Chapter 560: This Is This One's Dao Emperor Palace

"Hah—"

Compared to the Banshan Sect Master, a giant of the Dao-Integration realm, Yan Chongzhang was clearly far more shaken in his heart.

He stared fixedly at the horizon, his breathing becoming much heavier.

Before stepping out of the sect, Yan Chongzhang had been plotting in his mind how to argue cunningly to shift all blame onto that unknown force, thereby dismissing these living grandfathers from North Hong.

But at this moment, he was completely stunned, standing still in place.

From Situ Junrui's earlier words, it could be known that this group clearly knew Yang Yunheng was the Banshan Sect's Great Elder.

For an Xian Sect, the Great Elder is a figure second only to the Sect Master and the Dao Disciple.

Unless they intended to slaughter the entire sect and exterminate the clan, how could they have done things so decisively, not even leaving the Banshan Sect a single room for choice?

"Liangdaohuang Sect..."

Yan Chongzhang did not know if he was furious to the extreme, or if a bit of fear had arisen in his heart, or perhaps both.

His trembling fingers slowly clenched tight.

Although he had long known the Liangdaohuang Sect's famous reputation and formidable strength, Yan Chongzhang still did not expect...

These cultivators from North Hong did not treat the Banshan Sect as an Xian Sect at all, nor did they even treat this group of cultivators as human beings.

This huge psychological gap left his mind completely blank.

"Close the sect, activate the formation."

The Banshan Sect Master finally withdrew his gaze, looking toward his disciple, his voice surprisingly much more gentle.

Clearly, he also saw his disciple's panic.

However, this time, the Banshan Sect Master did not mean to blame Yan Chongzhang for being useless, because even he himself had opened his eyes wide.

Pan Boyang's arrogance and bullying, with thoughts of killing and looting at every turn, was not due to the sect's poor teaching.

It was the inherited conduct style of Hongze's righteous leader lineage.

"Are you planning to resist stubbornly?"

Situ Junrui took the old man in hemp clothes's expression into his eyes, casually threw Yang Yunheng aside, and stood up with a slight surprise.

He lifted his foot, stepped over this Great Elder, walked step by step to the entrance of the Dao Emperor Palace, curiously examined the Banshan Sect Master, and then laughed again: "What are you thinking?"

This laughter sounded extremely clean, without a single other meaning.

It was simply looking down on him.

"This one gives you two paths."

Situ Junrui held up two fingers and waved them: "Either reveal the true culprit, then obediently submit to execution."

"Or—"

He laughed and drew out his voice: "Carry your secrets and be killed by this one."

"Is there any difference?"

The Banshan Sect Master also laughed, but it was a bitter smile.

Actually, he was quite afraid that this Situ Sect Master would truly give him a path to life; after all, no matter how much he valued Shen Xiao, compared to the entire sect behind him, he would still fall into hesitation.

But if he bowed his head now, his towering image in front of his disciple would collapse beyond all collapse.

The Banshan Sect Master still carried some of the Jianghu spirit and cared greatly about face.

Hearing this, Situ Junrui pondered for a moment, somewhat uncertainly said: "The difference in the method of death?"

To be honest, he actually did not care about the life or death of the direct disciple of the Sect Master of the Ninth Branch Sect; what he came to uphold was the face of the entire Liangdaohuang Sect in Hongze.

So the momentum must be great.

Compared to killing an unknown small soldier, obviously cleansing a local power that was still a decent Xian Sect would have a better effect.

Moreover, it would allow them to reasonably and justifiably seize a precious land in West Hong, leaving the North Dragon Palace with nothing to say, and not making the immortals think the Liangdaohuang Sect wanted to stir up some trouble again.

Those old dragons in the North Palace were so afraid of the Liangdaohuang Sect's growing power that they wished to smear them before the immortals every single day.

Thinking of this, Situ Junrui withdrew his fingers: "Forget it, you should just shut up."

Before the words had fully fallen, the surroundings suddenly became calm and windless, the sound of waves ceased, even the clouds in the sky froze; between the blue sky and the green sea, the towering pillar supporting the heavens suddenly appeared lonely, possessing a desolate feeling of a single tree unable to support the sky.

"Hoo."

The Banshan Sect Master raised his palm and grabbed Yan Chongzhang's shoulder; before the disciple could react, he ruthlessly threw him back into the sect's formation.

Without a single wasted word, he simply quietly gave Yan Chongzhang a look.

With Yan Chongzhang's understanding of his master, he instantly grasped the other's meaning... but precisely because of this, a chilling coldness suddenly surged in his heart.

His master was reminding him to tell the Branch Sect Master not to come over again; if the Main Sect is gone, at least the Branch Sect must be preserved.

How keen is the perception of a giant of the Dao-Integration realm?

With just a slight move, one could detect the gap between the two.

That is to say, in his master's view, even adding a Branch Sect Master, still within the Banshan Sect gates, with the aid of the formation, there would still be not a shred of chance for victory.

The cultivators of North Hong have already become terrifying to such a degree!

The Banshan Sect Master withdrew his gaze; his hemp clothes had somehow turned into a short outfit, a plain knife appeared in his palm, and patterns resembling mountains surged on his arms; the whole person appeared filled with killing intent.

As the saying goes, if the top beam is crooked, the bottom beam will be crooked.

This habit of the Banshan Sect obviously has an inextricable connection with this Sect Master.

The old man gripped the plain knife, licked his dry lips, and looked at the sky with a reckless disregard.

Immediately following, he raised his blade, aiming at that magnificent map of rivers and mountains, pointing at the figure within the Dao Emperor Palace.

A mere commoner, holding a knife and questioning the heavens.

Under the support of the Zhenyue Fa, although his feet treaded on the void, he made people feel unshakable, his momentum majestic, like a mountain range standing tall!

"..."

Situ Junrui cast a look of great interest, after all, in North Hong, it was rare to see such an interesting cultivator, making one unable to hold back a laugh.

Thinking of this, he flicked his fingers slightly.

The entire Jiangshan painting suddenly glowed, and among the countless lifeforms within it, several figures quietly dissolved into streaks of light and vanished.

The next instant, several shadowy figures flickered into existence behind the old man.

They made no grand display—only launched a sudden, brutal kick, striking the Banshan Sect Master's knee crease and spine.

Under this utterly ordinary scene, the unshakable "mountain" simply collapsed as if it had never been solid.

The Banshan Sect Master staggered; his perfected Zhenyue Fa shattered instantly, and his body lurched forward uncontrollably, only to have his head seized and forcibly pressed down onto the sky by the shadowy figures.

"Roar—"

The slender old man unleashed a beastlike growl, channeling all the might of the Banshan Sacred Ground into his body, desperately trying to shake off the shadowy figures—but they merely trembled, then were slammed back down by an even vaster force.

This time, his head was pressed even lower, stripped of even the right to glance at Si Tu Junrui again.

The Dao methods of the Liangdaohuang Sect had reached a depth so profound that even this Xihong cultivator could not comprehend them.

In an instant, a pair of exquisite divine boots appeared in the Banshan Sect Master's line of sight.

The shadowy figures shattered his wrist bones; the murderous, menacing broadsword slipped from his grasp.

The owner of the divine boots bent slightly, picking up the sword in hand.

For a martial cultivator, there was little more humiliating than having one's weapon taken.

Yet the next instant, Si Tu Junrui lazily spun the blade, gently pressing its edge against the back of the Banshan Sect Master's neck: "Open the formation. Don't waste my time."

……

Within the Banshan Sacred Ground.

Yan Chongzhang crashed to the ground, scrambling up in panic and gazing outward.

In just a few breaths, the image of that slender figure kneeling and staggering filled his vision.

As the Banshan Sect's Daozi, Yan Chongzhang's emotions suddenly spiraled out of control.

Beneath his He Dao realm's exterior, he knew better than anyone how much his master valued face.

"..."

Yan Chongzhang closed his eyes and forcibly swallowed his sob.

When he opened them again, his eyes were bloodshot; he spun around and dashed into the sect, roaring: "All elders and disciples—escape through the back paths! Don't look back! Scatter! Run as far as you can!"

"If you survive, hide your names and identities. Wait until things calm down, then regroup at the branch sects!"

"Go now!"

With the full power of his realm, his hoarse, tearing shout echoed through every inner and outer courtyard of the Banshan Sect.

All cultivators within the Banshan Sect erupted into chaos.

They spilled wildly from their quarters, looking up to see their Daozi racing past in madness.

Who had ever seen their Daozi so frantic? Instantly, they understood the gravity—no one dared ask a single question; each activated their techniques and fled in all directions.

Yan Chongzhang stormed into the foot of the Nameless Mountain.

Without hesitation, he thrust both palms toward the thin, meditating figure: "Awaken!"

In the instant his palms neared Shen Yi's shoulders, Yan Chongzhang felt a sudden tremor in his heart—as if a ferocious beast had locked onto him, and he would be torn apart in the next breath.

Fortunately, Shen Yi opened his eyes, and Yan Chongzhang's panic subsided.

Yan Chongzhang's mind was in turmoil—he had no thought to wonder where the danger had come from—but when he met those pitch-black eyes, he still froze.

Within those eyes lay an unspeakable desolation, as if he had witnessed the sea dry and the rocks rot, seen every storm and cloud surge.

"Sorry—I interrupted your mountain contemplation."

Yan Chongzhang forced his trembling lips still; he refused to blame the man before him, yet no matter how he twisted it, the Banshan Sect's downfall—beyond his own greed—could not be separated from this man's presence.

"Go. There's no time left… Take this mountain with you."

The Daozi turned his gaze away, waving his sleeve listlessly.

"..."

Shen Yi closed his eyes slightly, adjusting his breath.

Without trial aid, relying solely on insight, he had sat atop that peak, staring at the unchanging sky and the eternal stone tablet within the clouds, for hundreds of thousands of years—until he obtained the method within the tablet.

Then, with Long Yuetian's aid, he began practicing this method.

This eldest scion of the Yue family was an exceptionally reliable instructor; his efforts to master the Dao of cultivators while possessing a demon body were beyond imagination.

Perhaps not even in Yu Nanhong or Xihong could a second being be found who understood cultivator techniques so thoroughly.

Precisely because of this, the deduction progressed smoothly—leaving Shen Yi not even a moment to catch his breath.

"Huh."

Shen Yi exhaled, his lips twitching faintly as he suppressed the surge of savagery.

He truly needed to vent right now.

Boom—

At that moment, the entire Banshan Sacred Ground shuddered violently!

Yan Chongzhang spun around, teeth nearly grinding to dust—it was the sign of the formation being attacked, and from the magnitude of the reaction, the sect's protective array could not hold much longer.

Precisely because he turned, he failed to notice that the savagery Shen Yi had barely suppressed surged back into his pitch-black eyes.

"Forget the mountain! Go now!"

Yan Chongzhang roared again—but before he could finish, he saw the ink-robed figure walk past him, heading toward the sect's outer gates.

Only that voice remained—calm, yet chilling to the bone.

"Open the gate."

……

Outside the Banshan Sect.

Under the encirclement of the Jiangshan Map, heaven and earth remained frozen; beneath his feet, Venerable Bihai did not even dare to ripple, like a translucent jade.

The only one moving was the man standing before the Banshan Sect Master.

Si Tu Junrui yawned, lightly tapping the old man's face with the blade's flat, complaining: "This is why I hate leaving Beihong—I truly despise dealing with you barbarians."

"You know perfectly well how this will end, yet you still waste my precious lifespan."

"…"

The Banshan Sect Master had exhausted every technique he'd ever learned, yet only increased the number of his spectral shadows until they piled into a small mountain.

Like this Sect Master, the colossal pillar supporting heaven was likewise shrouded in dense, overlapping spectral shadows.

The living beings within the Jiangshan Map surged forth, each like a dragon, bearing terrifying might as they slammed violently into that towering mountain!

On the mountain's surface, the golden light flickering between the palm prints grew ever weaker, until it became nearly imperceptible.

"See? Was I wrong?"

Si Tu Junrui forcibly pressed the old man's face toward the mountain, forcing him to see clearly how easily this mountain was shattered by him.

"Huh—"

The Banshan Sect Master stared with dead eyes at the palm print.

Just as Si Tu did not understand the cultivators of Xihong, he did not understand why these Beihong cultivators always made things so filthy and base.

Why can't settling a life-or-death matter be done cleanly and directly?

Living in the realm of immortals, why can't you learn even a shred of immortal grace?

At that moment, the old man's pupils contracted slightly.

He realized the sect's protective formation had been opened… opened from within by someone!

"Yan Chongzhang!"

The Banshan Sect Master finally roared out loud.

Si Tu Junrui's face also showed a touch of interest.

With the sect's protective formation gone, the pile of spectral shadows instantly tore a gash through the mountain, faintly revealing part of the true face of its inner realm.

For cultivators, a realm of Dao union is like a delicacy of succulent meat.

At this moment, the Banshan realm lay exposed before all eyes.

And standing before this delicacy were only two figures.

"Master…"

Yan Chongzhang gasped heavily; apart from Shen's request, he had opened the formation himself because he truly wished to apologize once more to his master—the man who had spent his entire life in cultivation, only to be ruined by his own disciple.

Even if this apology cost him his life.

"Yan Chongzhang, you fool!"

The Banshan Sect Master finally, for the first time, attempted to lower his head; his silver-white hair now carried a heavy aura of approaching death.

Yet Si Tu Junrui's attention was not on these master and disciple.

He had discovered something far more interesting.

Even now, while he had crushed the Banshan Sect Master, there was still one man daring to look directly at him.

A slender figure cloaked in ink-black robes, Shen Yi's eyes revealed no emotion.

But Si Tu Junrui clearly felt the surge of murderous intent—already, the moment Shen Yi raised his gaze, it had fully enveloped him.

"Interesting."

He smiled and shook his head, about to say more, when he suddenly raised an eyebrow.

Because Shen Yi stepped forward, stepping out of the Banshan realm.

At that moment, his robe sleeve fluttered slightly.

Such a tiny change was strangely unnatural.

For before he had even struck the Banshan Sect Master, Si Tu Junrui had already used the Jiangshan Map to freeze the surrounding heavens and earth—no wind, no waves, all things still—so how could his sleeve flutter?

As his spirit shifted, everyone sensed the change.

The sound of waves returned; white clouds surged across the sky; in the instant the youth stood suspended between heaven and earth, all returned to normal.

"Your realm… seems a bit off."

Si Tu Junrui's smile vanished; his eyes filled with confusion, yet the other seemed unwilling to respond.

Under his gaze, Shen Yi lowered his hand slightly, and a black blade etched with golden patterns appeared in his palm.

He slung the blade diagonally, then took a step forward.

Amidst the howling of countless spectral shadows, the youth's steps were not fast, but utterly steady.

"…"

Under Si Tu Junrui's cold, malevolent gaze, the spectral shadows all moved in unison, rushing to Shen Yi's back and kicking viciously!

Simultaneously, a subtle Yin-Yang Pendant at Shen Yi's waist suddenly erupted with black-and-white mist; an invisible ripple spread rapidly, dissolving the spectral shadows.

The ripple passed through the sky, swept over the mountain.

In a breath, everything around became far quieter, far cleaner.

The Banshan Sect Master suddenly realized he could move again—but his ears rang, as if he had just heard a dominant tiger's roar, leaving him momentarily deaf.

Yan Chongzhang turned back to the colossal pillar and saw that all the dense spectral shadows upon it had vanished without trace.

The Dao Huang Sect cultivators guarding the surroundings sensed something wrong and hurriedly looked toward their Sect Master.

Yet they saw Si Tu Junrui still standing in place, coldly staring at the youth approaching him.

"Sect Master?" a Dao Huang Sect cultivator instinctively asked.

This scene clearly meant the Sect Master's Dao technique had been shattered.

"Shut up. Just watch quietly."

Situ Junrui slowly ground his teeth; the current situation was utterly opposite to before. Heaven and earth could move, all things could move, yet he alone could not.

This feeling of being targeted certainly could not be due to some karmic retribution, nor because heaven and earth held him in enmity.

He focused intently on the young man before him and finally understood where that slight unease in his heart originated.

The moment the other party stepped out of Banshan Sect, he had already transformed into the blue sky of this place; thus, Situ Junrui had lost control over his surroundings.

As his thoughts drifted.

Shen Yi had already walked to Situ Junrui's front. He slowly raised the black blade with golden patterns in his hand, not to question heaven, but only to kill.

Black-gold light flowed across the blade's surface, sweeping out horizontally like ink being brushed.

Pfft—

A huge head flew up, adding a touch of crimson to that thick black-gold ink.

"..."

The cultivators of Liangdaohuang Sect hung frozen in mid-air, while the master and disciple of Banshan Sect also looked up in astonishment.

They stared at that head leaping high, and their thoughts suddenly became chaotic.

Silence... just sitting silently watching him be beheaded?

Yet right at this moment.

A sinister smile appeared on Situ Junrui's blood-stained lips.

He had been too careless before; having left the Jiangshan Map, he was thus imprisoned in place by this brat's bizarre methods and overwhelming realm. He needed to think of a way to escape; these Xihong cultivators knew nothing of such profound Dao arts.

His head suddenly darted toward the Daohuang Palace.

In the next instant, Situ Junrui's expression changed again.

For a Bai Xi, slender palm had appeared atop his head.

Shen Yi seemed to have expected this; at the same time as the beheading, he had already reached out his hand.

Holding the blade in one hand and gripping the severed head with the other, his expression indifferent, he met the eyes of Situ Junrui, which were filled with shock and uncertainty.

The Yin-Yang Pendant at his waist once again erupted with intense radiance, swallowing the entire head!

"Ahhh!!!"

A piercing shriek rang out within the black-and-white light. Immediately after, the Jiangshan Map in the sky seemed to transform into a long dragon, coiling and surging forward to envelop both of them.

"..."

Shen Yi turned his gaze to the surroundings and discovered that the former blue sky and Bihai had suddenly become a magnificent, colossal palace.

Suddenly, a chanting sound like a great bell and bronze drum rang in his ears. It seemed as if tens of thousands of people were praying devoutly; gathering together, they had formed immense vow power.

After all, having previously fought Pan Boyang, he knew Liangdaohuang Sect possessed such life-saving methods. As the Shen Zongzhu, it was only reasonable that this person's similar methods were even more profound.

Yet when he felt the head in his hand suddenly shrivel, Shen Yi still furrowed his brows slightly.

Clearly, both this severed head and the body beneath were merely shells; the divine soul hidden within had already slipped away.

In the next instant, amidst those chanting sounds.

Upon the meditation cushion in the great hall, a blurry figure slowly reformed. His face bore no distinguishable features; only from his piercing voice could one sense the resentment in his heart. He suddenly thrust out his fingertip to point, roaring, "Having entered this Seat's Daohuang Palace, you are finished!"

Situ Junrui did not like wasting time cultivating the immortal arts that others eagerly sought.

Only by perfecting the Dao arts and evolving them into true supernatural powers could he step into the Heaven realm.

What is "a thousand years in an instant"?

This is his Dao art, used to educate the living beings within the Jiangshan Map... and it is far more than a thousand years.

As long as he wished, he could even let this young man waste ten thousand years, or even a hundred thousand years, amidst the admonishments! Torturing his mind, driving him into madness!

"Enter for this Seat!"

Situ Junrui suddenly stood up, covering Shen Yi's body entirely with his palm.

At the same time, the surrounding chanting sounds roared, like thunder piercing the ears, unceasing and continuous!

"Heh... heh!"

Situ Junrui stared fixedly at the young man's handsome face and soon caught a trace of irritation upon it. Joy finally surged in his heart; within his own Daohuang Palace, wanting to play the other to death was as easy as turning over one's hand!

However, before joy could last for three breaths, he was once again frozen in place.

For from the moment that irritation appeared, there was no further change; it seemed that whether ten thousand years or a hundred thousand years, they could only cause the other's emotions to fluctuate to this extent.

"..."

Shen Yi slowly opened his eyes; the desolation within them had not increased much.

He resumed his steps, walking toward the meditation cushion.

"You, you!"

Facing this incomprehensible scene.

Situ Junrui instinctively stepped back several paces, then accidentally fell to the ground. How could anyone ignore his Dao art? Even a true Heaven realm cultivator, once struck by a technique, could absolutely not remain so calm.

"Do not come closer!"

Amidst that shrieking, Shen Yi arrived before the Weifen Sect Shen Zongzhu for the second time.

He bent slightly, reaching out to grasp the blurry phantom's neck: "Too noisy."

"..."

Situ Junrui was suddenly lifted up, then his entire body slammed violently against a great pillar within the hall.

Shen Yi glanced at the meditation cushion beneath his feet, found it somewhat uncomfortable, and casually waved his sleeve.

The meditation cushion instantly manifested into a treasure throne.

Shen Yi lifted his robe hem, leaned back against it, propped his chin with one hand, raised his gaze slightly, and said: "I said, too noisy."

In an instant, a scarlet red rapidly swept out from between the throne, overflowing the hall and dyeing the entire golden, brilliant Jiangshan Map a vivid crimson.

Within the towering palace, nine ferocious figures vaguely appeared.

The flood dragon raised its head; the mountain lord strode forward.

The raging roar exploded like a thunderclap; beneath this terrifying sound of a ferocious beast, the unceasing chanting was suddenly suppressed until Tianyan Siji.

"Hachi! Hachi!"

Situ Junrui seemed to have seen something that would shatter his spirit; he stared fixedly at the youth on the throne, and immediately, a flood dragon fiercely coiled him around the great pillar.

"This seat's... This seat's Dao Emperor Palace..."

At some unknown moment, the original gilded hall had transformed into a scene of surging demonic energy, unspeakably fierce, as if built from piled white bones.

Shen Yi glanced over casually and said indifferently, "It is my Dao Emperor Palace."

Behind him, the remaining eight great demons slowly revealed their ferocious countenances, causing Si Tu Junrui to nearly faint.

(End of this chapter)