Chapter 429: Breakthrough to Return to Emptiness, the Old Dog Stabilizes the Stone

Shen Yi walked out of the great hall and mobilized the breath of heaven and earth.

The crimson sky reappeared, coalescing into the Boundless Demon Emperor Palace.

He looked at the whisk in his hand; though he did not know its grade and the wooden man was unwilling to say more, the old dog had scoured nearly all the palace-stabilizing treasures of the General Nanyang Sect, yet now only this one remained, indicating the others had all been destroyed by it.

This object, however, managed to survive until now.

As a direct disciple who would inherit the General Nanyang treasures in the future, the palace-stabilizing treasure Li Xuanqing personally sought was likely a first-class treasure as well.

Shen Yi spread his palm and slowly closed his eyes.

In the next moment, the whisk in his hand shot straight into the air, transforming into a streak of light that fell into the hand of the figure on the palace cushion.

Against the backdrop of the towering sea of blood, a bit of bloodlight also appeared on the whisk.

The nine demons gradually turned from void to solid; amidst their originally purely fearsome appearance, a touch of vitality also emerged, as if they were about to come fully alive, whereas the several Palace-Stabilizing Stones showed little change.

With a slight movement of Shen Yi's mind, the entire Boundless Demon Emperor Palace instantly surged toward his brow and fell into his sea of consciousness.

The sea of blood, over five hundred zhang in size and formed from the breath of heaven and earth, from this moment on entirely became Shen Yi's foundation.

It bolstered his spiritual body, with the breath within slowly flowing into the five viscera of his Dao Infant.

【Remaining Lifespan: Thirty-five thousand nine hundred and seventy-three years】

Apart from the growth in strength, what impressed Shen Yi the most was actually the increase in his own lifespan.

With a separate heaven and earth to sustain him, his lifespan skyrocketed by thirty thousand years.

If no accidents occurred, this could be considered true immortality.

"..."

Li Xuanqing slightly opened his eyes and glanced toward the outside of the hall.

When they first met, the other party was merely in the late Soul Transformation realm, yet he broke through to the perfect realm right before his eyes.

That is to say, the other party had already completely formed his Dao Palace while still in the late Soul Transformation realm.

Besides proving that the General Nanyang Sect's lineage was truly severed, causing cultivators' paths to deviate, it also highlighted this young "Shen Zongzhu"'s talent and comprehension even more.

However, this Dao Palace... why did it look a bit like the Boundless Dao Emperor Palace?

If he recalled correctly, when he brought this technique back, he had specifically left a note warning sect disciples not to cultivate it, but only to increase their knowledge.

Never mind; it might just be a superficial resemblance.

After all, the Liangdaohuang Sect was where everyone was like a dragon; when they traveled, righteousness filled the clouds and sky, so where would such a fearsome aura come from?

Li Xuanqing slightly cupped his hands, counting as going through the motions of congratulating the Shen Zongzhu on breaking through a realm.

Although it was only breaking through to the first layer of Return to Emptiness.

As for truly treating this group as General Nanyang Sect fellow disciples... they not only had nothing to do with the former General Nanyang disciples, but their cultivation was also far too lacking.

Perhaps a trip to the Qingyue Sect would make these young people realize reality a bit.

Li Xuanqing had long stopped thinking about rebuilding the General Nanyang Sect; he only wanted to return home to see the Ancestor one more time, stay in this native land, and quietly wait for his remnant soul to scatter.

At the same time, outside the great hall.

Under the nourishment of the Dao Palace, Shen Yi's divine soul was gradually growing stronger, and his sea of consciousness was forcibly expanded even wider.

Such tangible and visible growth always made one utterly immersed.

Until he had digested the last bit of his gains, Shen Yi finally opened his eyes and darted forward.

He also opened the panel.

He hesitated a bit.

To be honest, he actually did not want to reshape that black-backed yellow dog into a Palace-Stabilizing Stone.

The other party was obviously a demon monster piled up purely by medicinal power, and its talent was probably not much better than his own; if it were a slightly more normal one, after devouring the General Nanyang Sect's savings, it wouldn't have reached the Dao Integration realm, but at the very least it would have been some kind of Bai Yujing.

But now it seemed that the General Nanyang Sect had not left Shen Yi with much.

His life was at least secure.

After all, if trouble arose, hiding inside the General Nanyang Sect meant that no one, except a Dao Integration cultivator, could do anything to him.

Even if he truly provoked a Dao Integration cultivator, since the Seven Sons of General Nanyang Hong were said to share life and death, the other Shen Zongzhu surely wouldn't just stand by and watch someone attack their door and forcibly dismantle this treasure land.

But having finally opened the great array, with treasures outside that were once unimaginable, he had absolutely no qualification to go out and explore.

He couldn't hide forever.

That wooden man clearly did not treat them as one of their own; apart from Li Xuanqing, the greatest force Shen Yi could find now was that dog.

Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated.

【Remaining Demon Lifespan: One hundred and ninety-three thousand years】

With the support of various precious medicines and Age Fruits, an ordinary spiritual dog's lifespan actually far exceeded that of the Crimson-Eyed Black Phoenix, providing Shen Yi with a full forty-five thousand years of demon lifespan.

He erected a Palace-Stabilizing Stone and sucked all the flesh and blood of the black-backed old dog into it.

Then he began to reshape the demon soul using the demon's primordial source.

Setting aside other things, this old dog did share something in common with the Crimson-Eyed Black Phoenix; although it had lived a long life of nearly one hundred thousand years, most of that time was spent in sleep.

After the seventh source was poured in, it was completely formed.

Shen Yi placed the old dog into the demon Palace-Stabilizing Stone, watching the light on it slowly spread out.

Just then, he saw a ball of light inside the statue's belly; the old dog's eyes had not opened, and the entire statue presented a feeling of waiting hungrily for food.

"..."

Shen Yi fell silent for an instant, then suddenly understood something.

He tried pouring the demon lifespan into this Palace-Stabilizing Stone; as the lifespan rapidly decreased, the light ball in the dog's belly also gradually spread out.

Another forty-five thousand years passed, exactly making up the old dog's lifespan limit.

When it opened its eyes, a powerful aura instantly swept out.

"Laifu pays homage to my Lord!"

Zhang Laifu leaped out from Shen Yi's brow, squatted beside his feet, and rubbed his head against the hem of his robe.

Even after reshaping their demon souls, demons still carry the memories of their past lives.

Its posture made it clear that it was genuinely grateful from the bottom of its heart.

"What realm are you at now?"

Shen Yi only wanted to know what he had gained in exchange for those one hundred and twenty-five thousand years of demon lifespan.

【Remaining Demon Lifespan: Sixty-eight thousand years】

"Just a little more, and you'll be comparable to a cultivator at the fifth layer of Void Return." Zhang Laifu lowered his head, slightly ashamed.

"..."

Shen Yi silently glanced at the old dog, feeling a strange sense of shared misfortune.

Over a hundred thousand years, plus so many precious herbs, yet you've only cultivated to this level—truly miserable.

If those precious herbs had been swallowed by the Crimson-Eyed Profound Phoenix, combined with so much lifespan, it would have long ago reached the level of Dao Integration.

"Come back."

Shen Yi hadn't had many high expectations to begin with; now that the old dog's cultivation had risen somewhat, he had gained an extra trump card.

He drew Zhang Laifu back into his brow.

He took out a communication jade slip and sent a message to everyone: "I plan to visit the Qingyue Sect to take a look. Are you interested?"

Shen Yi still possessed some self-awareness.

Given his own insight and knowledge, he probably wouldn't be able to discern anything truly valuable even if he went.

Soon, responses from everyone arrived through the jade slip.

Jiang Qiulan needed to focus on breaking through to Soul Transformation; the others were much the same, having found what they needed and requiring time to digest it.

Instead, Tong Xinchuan had questions regarding array formations and sought Shen Zongzhu for guidance, heading straight over.

As for those who truly wished to visit the Qingyue Sect, only Xu Xu Qinger and Li Qingfeng, whose curiosity was nearly overflowing, remained.

"That should be enough."

Shen Yi withdrew his gaze; Xu Xu Qinger loved recording new things, and Li Qingfeng was best at dealing with others. Aside from their lower realms, they were actually quite useful talents.

He waited in place for a while until the three of them had gathered.

Only then did Shen Yi take out his Dao Token and open a light screen before his eyes.

Tsk, now that I've broken through to Void Return, it's time to reorganize the sect's great formation. Otherwise, if someone enters, they'll arrive directly at the main hall where the Ancestral Master statues are placed. That would be no different from a guest visiting and being dragged straight into the bedroom.

(End of this chapter)