Chapter 359: First Encounter with the Dao Court

Several days later, in the Southern Frontier.

Lü Yang transformed into a blade of light, racing swiftly—until, as he entered the Southern Frontier, he abruptly halted, retracted his sword-light, and stood amid the clouds, gazing far into the distance.

The next instant, a jade slip appeared in his hand.

The jade slip had been bestowed by True Person Dangmo; besides containing intelligence on the True Persons of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, it held another piece of information he valued immensely:

'Who would've thought—searching high and low for years, only to find it effortlessly!'

The Ten Thousand Poisons Sect in the Southern Frontier also had clues to 【Xin Metal】!

'Within the sect lies a Sacred Pool that gathers lunar essence, transforming it into 【Emperor's Dew】. If collected in a bottle and refined, it can yield 【Xin Metal】.'

Utterly unbelievable!

'The pool is named 【Worship the Moon】. The Ten Thousand Poisons Sect cultivated it for years with secret methods, finally succeeding over a decade ago—it is a premier fengshui treasure site!'

Upon reading this, Lü Yang's gaze suddenly brightened.

'This Ten Thousand Poisons Sect has already sealed its own death warrant!'

Such a fengshui treasure site may be inhabited only by the virtuous; throughout the world, as a Celestial Spirit, the very favorite of Heaven, he was unquestionably entitled to it!

Previously, he had given up hope of obtaining metal in sixty years, because Celestial Spirits require exceedingly long cultivation times—especially the final step, which demands only slow, patient refinement with virtually no shortcuts—but with a fengshui treasure site to augment it, cultivation efficiency would soar!

'Still, this must be planned carefully.'

After all, the Southern Frontier is vastly different from the Northern Frontier.

The Ten Thousand Poisons Sect is far smarter than the Divine Martial Gate; the Divine Martial Gate was tricked by the Yushu Jiange, believing its promises and foolishly establishing its sect in the Northern Frontier.

But the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect would never trust the Holy Sect.

Thus, besides the Holy Sect, the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect secretly secured another patron—and precisely because of this, its development far surpasses that of the Divine Martial Gate.

That other patron? The Dao Court!

'Boom—!'

As Lü Yang pondered, dark light surged from afar; the vast white clouds instantly turned into black clouds crushing the city, rolling down like a tidal wave.

At the heart of the dense black clouds loomed a towering military formation: tents bristling with spears and swords, countless soldiers and officers each fulfilling their roles, their qi interlinked, sealing heaven and locking earth—like a wall blocking Lü Yang's path to the Southern Frontier. A large banner fluttered within the formation, revealing two massive characters:

【Southern Pacifier】.

Beneath the banner, a dragon-horse stamped its hooves, upon which sat a dashing man, a long spear dragged behind him, leaving a trail of rolling flame.

He stood atop the clouds and roared with laughter: 'Which True Person of the Yushu Jiange dares appear before me?'

【Southern Pacifier King】 Wu Tai'an

The jade slip had already detailed the Dao Court's arrangements in the Southern Frontier; this 【Southern Pacifier King】 was no ordinary figure—he was a genuine bloodline descendant of Tian Wu.

In the Dao Court, bloodline carries real power.

Perhaps many Dao Court officials merely feign their realms, their strength slightly inferior to peers of the same level—but the imperial family is different.

Every generation of Dao Court royalty cultivates their own nature; official titles are mere adornments.

Take this 【Southern Pacifier King】: as a Dao Court prince, he is at the peak of Foundation Establishment—but even stripped of his title, he still possesses late Foundation Establishment cultivation!

'If anything, he's similar to Seeing Suo Huan of old.'

Still, Lü Yang felt little fear; after all, this was still the Jiangnan region—unless the Dao Court had gone mad, it could never assassinate him here.

'I am Minghe, dispatched by my master to the Southern Frontier.'

Lü Yang bowed from atop the clouds: 'Why does the 【Southern Pacifier King】 appear here? Are you colluding with the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect to block my way?'

'Truly a Yushu Jiange madman!'

The Southern Pacifier King inwardly cursed, yet his smile never faded: 'Young friend, you misunderstand—I am stationed here precisely to guard against the demonic sects of the Southern Frontier.'

—This was a lie.

In truth, the entire Dao Court understood this implicitly: whether the Southern Pacifier King held this post or secretly courted the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, his real target was the Yushu Jiange.

After all, everyone knew the Yushu Jiange's nature.

If they didn't guard against it, one day the Yushu Jiange might suddenly storm into Jiangdong, slaughter indiscriminately within Dao Court territory, and then claim they were saving all sentient beings!

As the two conversed,

Far on the horizon, atop a mountain peak, two cultivators gazed toward Lü Yang—their qi signatures unmistakably Foundation Establishment.

Their appearances were bizarre.

One, at first glance, had a handsome face—but when his lips parted, no red tongue or white teeth appeared; instead, a monstrous, ferocious gu worm writhed within.

Beside him, the other cultivator was even stranger: his face was smooth, devoid of eyes, nose, mouth, or any orifices—only a human-faced gu worm rested in his palm, fused with his flesh; whether speaking or channeling magic power, all sound and energy emerged from the gu worm in his palm.

Merely by this appearance, it was clear they were True Persons of the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect.

One named 【Hui Gu】, the other named 【Long Wu】.

'Is that man Yan Xiao?'

True Person Long Wu spoke first: 'Our mole in the Yushu Jiange reported that though he has only just established his Foundation, he is a sword cultivator with extraordinary power.'

'Do you think the Southern Pacifier King can stop him?'

True Person Hui Gu shook his head: 'The Dao Court won't antagonize the Yushu Jiange—unless our Holy Sect abandons the Southern Frontier, the Dao Court will never intervene.'

'Then what do we do?'

True Person Long Wu frowned: "The Worship the Moon Pool has finally gathered its essence; the refinement of the Ten Thousand Calamity Gu is at its final stage—we cannot abandon it."

Upon hearing this, the gu worm in True Person Hui Gu's hand let out a hiss, his tone turning ruthless: "If you hesitate when decisive action is needed, chaos follows. He's only just established his Foundation—join forces with me, capture him, don't kill him—just imprison him. Hold him for a year or two."

'Well said!'

True Person Long Wu nodded, smiling: 'We are both mid-Foundation Establishment. Dealing with a mere novice should pose no risk.'

Meanwhile, far off, the Southern Pacifier King had stepped aside, clearing the path.

'Young friend, if you're going to the Southern Frontier, I won't detain you—but the Southern Frontier is barren and treacherous, a demonic land. Beware.'

'Thank you, Your Highness, for your concern.'

Lu Yang bowed his hands and watched as the Southern Pacification Prince's military formation departed into the distance.

'This prince has ill intentions! He deliberately made a grand show of his presence, exposing my whereabouts and making it impossible for me to sneak in secretly.'

But it's not a problem.

After all, he never intended to sneak in from the start.

After all, he was now a late Foundation Establishment great sword cultivator; unless a True Person appeared, as long as he didn't encounter a Foundation Establishment peak, he had nothing to fear!

'Besides, it's just a projection—what's there to be afraid of?'

'Perfect chance to test my sword's edge!'

The next moment, Lu Yang summoned a sword light and marched boldly into the Southern Frontier; upon seeing this, the True Person Long Wu and the True Person Huigu instantly changed color.

'How bold!'

Originally, the two had assumed Lu Yang would slip into the Southern Frontier quietly, so they had resolved to follow covertly, lure him deeper, then strike in some remote place, conceal the heavenly patterns, and trap him—but they never expected Lu Yang to be so audacious, flying straight into the Southern Frontier with no regard for concealing his trail!

(End of Chapter)