Chapter 434: Measuring Pillar (Thanks to the great Gai Gai's ups and downs)

"Then it is settled. I shall escort you all back first, and we depart at noon tomorrow."

Liu Qianyun led the crowd out of the Inner Sect, exited the Guest Reception Hall, and returned to the Qingyue Relief in the outside world.

She summoned that black treasure ship once more and sent everyone back to the General Nanyang Sect.

"Shen Zongzhu, please."

Liu Qianyun watched the few leave the treasure ship but did not depart immediately; instead, she smiled as she saw them off into the sect.

Seeing this, Li Qingfeng rubbed his chin again.

Truly Shen Zongzhu; just a stroll around Qingyue Sect was enough to make that aloof Meng Sect executive's attitude change completely from before.

"Executive, please return first; we will look around a bit more."

Shen Yi nodded slightly, waiting until Liu Qianyun bowed farewell and vanished into the clouds and mist.

Only then did he sigh, take out his Dao Token, place it upon the General Nanyang Relief, sit cross-legged, and begin pouring the breath of heaven and earth into it.

"..."

Tong Xinchuan and the other two were stunned for a moment, then exchanged a helpless glance.

The Sect Master really put on a good face.

It's just that us disciples are far too weak; even matters like opening and closing the gates require Shen Yi to do them personally.

About half an hour later.

A light curtain finally rose from the General Nanyang Relief.

Shen Yi, his face slightly pale, stood up and led the few back to the Thousand Demon Cave Main Hall... well, it should be the Inner Sect Main Hall.

Now that the old dog is dead, calling it the Thousand Demon Cave is no longer quite fitting.

Their sudden appearance did not stir Li Xuanqing; just as he was when Shen Yi left, he remained exactly the same, kneeling silently upon his return.

"We can't keep it like this."

Li Qingfeng lowered his voice: "His strength is so great; such decadence is a huge waste."

Previously, this wooden man claimed to be at the third or fourth layer, or perhaps the eighth or ninth; even taking a middle number, if he were at the Killed Fanxu sixth layer cultivation, within the Meng Sect he would count as an Outer Sect Elder.

Now the General Nanyang Sect is rebuilding from scratch.

If a powerhouse at the Outer Sect Elder level were to lend a hand, it would help Shen Yi greatly; even if he were just responsible for pouring breath into the Sect Protection Array, it would be far better than kneeling there in a daze.

"You go?"

Shen Yi glanced at Li Qingfeng.

Clearly, the disaster that befell the General Nanyang Sect was undoubtedly connected to this wooden man, yet the events of one hundred thousand years ago had nothing to do with them.

Untying his knot in the heart would not be an easy task.

"I'll try?"

Li Qingfeng swallowed, intending to use his silver tongue to reason with this wooden man senior properly.

Shen Yi did not stop him and stepped out of the main hall.

Rather than pinning hope on the ethereal wooden man, he trusted more in the improvement of his own strength.

Tong Xinchuan and Xu Qing'er both seemed to have gained some realization from today's events; after bidding farewell to Shen Yi, they departed.

"..."

The entire Inner Sect was like a dead zone.

Shen Yi could occasionally see some cultivator from Great Qian hurrying back and forth, gathering the harvest cleared from the cave dwellings and carrying it to the Main Hall for the Sect Master.

There were simply too few people; it would likely take quite some time to clear everything out completely.

However, the overall situation remained very stable.

Since the last battle, the demons and monsters within the Thousand Demon Cave were either dead or fled, leaving not a trace.

With Great Qian establishing martial academies to help cultivate talent across the land and selecting talented cultivators, they temporarily assumed the duties of the Outer Sect.

Qingyue Sect's willingness to assign executives to lecture there could also make up for the Inner Sect's deficiencies.

The framework of the sect was barely stabilized.

What was currently most lacking were powerful enough cultivators to intimidate external enemies and maintain such a situation.

Not counting Li Xuanqing, that wooden man.

Currently, the entire General Nanyang Sect had only two Killed Fanxu first-layer cultivators worth showing off; the true trump card was actually that old dog.

"Hah."

Shen Yi exhaled and returned to the Scripture Pavilion.

Stepping into this place once more.

He saw that on both sides of the staircase winding up to the sky, the arrays on the bookshelves were all opened, ancient texts were neatly arranged, and jade slips emitted a warm green light.

He slowly walked to the very top.

He saw that plain, unremarkable wooden door once again.

Even with the Dao Token in hand, he still could not open this door.

Shen Yi guessed that either the true Sect Master Token was required, or their current cultivation was simply not high enough.

"Forget it, let's find the Palace Ascension Method first."

It had to be said that aside from edible things, the General Nanyang Sect's other foundations were quite rich.

If one joined the Meng Sect.

To obtain the highest-grade Palace Ascension Method, one would inevitably have to work like an ox or a horse again.

But for Shen Yi now, he could simply take it at will.

He awakened the old dog and the Xuanming Spider Emperor within his brow; following their guidance, he quickly arrived at a bookshelf on the third floor.

He reached out, grasped that jade slip, and poured his soul into it.

【Remaining Lifespan of Demonic Beasts: Sixty-seven Thousand and Two Hundred Years】

【Return to Emptiness (Precious). Six-Pillar General Nanyang Ascension Method: Not Yet Entered】

Shen Yi did not directly pour in the lifespan; instead, he stood in place and pondered for a moment.

According to the description given earlier by Elder Liu.

It suddenly reminded him of something very familiar.

First visualize the form taking shape, then reshape it with precious materials.

If one replaces visualization with a demon soul, and precious materials with the flesh and blood of demonic beasts, and the effect is still to place it into the Dao Palace to make it more stable... isn't this a Stabilizing Stone?

If this guess is correct.

Then could he directly skip the visualization stage he is least skilled at, and forge a Dao Palace no weaker than those of other heavenly geniuses?

Shen Yi gathered his spirit and poured the demonic beasts' lifespan into the method.

【First Year, you open the Six-Pillar General Nanyang Ascension Method. You see that the preceding content is all explanations of the Dao Palace, without the expected complexity and obscurity. You are overjoyed, reading as if intoxicated】

In an instant, a vast amount of information flooded Shen Yi's mind.

He closed his eyes to digest it, and soon gained a more complete understanding of the so-called Dao Palace.

The Ascension Method is simply building a road to immortality.

The Dao Pillars within require visualizing completely different stabilizing objects based on the type of Dao Palace, but different paths lead to the same destination; broadly, they can be classified into four grades.

First grade is best, fourth grade is worst.

Those with excellent talent and comprehension naturally pursue high-grade Dao Pillars, but correspondingly, the higher the grade, the longer the visualization time required.

Even if visualization succeeds, the precious materials needed must be treasures of the corresponding grade.

And all this, for ordinary cultivators, is to increase the probability of successfully breaking through, but for true heavenly geniuses, breakthrough is inevitable; it is more to seek the gift of heaven and earth.

Above an ordinary Dao Palace, adding a wisp of misty spiritual energy, appearing as white fog, can be called a Spirit Palace.

If one obtains the breath of the Green Luan, it can even be called an Immortal Palace, and there is no fear of presumption; this is acknowledged by heaven and earth.

Above both, there is Hongmeng Purple Qi coming from the east, honored as the Heavenly Palace.

With the support of this gift from heaven and earth, whether in Dao arts or cultivation, one receives immense assistance; rumors even say it has luck protecting the body, connecting directly to heaven and earth, and can also attract the attention of the Heavenly Court.

To obtain a better gift.

The first ascension is the simplest; as one breaks through realms, heaven and earth will become increasingly stingy with gifts.

So within the General Nanyang Sect, one usually only needs to observe a Return to Emptiness cultivator's first ascension to deduce their potential.

Those with three layers of Spirit Palace can be taken as direct disciples.

【Thirty-Seventh Year, within the Six-Pillar General Nanyang Ascension Method, you learned a minor technique, allowing disciples to observe the grade of their Dao Pillars themselves】

【Pillar Measuring Ruler: Perfection】

Just as Shen Yi was pondering how to judge whether the Stabilizing Stone was indeed a Dao Pillar, he suddenly saw a prompt leap up.

A slight joy rose in his heart.

True to its reputation as a prestigious orthodox sect, the supporting tools are complete.

Continuing to pour in the demonic beasts' lifespan, Shen Yi moved his spirit, drawing a bit of the energy of heaven and earth into his brow, transforming it into a straight jade ruler.

Within the sea of consciousness, the Dao Palace, already solidified from Return to Emptiness, stood there.

Inside, there were exactly five statues of Stabilizing Stones.

Shen Yi moved the jade ruler towards them one by one, first to the fourth cave's Jin Chi Nine-Striped Tiger.

The jade ruler remained silent for an instant, then golden light surged out, occupying one-quarter of the entire jade ruler.

"..."

Shen Yi's mood was somewhat complex.

He was glad that his guess was correct; if the Stabilizing Stone could be measured by this ruler, it meant it could likely replace the Dao Pillar.

He was worried that the grade was a bit too low.

A great demonic beast that could rank in the top ten of the entire General Nanyang Sect was merely fourth grade.

He was not quite willing to give up, so he moved the ruler towards the other Stabilizing Stones.

Bai Hong: fourth grade.

Divine Wind... fourth grade.

Until the Red-Eyed Profound Phoenix, the golden light on the ruler finally rose a bit, barely occupying a little over thirty percent.

Even Shen Yi didn't notice that he had become somewhat nervous; finally seeing a third grade, he couldn't help but exhale: "Hoo."

He moved his divine soul last to the old dog.

Slowly, he moved the jade ruler towards it.

As a great demon of the fourth layer of the Return to Emptiness realm, it could be said to hold Shen Yi's greatest expectations.

The golden light appeared again.

"Tsk!"

Shen Yi helplessly withdrew his gaze; he saw that the jade ruler just barely exceeded the fourth-grade line, still nearly half a distance away from third grade.

It seems there is a relationship between a demon's cultivation and the Stabilizing Stone; otherwise, the old dog certainly could not have surpassed the likes of Divine Wind and others, but judging from the Profound Phoenix, the weight of bloodline is also not light.

"Take it slow; at least I can directly use the Six-Pillar Method, which already puts me far ahead of others."

If quality is insufficient, then make up for it with quantity.

That Elder Liu claimed his aptitude was mediocre, could only cultivate the Four-Pillar Method, and probably couldn't visualize any good Dao Pillars, yet he still broke through to the third layer of Return to Emptiness.

Shen Yi adjusted his mindset.

At least for now, he only needed to add one more Stabilizing Stone to attempt breaking through to the second layer of Return to Emptiness.

As time passed.

【Year 320, you have successfully mastered this technique】

【Killed Fanxu (Precious). Six-Pillar General Nanyang Ascending Palace Method: Perfection】

This was probably the easiest Precious method Shen Yi had ever cultivated—although mastery alone was sufficient, cultivating it to Perfection could still slightly reduce the chance of mishaps during breakthrough.

"I'll ask Steward Liu again tomorrow."

Shen Yi had nothing else to do, so he simply browsed through the Scripture Pavilion, hoping to find some useful techniques.

One look was no small matter—he saw three entire floors related to Killed Fanxu.

Nearly eighty percent or more of the techniques were related to Dao Palaces, similar to Dao Arts, yet each one was different.

Shen Yi suddenly understood why the jade slip from the Wuliang Dao Palace had included a reminder back then…no one cultivated this Dao Palace, so naturally no predecessors would create techniques for it.

Then looking at the Divine Sky True Thunder Sword Palace, just the variations of the Divine Sky True Thunder Sword Art alone numbered dozens of different applications, each application being an entirely new technique.

Looking at that empty bookshelf, he estimated that Nie Jun had carried off part of them.

"……"

Shen Yi wasn't exactly frustrated—after all, without the Wuliang Dao Palace, he would have died long ago in the Spirit Plant Garden.

He was just a little envious, that's all.

But it didn't matter—without techniques, the Dao Arts comprehended purely through demon bloodline weren't much worse than anyone else's.

"Let's look at something else."

Shen Yi sat back down, summoned the Old Dog and Xuanming—since there was a movement art like Dragon Leaping Heaven, there must surely be other similar things; it just required a slow search.

For cultivators, a single day passed in the blink of an eye.

Soon, the Dao token in Shen Yi's thumb ring trembled lightly.

Liu Qianyun had arrived half a shichen early to wait outside General Nanyang Sect, having observed full propriety.

Shen Yi didn't keep anyone waiting either—stepping out of the Scripture Pavilion, he employed Dragon Leaping Heaven to streak to the Main Hall, where he saw Li Qingfeng talking to a piece of wood.

His gaze was vacant, his voice hoarse.

Shen Yi raised a brow, looked at the wood before him, then glanced at Li Xuanqing inside the hall: "Did you pick the wrong person to talk to?"

"What's the difference…" Li Qingfeng swallowed with his raspy throat, then rose blankly: "Neither moves, and neither answers."

"……"

Shen Yi was silent for a moment—it seemed this personal disciple had still been somewhat polite to him.

He scooped up Li Qingfeng, opened the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation, and appeared outside the sect.

"Shen Zongzhu."

Liu Qianyun politely extended her hand to welcome the two aboard the treasure ship, yet did not depart directly.

Instead, she hesitated a moment before saying: "Before we set out, there is still one matter I need to discuss with you."

"Steward, please speak freely." Shen Yi stood upon the treasure ship, glancing sidelong at her.

"Then I'll be direct." Liu Qianyun smiled and said tactfully: "As you know, when General Nanyang Sect had its incident back then, although many years have passed, some troubles are best avoided if possible."

Saying this, she paused and looked at Shen Yi.

"……"

Shen Yi was quite clear-headed when facing such matters: "No matter, Steward may arrange things as you see fit."

Saying so, he took off that General Nanyang white robe and changed into a set of dark robes he commonly wore.

With the Undying True Body of the Heavenly Phoenix, he no longer needed to rely on a Dharma robe for constant protection—switching only when truly facing danger would not be too late.

What the other party meant to convey was nothing more than that General Nanyang Sect had offended people, invited trouble, and she worried that news of its return to the light would leak out and provoke unnecessary conflict.

Still, he was somewhat surprised.

From the sound of it, even after a hundred thousand years, that so-called enemy was still in Hongze, and still hadn't let the matter go?

Besides this, his own strength was probably also one of the reasons.

"It's good that Shen Zongzhu can be understanding."

Liu Qianyun grew increasingly satisfied with this young man.

Not only was his talent extremely high and his attainments in formations quite deep, he also knew when to advance and retreat—apart from his rather shallow breadth of experience, he had almost no flaws; if he were a disciple of Qingyue Sect, he would surely have a bright future ahead.

What she had mentioned earlier was not, in fact, a lie.

After all, the entirety of Hongze was under the control of the Aquatic Clan—should anything slip out, it would easily reach that person's ears.

But even Senior Li Xuanqing had survived until now, so perhaps that party might not necessarily keep General Nanyang Sect in their sights.

The main reason being…

Liu Qianyun truly could not bring herself to declare to the beings outside that Shen Yi was the Sect Master of General Nanyang Sect.

The Sect Masters of the Seven Sects of Yu Nanhong—were they not all Earth Immortals of the Dao Merging realm?

Suddenly a Sect Master at Killed Fanxu Layer One appearing out of nowhere would not only fail to make people revere Shen Yi, but would also drag the Seven Sects of Yu Nanhong into being treated as a laughingstock behind closed doors.

(End of Chapter)