidentally destroyed the Great Mountain Barrier Formation. With the destruction of the formation, the spiritual energy from the Visual Recording Stone which could no longer supply the formation…”

“You’re meaning to say that this Visual Recording  Stone might have recorded everything that happened back then?” The crowd instantly revealed excited faces.

“If the Visual Recording Stone isn’t destroyed!” Sect Master Gu nodded.

“Bring us to the formation core!” Zhu Yao immediately pulled onto Sect Master Gu and left. The crowd exchanged glances and then immediately followed after them. Even the Demigod practitioners at the back were keeping up as well. Wu Fu’s eyes sank, and had no choice but to go along with the crowd.

As Zhu Yao flew over, she could already see the so-called Visual Recording Stone mentioned by Sect Master Gu,  from afar. How could that possibly be a stone? It was clearly a stone wall! It was no wonder Office Shell Sect would use such a common material as a formation core. It was a shattered mountaintop, and the rock on the broken wall of the mountain was a piece of Visual Recording Stone. Furthermore, it was pointing right at Office Shell Sect.

Sect Master Gu inspected it carefully for a moment.  Other than a few traces of blood on it, it did not sustain much damage. Thus, he quickly cast an art and inserted it into the stone wall. A bright light flashed, and there was a blurry image appearing faintly behind it. The image grew clearer with each second. It was the exact recording on the day of the sect massacre.

The crowd could not help but watch carefully with widened eyes, afraid that they would miss some sort of detail.

When they managed to clearly see the situation behind the screen, the crowd was dumbfounded. They were simply unable to believe their own eyes. Some were even beginning to rub their own eyes, wondering if they had been mistaken.

Behind the screen, corpses filled the land and blood flowed like rivers, just like what they had seen when they arrived before. The only strange thing about this was… there wasn’t a single heretic practitioner!

Forget about heretic practitioners, not a single villain-like figure could be seen. The place was filled with just Office Shell Sect disciples. They were actually… killing one another!

Furthermore, there were even occasional glows of self- destruction, and every single one of them had crazed looks on their faces, shouting something at the top of their lungs. Unfortunately, the Visual Recording Stone was unable to record sounds.

The person who was the most shocked was no doubt Sect Master Gu. He had turned numb from astonishment! “What is this? An internal conflict?” Someone expressed his doubts.

“Absolutely impossible!” Sect Master Gu quickly shook his head. “My sect has always been harmonious, how could an internal conflict possibly occur? Furthermore, look at these two over there. One of them is Elder Yu, and his opponent is his son who had just formed his Azoth Core…” It was indeed strange that an old man and his son was locked in a battle to the death.

Zhu Yao watched carefully. These people looked a little like…

She could not help but look at the sky within the displayed image, and her eyes sank. “What is that?”

Chapter320: Villains Should Not Talk So Much Crap

When Zhu Yao voiced out, everyone raised their heads and looked at top of the screen. In an instant, all of their faces changed.

Hidden amidst the clouds, the corner of a green cloth could be faintly seen, swaying with the wind. With a closer look it could be seen that it was the corner of a flag. What’s strange about it was that there wasn’t any trace of a person around it, though a green gas would occasionally emit out of the flag and seep into the surroundings.

“Sect Master Gu, hurry and rewind the Visual Recording Stone, so that we can find out when and how the flag is placed?” Everyone could see that the flag wasn’t normal, and someone reminded Sect Master Gu to replay the incident.

Sect Master Gu immediately circulated his spiritual energy. The Visual Recording Stone could only store three days of records at best, and presently, it had been three days since the incident. Even if he could rewind, it could only return to the point where the chaos and the slaughter among the disciples had just begun. It looked as if the flag had appeared there out of thin air. “Hurry and look at the surroundings!” Someone shouted. Everyone focused, and they could see tiny flashes of white light seeping into the flag. The sparks of white light were actually flown out of the bodies of the Office Shell Sect disciples.

“Could that possibly be… a Soul Beckoning Banner!?”

Everyone present held their breaths, their faces were filled with utter disbelief.

“That’s impossible!” A Nascent Soul elderly practitioner was the first to step out and refute. “Soul Beckoning Banners can only be used to beckon ghosts. These disciples of Office Shell Sect were still all alive and well. How can a Soul Beckoning Banner possibly beckon the souls of living humans?”

“But those sparks of white light are indeed parts of those disciples’ souls.” That person stood in front of the Visual Recording Stone. He pointed at the disciples who were fighting wildly and said. “Look at these disciples, everyone single one of them is in such a crazed state, completely devoid of logic and reason. If they had been struck with Heart Assimilating Arts, who could possibly control so many hearts at once? Clearly, their main souls were beckoned away, which resulted to such a situation. This flag isn’t a Soul Beckoning Banner at all, but a Soul Assimilating Banner used to assimilate the main souls of living humans.”

“Nonsense!” There were still people who were unwilling to believe such a thing. “Never have I heard of a Soul Assimilating Banner. How can a mystic arts or mystic artifact that can freely control a person’s soul possibly exist in this world? If such a mystic arts truly exist, wouldn’t that mean that everyone in the world can have their souls assimilated by the culprit?”

“Umm…” Zhu Yao raised her hand. “I don’t know if there’s a mystic artifact that can control souls, but if it’s mystic arts that can achieve soul control, I’ve seen it before!”

The crowd was startled for a moment, and then they immediately swept their eyes towards Zhu Yao.

She had no choice but to tell them about the Nascent Soul puppets that had attacked Ness Cesary Sect. Qu Ying and a few of the sect disciples present on that day had all seen it happened before their eyes as well, so when Zhu Yao brought it up, they suddenly came to realization and understood that arts to control those puppets’ souls had been used. For a moment, everyone was silent. The faces of the various Sect Masters especially were incredibly ugly. Such a terrifying heretic practitioner actually appeared in the world, and he was capable of controlling the souls of living beings easily. Then how could the deity sects possibly have any chance at victory?

“We must find this person with haste, otherwise the consequences will be immense.” The sects that were formerly in support of first building up their strength had instantly changed their minds.

“However… If that person were to return again, and use that mystic arts…” Some were still worried.

“This person developed the Soul Assimilating Banner, yet he does not dare to reveal himself. There must be some form of weakness in it. If we don’t locate him now, I’m afraid he will grow even more powerful while we become even more powerless as time goes by.”

“Right, we must find him immediately.”

In an instant, the situation where they were incessantly arguing over their own safety had disappeared, and they had finally become united. A few of the Sect Masters in-charge of large sects had already begun discussing about their course of action in finding the culprit. Even the Sovereigns were taking this matter seriously.

Zhu Yao instead took a step back and chuckled at Sovereign Wu Fu, who was standing at the side. “I wonder what brilliant idea does fellow Sovereign have to take this matter?”

Wu Fu who had just been thoroughly beaten earlier, was now looking at her with incredible irritation. He no longer acted courteous either as he coldly snorted. “I can’t accept such flattery, with how smart junior-martial sister Zhu is, it seemed like we have to rely on junior-martial sister to capture this heretic practitioner.”

“Of course! That should be how it is!” Zhu Yao shamelessly acknowledged his words, giving him a “you are absolutely right, I am very incredible” look.

Wu Fu’s face instantly turned green from irritation.

“Junior-martial sister Zhu, it was just a fit of anger on senior- martial brother Wu Fu’s part. Please don’t fuss with him.” Sovereign Wu Hua, who was behind her, took a step forward and came in as a mediator.

“Hoho… How can that be? As an adult, I have never fussed with a tiny person!” Zhu Yao especially emphasized on the phrase “tiny person”. As expected, Wu Fu’s expression turned darker. “Look, I even informed fellow Sovereign on the incantation to activate the bell. As someone with such a benevolent heart, how could I possibly be angry at him? Isn’t that right, Hua Lin?”

She intentionally brought in Old Man Hua from the side.

As a professional follower, Hua Lin immediately nodded like a shaking scallion, and then said with a stern look. “That’s right, that’s right. Fellow Daoist Yu is very kind.”

“…” Wu Hua’s face stiffened, before he let out a dry laugh. “That’s… That’s good… Hoho.”

While Wu Fu’s face had already begun to turn dark.

“Haah, I like to help others. If I don’t help one person a day, my body will itch all over.” Zhu Yao continued to  fan  the flames. “You guys should be aware of this. As someone who has incredible cultivation like me, I don’t have much going on usually, and since I don’t have much hobbies, I like to refine some tenth rank or ninth rank little toys, and then throw them all around the place. Didn’t I refine a large golden banner for you guys in the past?” She paused for a moment, as though she had just thought of something. She looked towards Wu Hua and said. “Oh right, Sovereign Wu Hua, I forgot to ask you. Do you still have that golden banner I gave you? Haah, back then, I was concealing my cultivation, so I didn’t tell you that it was a seventh rank mystic artifact. Sorry about that~”

Wu Hua was startled for a moment. Then, something seemed to have flashed past his mind as he spoke with a smile. “Sovereign, you’re too courteous! I’m already elated to have been bestowed with your mystic artifact.”

“Actually, I’m to blame for my lack of education during my youth. The word on that banner was written with such crookedness that it has affected the circulation of spiritual energy of the mystic artifact. Otherwise, it could have possibly become an eighth rank mystic artifact. Eh… What was the word I wrote back then? Sovereign Wu Hua, take it out for a moment. Why don’t I help you alter it a little right now?” “There’s no need for the hassle.” Wu Hua courteously said. “To tell you the truth, this lowly one has accidentally lost it.”

“Ah!?” Zhu Yao frowned. “How could it be lost? Where did you lose it?”

“This…”

“Is it in Peaceful Spiritual Forest?”

Wu Hua was startled, the smile on his face instantly stiffened.

Zhu Yao’s voice turned cold as she continued. “I suddenly remembered. The word ‘soul’ was written on it. The ‘soul’ of a Soul Beckoning Banner!”

When her words fell, his expression changed, while Hua Lin had already reacted in an instant. With all of his  spiritual energy at once, he struck out his palm.

Wu Hua dodged to the side and then flew up into the air. Hua Lin’s palm missed, and right after, an enormous crater appeared on the ground. Wu Hua who still had a harmonious smile earlier, instantly made a ruthless and cruel face as he summoned a spiritual sword.

“What are you two trying to do?” Wu Fu at the side instantly flared up as he furiously glared at Zhu Yao and Hua Lin who attacked earlier. Just as he was about to stop them, Zhu Yao stopped him with her glare.

“Idiot, do you still not get it? He’s the culprit behind refining the Soul Assimilating Banner, exterminating Office Shell Sect, and flattening Ness Cesary Sect!”

“What?” This time, it wasn’t just Wu Fu. Everyone present was looking at Wu Hua in the air with looks of utter disbelief.

Zhu Yao coldly snorted. “I have never given him a banner- shaped mystic artifact, but I had seen that golden Soul Beckoning Banner in Peaceful Spiritual Forest five years ago. If my guess is correct, a Soul Beckoning Banner is one of the materials needed to refine a Soul Assimilating Banner.”

Everyone present collectively held their breaths. “Impossible!” Wu Fu was still denying it with all his might. All of the Ness Cesary Soul disciples also had looks of disbelief on their faces. “He’s a Demigod Sovereign of Ness Cesary Sect in the first place, why is there a need for him to deal with his own sect?”

“Then what if he’s not Wu Hua?” Zhu  Yao  said,  with emphasis on every word.

Everyone present became even more shocked.

“You… What are you trying to say?” Wu Fu had a look of disbelief.

Zhu Yao solemnly said. “Soul takeover.”

Everyone was dumbfounded. Soul takeover… Taking over a Demigod Sovereign’s soul… How was that even possible?

“A bunch of lies. He’s a Demigod!” Wu Fu furiously reproved.

“He’s also  someone  who  can  refine  the  Soul  Assimilating Banner.” Zhu Yao reminded.

Everyone’s faces instantly turned pale. That’s right. Since he was capable of pulling out the souls of living people, taking over the soul of a Demigod Sovereign did not sound too far-fetched any longer. Then who was the person in the air?

“Hohohoho…” Wu Hua instantly laughed out loud sinisterly. However, strangely, it was actually a female voice. “I never thought that even after many years of planning, I still ended up getting discovered. That’s right, I’m not Wu Hua.  That  old snitch agreed to cooperate, but he quickly went back on his word right after and attempted to plot against me. I had no choice but to remove this snake in the grass. After thwarting his schemes, I used him to infiltrate Ness Cesary Sect…” She suddenly looked down and landed her eyes on Zhu Yao. “I believed that I have concealed myself really well for these five years. How did you see through my disguise?”

“Why should I tell you that?” Zhu Yao rolled her eyes at her. “We’re going to fight, right? Why do you villains always have so much crap to say?”

Zhu Yao immediately summoned a heavenly lightning bolt and struck it in his direction. Right from the very start, she had suspected that the culprit behind this chain of events was most likely within the various clans and sects present. Because from the beginning till the end, other than those few puppets, she did not see the shadow of even a single heretic practitioner. Furthermore, heretic practitioners had always moved on their own and did not have a single gathering site. Wanting to gather them together to strike down a deity sect was even harder than ascending to the heavens.

That was why she had thought that there might be a mole. In the beginning, she had suspected Wu Fu who had been harbouring ill will against her the entire time, until Wu Hua spoke up to rescue Wu Fu. Though the two of them had always belonged to Ness Cesary Sect, and were martial brothers of the same sect, they had always been on opposing sides. They were like kings who refused to acknowledge each other. If not for the occasions themselves, the two would rather stay away and die from old age than see each other. Even back then when she was at Skybond Peak, when the two of them were supervising her cultivation, they had never appeared together. Yet, Wu Hua spoke up for Wu Fu earlier, which was an incredibly strange event.

What made her certain was when her master suddenly spoke up. This person’s soul is unstable. What kind of person would have an unstable soul? Either when that person had parts of its soul missing, or when his or her soul had been taken over.

Furthermore, with the appearance of the Soul Assimilating Banner, she could not help but recall the time when she was in Peaceful Spiritual Forest. When the toad talked about the Soul Beckoning Banner it saw, it mentioned about seeing a soul takeover occuring. The toad said that a male practitioner had killed a female practitioner, and then that female practitioner took over the male practitioner’s soul. In the beginning, she had thought that the two of them had Nascent Soul cultivation. When she thought about it now, with a beastie’s personality, why would it have waited till the female practitioner had finished taking over the male practitioner’s soul if he had complete confidence in taking it, especially when it was something it liked?

The reason why it quietly watched the entire scene before taking action, was most likely because one of the pair was most likely a Demigod Sovereign. The toad did not have the confidence for absolute victory, and so decided to wait till he was taken over, before snatching its beloved golden banner away.

That male practitioner was most likely Sovereign Wu Hua, while the female practitioner was that heretic practitioner. Wu Hua probably wanted to work with the heretic practitioner in the beginning, and that Soul Beckoning Banner was most likely his creation as well. However, after a while, he must have regretted his actions and thus wanted to kill the female practitioner. Having his soul taken over was most likely something he never expected would happen.

Earlier, Zhu Yao had just casually mentioned the Soul Beckoning Banner to test her, but Zhu Yao never expected that she would really take the bait and thought that Zhu Yao was the one who refined the Soul Beckoning Banner which Wu Hua brought!

Presently, within Wu Hua’s body was the female practitioner who took over his soul. In the heart demon site which she along with little tyrant and Ye Qingcang were in, the strand of divine sense she saw back then belonged to a female practitioner as well!

She was the mastermind behind everything.

With Zhu Yao’s opening strike, everyone regained their senses and summoned their own mystic artifacts as they moved to surround ‘Wu Hua’. ‘Wu Hua’ dodged that heavenly lightning bolt. Glancing at the surrounding people, she coldly laughed. “With the likes of you people, trying to capture me is but a pipe dr-”

Before she could even finish, with a splat sound, she fell from the skies and slammed onto the ground.

Zhu Yao once again strengthened the pressure she was releasing and sighed. “I already told you that villains shouldn’t talk so much crap, right?” She was already surrounded, yet she still did not forget to throw down some trash talk. Are you here to act for a show?

Everyone present: “…” Such a ruthless Sovereign.

Zhu Yao instantly called upon a stream of lightning bolts and struck them down at her. The ground was instantly covered in clouds of dust.

“Damn it!” ‘Wu Hua’ flew out from the minefield. Her hair was dishevelled and even her clothes were ripped. She glared at Zhu Yao with gritted teeth. This time, she no longer started off with her trash talk. She immediately pulled out an item and threw it into the air. In an instant, a green banner shrouded over Zhu Yao’s head.

“Soul Assimilating Banner!” Someone recognized this was the banner within the Visual Recording Stone with a glance. “Sovereign, watch out!”

“It’s useless!” ‘Wu Hua’ smiled sinisterly. “No one is able to escape my Soul Assimilating Art. So what if you have a higher cultivation level than me? Become my puppet!” She hurriedly cast an art with her hands, and the green banner instantly released a pale green aura akin to ghostly flames, enveloping Zhu Yao.

“Daoist Yu!” Hua Lin’s face paled.

“Hahahaha…” ‘Wu Hua’ laughed even more maniacally, sparkles of excitement filled her eyes as she stared intently at Zhu Yao who was within the green light. She’s about to become my Demigod Sovereign. Very soon! Very soon…

A moment later.

Nothing happened… Zhu Yao stably stood within the green light. Forget about her soul leaving her body, not even a strand of hair was lost.

“That’s impossible!” ‘Wu Hua’ immediately cast the art again. However, no matter how she cast it, Zhu Yao was affected in the slightest.

Hua Lin and the rest of his little companions were dumbfounded, as they looked suspiciously at ‘Wu Hua’. You’re just here to play a prank, right? Where’s the promised puppet?

“Daoist Yu? How… are you feeling?”

“Mn, it’s a little chilly!” I’m sorry, I just  found  out  I’m immune to soul manipulating abilities too.

Everyone: …

Zhu Yao waved her hand and summoned two lightning bolts. One landed right on the Soul Assimilating Banner, while the other struck fellow student ‘Wu Hua’ who was already beginning to seriously suspect her own character setting. With a loud thunderous boom, she was immediately slammed onto the ground.