Chapter 703: So It Was You Plucking the Fruits of the Jade Pool Immortal Sect

When the horde of demons came, crimson clouds blanketed the sky, carrying a momentum as though wind and rain would smash the city apart.

But at this moment, the firmament was clear and bright, and the blood-colored hue slowly seeping out between heaven and earth was thin as mist, nowhere near as gaudy as before, yet the reeking stench of baleful blood contained within it was intensified by countless times over.

Lady Tiandong stared blankly at the horizon, not waiting for the appearance of any great demon, only for a pattering rain of blood.

She spread her palm, feeling the dampness upon it, and her breathing gradually grew somewhat ragged.

Everything before her eyes proved, without exception, that the entire horde of great demons had perished just now…

That young man had not only single-handedly repelled the demon calamity, but had even slain them all!

Lady Tiandong was not so arrogant as to think herself an unrivaled existence among the younger generation; she could even accept that this General of Nanyang was a third-rank Great Luo Immortal Venerate.

After all, the world's opportunities were myriad, and no one could speak with certainty about matters of cultivation; moreover, that black-armored youth might merely look young, and in truth be some old-timer for all anyone knew.

But the problem lay precisely in the fact that the other party was unmistakably emanating the aura of a Taiyi True Immortal, of the same realm as herself.

Yet how could this be?

Lady Tiandong had since childhood been a carefully nurtured heir of the Jade Pool Immortal Sect; she had read extensively through the Daoist canon, cultivated the treasured canon of the Sanxian Sect, a Dao Fruit ranked among the top ten, and supplemented her studies with a hundred arts — not claiming mastery of every one, but at least possessing modest attainments.

The Great Grade Dao Fruit she had deduced on her own, spanning over two thousand nine hundred kalpas, had earned lavish praise even from Elder Yu Chi, who had bestowed upon her numerous immortal treasures to guard her Dao!

It could be said that Lady Tiandong had already pushed the path of an orthodox immortal sect disciple to its absolute limit, let alone compared to those loose-cultivator wild demons.

But even so, she would not believe herself capable of taking on eight fourth-rank demon immortals simultaneously, let alone with so many fifth-rank great demons flanking them.

The so-called truth that two fists could not ward off four hands applied equally to immortal cultivators.

Even if she fought with no regard for cost, staking her very life, Lady Tiandong felt she could at most take four or five demon immortals with her before her kalpa-force was utterly spent and she perished.

She had thought herself already standing at the peak of fourth-rank, and even if a path still lay ahead, it was but a hair's breadth away — nothing worth overly concerning herself with.

Now it seemed she had been a frog at the bottom of a well after all.

"……"

Lady Tiandong slowly tightened her grip on the blood-rain in her palm; broadening her horizons like this made this trip down the mountain worthwhile after all.

Her heart was in turmoil, yet she failed to notice the several court officials beside her, whose expressions were no better than her own.

The black-bearded man waited a moment before finally coming back to himself.

He stared at the black-armored figure below the city, and suddenly recalled a passing remark Lord Lady Feng Xi had made upon her last return.

At the time, everyone had found it somewhat laughable, and only refrained from objecting out of deference to the lord's authority.

After all, the agents of the Zhan Yao Si spent years living under assumed names — when had there ever been a precedent for pushing them out to walk beneath the blazing light of day?

Even if one made an exception just this once.

But those immortal sect disciples possessed deep and vigorous foundations of their own, and the loose cultivators within the Zhan Yao Si, apart from the imperial aura, fell far too short in every other respect — with what could they possibly compete against these immortal sect heirs?

Take only the matter of rescuing General Wushan.

Placed upon General Nanyang's shoulders, it was naturally an extraordinary feat, but if truly placed among immortal sect disciples… not to mention anything else, take that already-deceased Qingluan as an example.

If he had been the one to act, he wouldn't even need to employ his immortal seal — taking on three of those thousand-kalpa Puti Sect Arhats would pose no problem at all.

Yet such a formidable cultivator still could not be considered outstanding within the immortal sects, standing beneath existences like Taixu Danhuang!

This was the genuine, hard gap between the imperial court and the immortal sects.

But now, the black-bearded man felt his very hands trembling with excitement — with this single battle alone, the name of the Divine Dynasty's Nanyang would never again pale before any immortal sect heir.

He glanced toward his colleagues and found the same flickering brilliance in everyone's eyes.

Thinking of this, the black-bearded man no longer hesitated; with a great wave of his hand, he loudly proclaimed across Songfeng Prefecture: "Open the city gates, welcome—"

"General Nanyang!"

Before his words had even fallen, an even louder cry followed close behind.

The dense ranks of soldiers surged forward like a tide; two burly men tossed aside the weapons in their hands, leapt out from the crowd, and with a thunderous heave pulled open the massive city gates.

The black armor upon Shen Yi had long since faded away, replaced by a swaying ink-black robe.

The instant his figure came into the soldiers' line of sight, every single one of them snapped ramrod-straight, gripped their long spears tight, faces flushed crimson, breathing ragged, and roared at the top of their lungs:

"We respectfully welcome General Nanyang back to the city!"

Before this day, they had not even heard this title of honor, but from this moment forth, the name of Nanyang would, in the shortest span of time, spread throughout the twenty-seven prefectures of Dananzhou.

"……"

Shen Yi did not put on any false modesty either, and strode straight through the two ranks of soldiers.

Just as General Lady Feng Xi had said, since one was a sharp blade, one had to let it be seen.

There might be plenty of trouble, but the benefits were not few either.

At least from this day forth, once this reputation spread outward, so long as he had not truly committed the crime of betraying the Divine Dynasty — and been caught with ironclad proof — even if the three Generals of Zhen South wished to move against him, it would no longer be such an easy matter.

Moreover, since he was the figurehead Dananzhou had put forward, all manner of resources would surely come his way as well.

Otherwise, it would be the face of the Divine Dynasty that was lost.

Besides, dealing with this horde of demons today had not been as difficult as imagined.

At the very least, his most distinctive Taixu Jin Dan and the Dragon-Subduing, Tiger-Taming Golden Body Dharma Aspect had not been revealed for others to see.

Having thought this through, Shen Yi raised his eyes once more to glance at the panel.

【Slain fourth-rank Hongze Daxian, total lifespan two hundred and seven kalpas, remaining lifespan one hundred and twenty kalpas, absorption complete】

【Slain fifth-rank White-Flame Lion Spirit, total lifespan sixty-eight kalpas, remaining lifespan thirty-seven kalpas, absorption complete】

……

The dense notifications numbered forty-three in total; aside from the "demon traitor" garrison commander Shen Yi had sent back, the rest were all here.

Among them, eight fourth-rank demon immortals contributed thirteen hundred kalpas of demon lifespan, while thirty-five fifth-rank great demons contributed over seventeen hundred kalpas.

Just this single trip out to earn some extra had netted three thousand kalpas of demon lifespan.

Cast back to before, when he had annihilated most of Hongze, he had left with no more than two hundred kalpas remaining on his person.

But Shen Yi's thoughts were not entirely focused on demon lifespan.

These demons and monsters themselves are exactly what he needs most right now.

If he were to forge them all into Town Stones...

What was the original configuration of the Dananzhou Zhan Yao Si?

One sixth-rank Demon-Slaying Officer per prefecture, two seventh-rank Demon-Slayers, and a titled general of the fifth-rank Taiyi Immortal realm like Ye Lan would personally oversee roughly three prefectures' affairs.

Once all the Town Stones are fully formed.

Then the future Zhan Yao Si configuration would become... two fifth-rank titled generals per prefecture, one fourth-rank powerhouse stationed for every three prefectures—the garrison strength would skyrocket!

What's even more terrifying is that, aside from fearing neither life nor death, these garrisons can also transmit messages to each other at any time and place, absolutely undivided in loyalty, all obeying a single commander's deployment.

It can be said that the power Shen Yi now wields would require a third-rank Immortal Officer to have the authority to mobilize—surpassing even those immortal sect ancestors!

He alone is equivalent to a top-tier Great Luo Immortal Sect!

Of course... the premise is setting aside the third-rank.

But possessing such a demon army to garrison Dananzhou means that henceforth, no matter where the remaining demons attack from, those lifespans will all fall into Shen Yi's pocket.

Using the demons of Da Nanzhou to sustain a single person.

If even with this he can't reach third-rank, Shen Yi might as well find a block of tofu and dash his head against it.

"Dismissed."

When Shen Yi stepped into the prefecture office, the military formations lined up on both sides of the long street finally halted their march. Under such a spectacle, the common folk of the entire Songfeng Fucheng poured into the streets, craning their necks to look toward the prefecture office.

Wanting to know what kind of fearsome appearance this Nanyang General—who could repel a myriad of demonic immortals and was fiercer than demons and evils—actually had.

And on the city wall.

Lady Tiandong had originally intended to head to the prefecture office to make the acquaintance of this young talent who had broadened her horizons.

Three titled generals quietly blocked her path.

"Many thanks to Tian Dong Xianzi for traveling thousands of miles to assist, but the Divine Dynasty can just barely hold on for now. We still have important matters to attend to, so we won't entertain you further. Safe travels—no need for us to see you off."

The black-bearded man cupped his hands in greeting with a forced smile that didn't reach his eyes.

With the precedent of Jin Guang Prefecture, the Three Teachings' intentions were known to all—only no one expected this group of refined, Daoist Qi Refiners to stoop to the same despicable tactics as those thieving monks.

And with an even grander display!

Put it this way—if today's demon calamity had nothing to do with Elder Yu Chi's Immortal Sect, he'd gladly cut off his own head and let this immortal kick it around like a ball.

"You..."

Tian Dong Xianzi frowned again.

Only now did she finally notice something amiss. To say the Divine Dynasty uses people when needed and discards them afterward, changing attitude the moment the demon calamity was resolved—didn't quite fit either, because from the very start, this group had no intention of fighting demons shoulder-to-shoulder with her.

On the contrary... she seemed to have been guarded against as if she were a demon herself.

She fell silent for a moment, then without further ado, simply cupped her hands in return: "Farewell, gentlemen."

With that, Tian Dong Xianzi leapt down from the city wall and returned to the prefecture city.

She rode a cloud to the top floor of Juyang Tower, saw the dishes that had not yet gone cold, and could not help but sigh with emotion once more.

The dishes had not cooled, but the corpses of those demon immortals had.

Such a young talent—if she could not discuss the Dao with him, it would be a lifelong regret.

Just then, the jade slip at her waist suddenly chimed.

Tian Dong Xianzi raised an eyebrow slightly, only now remembering she still had a junior brother.

"Eldest Jiang Shijie, how's the situation? This junior brother has already gathered the troops and soldiers—from which direction should we attack?"

Far outside the prefecture city, General General Hongjing had calculated the timing; the Divine Dynasty's powerhouses should be arriving about now, so he sent the message.

Although Master had already prepared everything, the actual effect still depended on Jiang Shijie's performance.

Hearing this, Tian Dong Xianzi was somewhat helpless: "No need, the demon calamity has already been repelled."

She did not blame the Immortal Court for being too slow—after all, at such a speed of slaying demons, no one could have kept up.

What she did not expect was that the other end of the jade slip fell into a long silence.

"Jiang Shijie... your cultivation has advanced again?"

"Advanced my ass." Tian Dong Xianzi felt both annoyed and amused, to the point of accidentally letting slip a mild curse.

She lightly covered her lips and re-explained: "I had assumed the Divine Dynasty was negligent, but it turns out they had ample confidence and didn't need outsiders at all. A single Nanyang General alone slew all the demons, and didn't even leave me a chance to make a move."

Through the jade slip, Tian Dong Xianzi could not see General General Hongjing's face, which had already darkened like water about to spill over.

He gripped the jade slip tightly, utterly unable to believe his own ears.

Elder Yu Chi's Immortal Sect had painstakingly set up this stage, only to make a wedding dress for someone else?!

And that was after such a short time.

General General Hongjing even began to suspect that those demons had colluded with the Divine Dynasty and stabbed the Three Teachings in the back.

What a joke!

Did they really think Elder Yu Chi's Immortal Sect was a soft persimmon to be squashed? All this painstaking effort—how could it be wasted like this?

What dog-shit Nanyang General—never even heard of him—and he dares to come pluck the fruits of Elder Yu Chi's Immortal Sect!

If Master were to learn of this, he would surely be furious.

"Jiang Shijie, wait a moment. I'll be right back—let's meet at the city gate."

General General Hongjing set down the jade slip and hurried toward Songfeng Fucheng. He wanted to see with his own eyes what manner of person this brazen fool actually was.

His eyes flashed with vicious light as he shot straight up into the air.

Soon he caught sight of that towering prefecture city.

The imperial qi had returned to the heavens—indeed a sign that the demon calamity had retreated.

To avoid drawing too much attention, General General Hongjing descended to the ground and strode into the city.

And just then, the corner of his eye caught sight of a familiar figure appearing.

In an instant, General General Hongjing's breath halted, and he retreated far away, not even daring to look the other directly in the eyes.

That black robe etched into memory... it was Taixu Danhuang!

Hong Ze Shui Lu, the ear-piercing shriek of a hundred birds, and the terrifying figure that broke through his Golden Core amidst those shrieks, along with his ferocious act of punching the Green Luan to death, one punch after another, instantly flashed through General General Hongjing's mind.

Fortunately, the other seemed occupied with something, did not notice him, and after walking out of Songfeng Fucheng, went straight into the Taixu.

"Haa—"

By the time that aura completely vanished, General General Hongjing still dared not make a move, his entire body soaked in cold sweat.

One must know that regarding those messy matters the Green Luan did back then, he had participated, and even sacrificed a mount.

Last time in Hong Ze, he escaped with his life intact because the Xingxiu Divine General was present.

If they met elsewhere, especially in a place like the Divine Dynasty, whether he could leave alive was another matter entirely.

The identities of Immortal General and Immortal Sect disciple were General General Hongjing's greatest talismans for survival, but the person who previously held these two talismans should now be nearly one year old.

This arrogant and unruly madman dared to kill right in front of a True God!

"What is wrong with you?"

Just then, a clear female voice interrupted General General Hongjing's panic.

Tian Dong Xianzi looked at her junior brother curiously.

"N-nothing..."

General General Hongjing hurriedly waved his hands; under normal circumstances, with his senior sister accompanying him, his courage to speak would have been bolstered several times.

But this time was different.

He saw clearly back then; even with the Immortal Seal, the Green Luan was still beheaded by Taixu Danhuang.

His senior sister was likely not the other's match either.

General General Hongjing also dared not let his own Immortal Sect know that his good disciple, because of a lower-realm demon dragon, had offended such an unfathomable genius on behalf of the sect.

However... with Shen Danhuang appearing here, could the changes in today's events also involve the Shenxu Mountain?

These ignorant things!

Now that the Three Teachings and the Great Demons are dividing the Divine Dynasty, the situation is not yet clear, the imperial court remains stable; it is one thing for Shenxu Mountain and the Puti Sect to fight, but how did they also get in the way of the same family's Elder Yu Chi Immortal Sect?

"Sigh!"

General General Hongjing sighed deeply.

Thinking about it, it was normal; possessing a young disciple like Taixu Danhuang, how could one tolerate having the spotlight stolen by the eldest senior sister?

Now, one can only return to the sect to report the truth and see what the Sect Master thinks, only hoping not to be punished.

General General Hongjing did not know that the person most panicked inside Songfeng Fucheng at this moment was not him.

Inside the Fucheng.

The tea stall became crowded again, everyone eagerly discussing the events just now, and the name Nanyang grew even more famous.

It was just that one young figure was missing.

The previous tea bowls were all smashed on the ground, enough to show how hurriedly that person had left.

Between Heaven and Earth.

The Monk gripped his prayer beads tightly, staring fiercely ahead; his legs were as fast as a galloping horse, and with every step he took, he covered a thousand li.

Running so exhaustedly, trampling over a thousand waters and ten thousand mountains, yet the thick clouds in the sky maintained a distance that was neither near nor far.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally stopped, raising his eyes in despair.

"You, have you run enough?"

A heavy voice sounded by the Monk's ear; accompanying this voice, the thick clouds slowly parted.

Revealing a "Gaoshan" piled up of fat.

Compared to that vast body with no visible edge, this person's equally huge head actually seemed somewhat small.

It looked down, like a plump Buddha statue.

"This humble monk..."

The young monk no longer had the composure he had when sitting at the tea stall earlier; his two hands almost tore the prayer beads apart: "This humble monk pays respects to Nan Huang!"

(End of this chapter)