Chapter 573: Minor Accomplishment of Immortal Law, Entering the Waters of Nanyang

The mountain wind blew bleak and thin, dispersing the smell of fish.

Li Qingfeng's somewhat arrogant reply reached not only the ears of the many demon clans of Long Gong, but also echoed in the ears of the cultivators of the Nanhong Seven Sons.

Both sides fell into a daze at the same time.

The two men of the Ke family, holding the imperial edict in their hands, stared fixedly at the young, tender little cultivator below, and suddenly felt that they had gone in an instant from being incomparably noble dragon sons and grandsons to truly becoming a little servant who had come to invite honored guests to a banquet… the kind that had already suffered a show of force.

This Nanyang Sect—does it really think that the likes of us are truly here to invite him to a drink?

Putting on the airs of an Immortal Sect in front of South Long Gong?!

"You little cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage, what qualifications do you have to stand before this King…"

Fifth Prince of the Ke family let out a low roar, and behind him the many fierce great demons all bared their fangs in unison, their massive forms rolling amid the clouds, as if evil spirits filled the sky, their demonic aura surging like waves.

"If it weren't that torn rag in your hand that came today, but he himself came to invite you, perhaps you could have seen someone of higher cultivation."

Li Qingfeng raised an eyebrow. Facing this rampant aura, he cleanly and decisively cut off the other's words, then under the gaze of all the demons, strolled unhurriedly into the formation, leaving behind only one final, impatient word of dismissal.

"As for now—get lost."

The many water demons still wore fierce, savage expressions, but the gradually faint roars made them look somewhat comical.

Such a grand display, yet it couldn't even frighten a single Soul Transformation little cultivator, and in the end they were pointed at and cursed. But every demon knew clearly in their heart that even though a single finger could poke that little cultivator to death, today absolutely none of them would dare make a move.

This was the Nanhong Seven Sons. If they truly tore off all pretense, even without those Sect Masters showing themselves, just a few Dao Sons alone could bury them all here.

These people… how dare they ignore the Crown Prince's edict!

And even disdainfully call it a torn rag.

Fifth Prince of the Ke family was so angry his hands trembled. As the lord of Nanhong, when had Long Gong ever suffered such grievance?

He suddenly turned his head to look at the other cultivators and hissed, "Is this the way your Nanhong Seven Sons treat guests?!"

Faced with this interrogation.

The many cultivators of the Seven Sons instead had gradually strange expressions creep onto their faces.

The previous pent-up grievances now seemed to have all transferred onto the faces of these water demons, giving quite the feeling of the Nanhong Seven Sects bullying others with their power.

Although it seemed somewhat overbearing, this feeling was really—damn it—smooth and unobstructed to one's Dao heart!

"Hoo."

The cultivators exchanged silent glances and departed.

Today's situation seemed to be the first time a Meng Sect had taken a stance on matters concerning Long Gong.

Only no one had expected that the Meng Sect to step forward would be Nanyang Sect—a place that had been silent for many years and only recently gained a little presence.

Whether that Shen Zongzhu was unwilling to show himself, or truly had matters to attend to, at least one thing was clear: the attitude Nanyang Sect was displaying right now had absolutely nothing to do with those two words "peace talks."

Such a tough stance had truly not appeared among the Nanhong Seven Sons for a very long time.

They were always enduring, always putting the greater good first, engraving "if one cannot endure small things, one ruins great plans" upon their hearts.

Yet they could never follow their true hearts and openly, generously curse "Get lost!"

Until Li Qingfeng's dashing turn just now—this little cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage—used his actions to let the many cultivators see that these two words weren't actually that hard to say, and after saying them, these Long Gong people could only swallow their grievances and voice their interrogation, nothing more.

Rustle, rustle—

Facing Fifth Prince of the Ke family's interrogation, suddenly a figure darted up from the crowd, followed by a second, a third…

One after another, Dao Sons hung suspended in the air.

Su Hongxiu looked down. Under Fifth Prince of the Ke family's furious gaze, she glanced at the torn rag in his hand and said flatly: "What else? Do you want to die?"

Although the other Dao Sons said nothing, they had already proven their stance with their actions.

A Sect Master had already taken a stance, so according to the rules of the Nanhong Seven Sons, this matter was already considered settled.

"Good! Very good!"

In his fury, Fifth Prince of the Ke family unconsciously exerted force in his palm, crumpling the edict. When he realized it, he hurriedly smoothed it back out—this was the only protective talisman that gave him the courage to come provoke the Nanhong Seven Sons.

"Anyway, the banquet is already prepared. Since Sect Master Nanyang says he has matters to attend to, pfft, we won't force the issue. He'd best truly have matters. If in the end he doesn't wish to attend the banquet, remember to send word to inform our South Long Gong, and don't waste everyone's time."

"Farewell!"

Throwing down these snide words, Fifth Prince of the Ke family swept his gaze over the many Dao Sons. Under those pairs of indifferent eyes, he suddenly felt a chill run down his back. He hastily cupped his fists in salute, then without a moment's pause led his demon soldiers riding clouds to flee toward the waters.

Until the fishy smell in the air completely dispersed.

The many cultivators reluctantly pulled their gazes away from that Nanyang Bai Yu Platform. Since even a Soul Transformation cultivator could do it, perhaps they too could strut about in front of Long Gong—what a pity, what a pity!

Although they had put on plenty of a show, this matter was still far from over. In the end, they'd still have to see the real outcome down the line.

It was just unknown whether that Shen Zongzhu would actually go to the banquet.

"……"

The few Dao Sons, however, exchanged glances with one another.

When the Sect Masters had been deliberating earlier, they had all been present, and they knew clearly in their hearts what the result of that day's discussion had been.

To speak plainly, the matter of Long Gong's banquet invitation wasn't a big deal.

It was nothing more than two dead dragon grandsons, along with a great pile of demon generals and Long Gong clansmen. For anyone else, of course, it would be a great calamity befalling them, but Shen Yi was now the proper Sect Master of Nanyang Sect.

With his status, he could find any excuse to brush this matter off.

However, Li Qingfeng was one of those who had followed Shen Zongzhu out of the treasure land back then. His attitude was most likely Shen Zongzhu's own meaning.

Such a tough stance didn't look like brushing things off at all.

They didn't know what the other Sect Masters thought either.

"This… doesn't he need to discuss it with us?"

Beneath a towering great tree, Lingyun Sect Master stammered as he looked at his fellow senior brothers, finding that everyone's expressions varied, yet no one raised any objection, as if by silent assent. He couldn't help but feel somewhat puzzled.

"Nanyang is the head of the Seven Sects. When Qin Shixiong made decisions in the past, did he ever discuss them with you?"

Before anyone else could speak, Ye Jiu instead glanced sideways over, then cast his gaze toward the chair beneath the great tree.

"How can that be the same?"

The Lingyun Sect Master's eye twitched twice; times change, and the Nanyang Sect is not the Nanyang Sect of old: "I still feel this is improper."

"I do not feel so."

Ye Jiu turned and headed toward the sect, speaking calmly: "In any case, as long as he goes to the banquet, I, Ye, will certainly accompany him."

As he spoke, the corners of his mouth curled slightly upward.

Excellent, excellent; after waiting all these years, among the many Sect Masters, there is finally one who suits his temperament.

Failing to retake Beihong is one thing; after all, it was due to his own lack of strength, and he deserved the humiliation; he accepted it!

Now even the Southern Long Gong dares to push its luck; what, without Qin Shixiong, has my, Ye's, sword become dull?

Wherever Nanyang shines, the Heavenly Sword cuts down all evil and rebellion; this is the rule of the Seven Sons!

"This! This!"

After Ye Jiu departed.

The Lingyun Sect Master's expression was somewhat unpleasant, complaining: "He has finally found an excuse... Look at his demeanor; does he really intend to attend the banquet, or to kill?"

"I say, be quiet."

The Lingyue Sect Master glanced at the silent Ji Jingxi beside him, noticing that the other had unusually left that zither neglected nearby.

He withdrew his gaze and could not help but shake his head helplessly.

For this cold junior sister, the fact that she did not express doubt regarding Ye Jiu's words was, in itself, an acceptance.

Though they were all senior and junior brothers, there were distinctions in realm and strength; now, the two Heaven Realm cultivators besides himself seemed to have somehow reached an agreement with Sect Master Shen.

"Now we shall see what our Sect Master Shen truly thinks."

The Lingyue Sect Master smiled; he had not visited the Long Gong to see that old stinker in a long time.

The Nanyang Nanyang Baodi, located within the cultivation treasure ground atop the mountain peak.

Shen Yi sat cross-legged on a cushion, his eyes devoid of spirit, his aura wavering.

His entire face was terrifyingly pale, with only his lips red, as if all the blood in his face had gathered between his lips, nearly forming blood droplets ready to fall.

The Ten Thousand Calamities Blood God Great Method; if it can be called an Immortal Art, the difficulty of cultivation must not be lower than the Divine Mountain Suppresses the Blue Sky.

Moreover, when cultivating the Divine Mountain Suppresses the Blue Sky back then, it was done step by step, from ordinary Dao-Union techniques, to Rare Techniques, to Spirit Techniques, and finally gathering them together.

Apart from this, the Nameless Mountain Illusionary Realm, though somewhat torturous, was actually equivalent to an extremely reliable master, personally guiding the cultivator to comprehend the true meaning of the Divine Mountain and how to wield that strand of true meaning.

The Blood God Great Method, however, existed only as a single fragmentary scroll.

To comprehend the true meaning of the Blood God, one must create a similar "illusionary realm" oneself.

This Immortal Art can be summarized in one word: Kill!

Forge myriad calamities of slaughter with fresh blood; dwell within the domain of slaughter, verify the clarity of the Dao Heart; the more one kills, the clearer the Dao Heart becomes, achieving the name Ten Thousand Calamities Blood God.

Yue Tianji had once cultivated this method and knew the difficulties within it well.

Slaughter is not difficult; whether cultivator or great demon, as long as one does not restrain oneself, one can easily commit atrocities that shock the eye.

The difficulty lies in how to maintain the clarity of the Dao Heart amidst such slaughter.

To put it in human terms: one must firmly believe that one's killing is right; the blood staining one's palms belongs entirely to those who deserved to die.

Only then can one cross the myriad calamities of slaughter, rather than sinking into them and being controlled by the true meaning of the Blood God.

To achieve this requires extremely formidable confidence and spirit, or else one must be a simple madman.

Yue Tianji's madness, aside from Li Xuanqing, was largely due to his contact with this Blood God Method.

And at this moment, he complexly and wordlessly discovered.

The difficulty for the Master in cultivating this method lay more in his comprehension abilities; yet after truly creating the "Blood God Illusionary Realm," the other's traversal of the calamities of slaughter was as if breaking through bamboo, encountering no threshold from start to finish.

The living beings within the illusionary realm, real and bloody, had once fallen at the Master's hand; now, the meaning of their rising again seemed to be merely to fall once more.

By the end, Yue Tianji could no longer even see the Master's motion of wielding the blade.

He knew clearly that Shen Yi was not a madman, for the other's face held no joy in slaughter; instead, it harbored a hint of impatience, yet precisely because of this, such actions appeared even more terrifying.

A cultivator who had nearly fought his way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, yet possessed no heart-demon? No regret? What a joke!

"Hoo—"

Shen Yi's scattered pupils suddenly regained their sharp light; the crimson between his thin lips dissipated, and color returned to his entire face.

If one had to say there was any change, it was that within the black pupils, a wisp of red light, like green smoke, had appeared.

The true meaning of the Blood God; the domain of slaughter is formed.

【Dao-Union (Immortal). Ten Thousand Calamities Blood God Great Method: Entry Level】

【Dao-Union (Immortal). Divine Mountain Suppresses the Blue Sky: Minor Success】

【Remaining Demon Lifespan: 3,960,000 years】

Having consumed over 700,000 years of demon lifespan, both Immortal Arts had improved significantly.

Now that abundant demon lifespan was possessed, what truly limited Shen Yi's progress in cultivating the techniques were the two Hall Masters; unlike Shen Yi, they did not have a panel to help reduce ninety-nine percent of the torment.

Every moment of deduction was, for the two of them, a real loss of lifespan.

This torment had once been enough to cause those demon souls to scatter.

Although Ke Shisan and Yue Tianji possessed strong demon souls, incomparable to those minor demons, how could the obscurity of Dao-Union Realm Immortal Arts be compared to the techniques of the Qi Refining Realm?

Of the lifespan consumed, a little more than half transformed into demon origin, helping them stabilize their emotions and, incidentally, seeing if they could raise their rank.

Before Immortal Arts, even Shen Yi's defect of mediocre comprehension was compensated.

It was true equality for all beings.

If a proper Heaven Realm cultivator were to come, to cultivate an Immortal Art to perfection would still require a lifetime of pursuit.

Such a terrifying price yielded a reward that was equally immense.

As his understanding of the Immortal Arts deepened, Shen Yi also roughly understood what this so-called "true meaning" actually meant.

If ordinary Dao-Integration techniques are clumsy imitations of Heavenly Realm divine abilities, then a Celestial Method, if cultivated to perfection or great accomplishment, has the chance to become something that surpasses divine abilities.

When two Heavenly Realm cultivators clash, every additional divine ability they unleash grants them a greater advantage.

"Pity. The Ten Thousand Calamities Blood God Great Art is incomplete; it can only be considered a beginning."

Shen Yi sighed slightly, but it was for the best. Had it not been for that Killing Calamity relaxing him, the cultivation of the Divine Mountain Suppressing the Blue Sky might not have proceeded so smoothly.

Treating oneself as a stone, hiding within the Blue Sky, slowly assimilating and even suppressing this heaven and earth—truly, this was the most tedious and flavorless technique Shen Yi had ever practiced among all his methods.

There was no threshold, no need for spiritual inspiration, and others' enlightenment was useless.

It relied purely on lifespan to pile up the progress through sheer force.

Perhaps true junior immortals could accelerate this process by borrowing other techniques or treasures, but he possessed only that broken mountain, whose sole function was to stabilize his mind and spirit, preventing him from losing himself within the Blue Sky.

The good news was that this Celestial Method had reached the minor accomplishment realm; it could barely be counted as a fairly ordinary divine ability. At the very least, fighting An Tingfeng would no longer be so arduous.

"Go relax a bit."

Shen Yi glanced at the two somewhat dazed Hall Masters, especially Ke Shisan, the main force behind the deduction of the Divine Mountain Suppressing the Blue Sky. He had to constantly perceive the will of the Blue Sky in Shen Yi's stead, bearing most of the tedium. At this moment, drool even hung from the corner of his lips, making him look utterly foolish and vacant.

Hearing the words "relax," the two Hall Masters suddenly snapped out of it, waving their hands repeatedly: "No need to relax! No need to relax!"

"..."

Shen Yi raised his eyebrows and stored the two within the Wan Yao Dian.

Did they really think he was Zhou Bapi? Good things must be used sparingly; once broken, finding replacements would not be easy.

He stood up, took the Nanyang white robe from his ring, put it on, stretched his stiff arms slightly, and then stepped out of the hall.

Li Qingfeng had been waiting there long ago.

The moment he saw Shen Yi, he said nothing. Anyone who had followed Shen Zongzhu for a time knew what the other intended to do after descending the mountain.

He took out the Dao Token lent to him by Senior Li Xuanqing. This senior had thoughtfully filled the token with the breath of heaven and earth.

Echoing in his mind were the other's instructions: he must use this act to notify the Meng Sect... or rather, to let those few Shen Zongzhus know.

Li Qingfeng took a slightly nervous breath, then gently guided some of the breath within.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In the next instant, the great formation that had guarded the Nanyang Nanyang Baodi for a full hundred thousand years finally began to open slowly amidst a tremendous roar.

Blinding treasure light illuminated the area outside the Nanyang Baodi as if it were midday!

Almost all the Seven Sons cultivators patrolling outside saw the Nanyang relief on the Bai Yu Platform, which had been silent for a long time, shine brightly once more.

The topic discussed most among cultivators now was naturally whether the Nanyang Sect would truly step forward or remain merely on the level of words.

But no one had expected this matter to arrive so quickly, so urgently!

It had been less than half a day since that group of Long Gong Great Demons departed, yet this Nanyang Great Sun was already rising rapidly!

On the Bai Yu Platform, figures led by Li Qingfeng all bowed in salute.

Shen Zongzhu's departure on this journey is to attend the Long Gong Grand Banquet.

This is official business; naturally, it must be done with great majesty and proclaimed to Yu Nanhong!

(End of this chapter)