Chapter 706: The Ming King Escorts the Scriptures — Summon the Taixu Pill Sovereign Forth to Tribulate!

Old undying bastard!

Even though Shen Yi had weathered many great storms and always presented himself as steady and calm, at this moment he could not help cursing inwardly.

The troubles he had encountered before, no matter how dangerous, at least still had some hope — as long as his own strength broke through, every problem would be solved at once.

But now, the higher his cultivation rose, the closer he drew to death.

Shen Yi sensed the fully six thousand five hundred-plus tribulations of Taixu Jin Dan within his body, and felt that not even Shenxu Laozu, but even he himself was quite drooling over it.

At this moment, those dim eyes hidden within the grey mist had clearly already fixed their gaze upon him.

Such formidable cultivation gave Shen Yi not the slightest sense of security; the greed contained within that gaze made his hair stand on end, and an image of a perverted old freak staring at him while drooling suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Hoo."

Shen Yi slowly closed his eyes; facing this scene, he could still only choose the old method.

He abruptly swallowed the handful of pills in his palm into his belly.

In an instant, his cultivation rose another hundred-plus tribulations.

The Jin Dan was still not complete, could still continue to evolve, its future boundless… Shen Yi could only use this meaning to temporarily soothe Shenxu Laozu.

Fortunately, the effect was quite good.

Within the grey mist, the swallowing sounds transmitted by Shenxu Laozu grew increasingly urgent — perhaps he had never seen such a greatly nourishing thing and could hardly restrain his eagerness — yet he still showed no intention of acting.

Shen Yi understood very well the mind of a "glutton."

Since he had not eaten at three thousand five hundred tribulations, swallowing it at six thousand five hundred tribulations would be a huge loss; no matter what, he had to see just how far this Jin Dan could grow.

"Sigh!"

As time passed, a long sigh finally rang out by Shen Yi's ear, thick with vexation and anxiety.

Those eyes within the grey mist closed, unwilling, and sank back into slumber.

Survived…

Shen Yi's tightly clenched five fingers quietly relaxed.

This feeling of one's life being in another's hands was very unpleasant, but before such a vast disparity in strength, there was nothing to be done.

He stared silently at the pill furnace before him, his expression strange, always feeling as though he were refining pills for Shenxu Laozu.

After a long while, Shen Yi waved his hand again and took out the great pill within, still warm.

He drew a deep breath, and a few shades of solemnity welled up in his eyes.

The chances left for him to make mistakes were not many.

No matter how greedy Shenxu Laozu was, he was after all no fool; although the Jin Dan was rich and enticing, if it grew too quickly, it would inevitably arouse the other's wariness.

With the experience of the previous three times, Shen Yi once again activated the panel's deduction.

Pale yellow mist surged forth once more.

Shen Yi closed his eyes, his divine soul passing through it with focused swiftness.

The sudden change earlier, the life-and-death crisis, had not only failed to throw him into panic, but instead made him forget everything; in his mind remained only the aura he had sensed upon the golden threads of the fruit position.

After a full four searches, Shen Yi's brow-tip suddenly lifted — he seemed to have caught that scent!

The next moment, his divine soul pounced out with precision.

The skyful of pale yellow mist suddenly scattered, the power of a thousand tribulations vanished into nothingness.

The panel deduction ended.

Shen Yi stood with his hands at his sides, quietly looking within.

He saw that within the heaven and earth of his body, on the left hung a silver disk upon green wood, and on the right sat a golden lotus upon amber.

And between the two, a wisp of golden thread, fine as ox hair, hovered gently, shimmering with an unusual brilliance.

Finally caught it!

Although he could not even call out this thing's name, a nameless excitement rose in Shen Yi's heart — but he soon sensed something amiss.

This thing had clearly been obtained from deducing the Taixu Jin Dan, yet it felt at odds with the Jin Dan, and instead drew closer to the Subduing Dragon and Taming Great Rank Fruit Position.

"So the essence of entering the third-rank also has distinctions?"

Shen Yi pondered for a long while: he had followed the aura bestowed by the Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva to search, which did not mean the tribulation force contained only this one kind of golden thread; perhaps the Sanxian Sect also had its own "golden thread."

Thinking of this, he could not help but laugh wryly.

Taking the Sanxian Sect's cultivation method to attempt breaking through the Puti Sect's third-rank realm — in this world, probably only he himself could do such a thing.

"But how is this thing to be used?"

Shen Yi could now confirm that this golden thread was precisely the distinction between Bodhisattva and Luo Han.

But his current feeling was like holding a brick and tile, wanting to build a courtyard upon it — he had no idea where to begin.

"Forget it, storing a few more first can never be wrong."

Saying it and doing it at once, Shen Yi once again stoked the furnace fire, refining all the remaining Imperial Qi Golden Pills into pills.

Having already succeeded once, the subsequent process went much more smoothly.

The Imperial Qi Golden Pills totaling ten thousand tribulations became pills of nine thousand tribulations; apart from those at the very beginning, the rest were entirely transformed into golden threads.

A full six golden threads swayed gently like rootless duckweed.

Shen Yi tidied up the pill furnace and his thoughts, and carrying these "useless things," stepped slowly out of the courtyard.

Refining pills was a very time-consuming matter; even with ten furnaces running at once, digesting these Imperial Qi Golden Pills had taken a full month and a half.

General Wushan and Ye Lan had long since departed, afraid of disturbing the pill refining, leaving only a farewell letter.

Shen Yi gazed at the empty courtyard, briefly dazed, but was long since accustomed to such days.

He was just about to head back inside to continue pondering the use of these golden threads, when he had just taken a step, and a deep, resonant voice rang out in his mind.

"My Sect observes that the heavens and earth have changed, that the mortal world faces calamity, and is willing to cross this tribulation together with the Divine Dynasty — with our Sect's true scriptures, to aid the Human Sovereign in calming heaven and earth, contributing what little strength we can."

"Appointed White Elephant, Fierce Lion, Suanni, and Benlang Great Rank Arhats, two of each — four to carry the palanquin, four to clear the way — the Subduing Dragon and Taming Great Ming Wang personally escorts the scriptures, heading to the Shenzhou lands, to be offered to the Human Sovereign!"

The Buddhist chant pierced their ears, ringing through the minds of every Puti Sect follower.

This was a decree of the Buddha — there was no room for negotiation.

"Tch."

Listening to those titles, Shen Yi pressed his lips together slightly.

Good lord… the whole menagerie has gathered in one place.

In truth, he had long foreseen this day. After all, unlike Shenxu Laozu — who merely wanted to devour him — the Puti Sect genuinely intended to send this Subduing-Dragon-Taming-Tiger Great Great Ming Wang into the mortal world to undergo tribulation, to conquer the realm for the Puti Sect.

In other words, Shen Yi himself was one of those very people he feared most.

He simply hadn't expected the Puti Sect to name him outright and notify all its followers, assigning him a task.

Fortunately, he had prepared in advance, using the Suppression Stone to first shield Dananzhou, giving him a chance to temporarily slip away — at least he wouldn't be exposed so quickly.

"Escort the scriptures…"

Shen Yi murmured, his thoughts racing.

Was this because driving demons to destabilize Shenzhou had yielded no results, and the great demons were temporarily unwilling to march again — so these monks had resorted to their old tricks once more?

Whether it was the theft of the scriptures, the Master Master Qibao Bodhisattva preaching the dharma, or later Jin Guang Fu's old monk offering his flesh to feed demons —

From beginning to end, the Puti Sect had tried to establish a towering, righteous image in the hearts of Shenzhou's common people.

Its purpose was also very simple.

The Divine Dynasty's foundation rested on having given Li Min common folk this era of peace and prosperity — only thus had it gathered so much imperial qi.

If the people discovered that the Puti Sect was more reliable than the Divine Dynasty, their hearts would naturally shift.

If everyone believed in Buddha, then who controlled this imperial qi in the future would be anyone's guess.

The demon calamity was merely a means to stir the hearts of the people — these "saviors from suffering" Arhats and Bodhisattvas were the lethal blades that would dismantle the Divine Dynasty's very foundations.

Thinking of this, even Shen Yi found it rather thorny.

The turmoil in Shenzhou was an indisputable fact, and the situation in the other three continents was hardly better than Dananzhou.

Under such circumstances, the Puti Sect stepping in to help would surely be proclaimed to the world. If the Divine Dynasty spoke up to refuse — fine if nothing went wrong, but if any mishap occurred, the people would blame it on the imperial court's arrogance and xenophobia, on its disregard for the lives of all under heaven.

But if they truly allowed these scriptures, under the escort of several Arhats, to openly traverse all four continents and fall before the eyes of the masses, then the Puti Sect's image as saviors of the world would truly be cemented.

A dilemma with no solution.

"What exactly are these true scriptures?"

Shen Yi clenched his palm slightly and began considering other angles.

Setting everything else aside, the Puti Sect was truly willing to lay out bait when fishing — whether it was the Golden Lotus Dharma preached by the Master Master Qibao Bodhisattva, or the "stolen" Great Scripture of the Luo Han Fruition Position, both were genuine true dharmas of the Three Teachings.

Something that a Great Fruition Luo Han would personally escort and present to the Human Emperor — could it possibly be…

Thinking of this, Shen Yi's heart skipped a beat.

Regardless of willingness, this journey had to be undertaken.

Since that was the case —

Shen Yi's eyes narrowed slightly. He stepped into the Grand Void and vanished from Songfeng Fucheng.

……

The Buddhist chant was broadcast to all followers, the Buddha's decree sent to the Divine Dynasty's imperial capital, and the news, propelled by invisible hands, spread like wildfire across all four continents and eight seas.

"The scripture escort isn't actually Jin Chan Luo Han?"

"For such a momentous matter, how could the one stepping forward be that so-called Subduing-Dragon-Taming-Tiger Great Great Ming Wang?"

The Puti Sect followers buzzed with discussion, all quite perplexed.

It wasn't that they looked down on the Subduing-Dragon-Taming-Tiger Great Great Ming Wang — the other's cultivation at the perfected fruition of three thousand tribulations had long been the talk of the land, inspiring countless people to yearn for a glimpse of his true appearance.

But after all, his time in the sect was still short, and he had no notable deeds to his name — it was hard to command belief.

And the matter of escorting the scriptures concerned the Puti Sect's reputation — not a single misstep could be afforded.

Moreover, whoever held this position would surely draw the attention of countless eyes across the world — a prime opportunity to harvest tribulation power.

By every reasonable measure, it should have been Jin Chan Luo Han, the foremost among the sect, who handled it.

This Great Fruition Luo Han was likewise at the perfected fruition of three thousand tribulations, had even received guidance from a Buddha, and the sect had bestowed upon him divine abilities far more than two or three.

"Could it be that…"

A follower suddenly realized, and as his words fell, the rest fell silent.

Jin Chan Luo Han was about to ascend to Jin Chan Bodhisattva?

Only this reason could explain it.

Beyond the Puti Sect, the Sanxian Sect was also far from quiet.

A line of figures had suddenly appeared outside Mount Shenxu.

Though these people were all beings whose lifespans were measured in tribulations, the oldest among them appeared no older than middle age; most were young faces, all bearing the air of transcendent Daoists.

"These thieving monks — their hearts are far too impatient!"

"If we let them succeed, where would our chance be?"

If someone with discerning eyes were to see, they would find that the seven or eight people gathered here were all leading figures of the Sanxian Sect, second only to Lady Tiandong and Qingluan and the others.

A group of reclusive cultivators had, without fanfare, all descended the mountain into the mortal world, ready to make their mark.

There might be gaps between those of the fourth-rank realm, but once one entered tribulation, seized the opportunity, and successfully rose to the third-rank realm, those gaps would be swiftly crushed away.

One could say everyone had a chance.

And among these dragons and phoenixes, the most eye-catching was the young man at the very front, draped in a black-feather Daoist robe — his features striking, a single cinnabar dot between his brows, his gaze cold and stern.

"Daoist Xuanwu, we know your cultivation is profound and you hold no love for this Mount Shenxu, but this matter concerns the superiority of the Sanxian Sect over the Puti Sect. We ask that you set aside your grievances for now; once this affair is concluded, the internal disputes between us can be settled slowly."

Someone noticed his expression was off and gently spoke to counsel him.

Tianwu Xuanwu — as the senior disciple-brother of that lineage, his ability to hold that position for years was itself proof of his strength.

One must know that the other prodigy of the same lineage, Qingluan, who bore the title of the youngest Great Immortal General of the Immortal Court, wielded a fourth-rank immortal seal and possessed two thousand seven hundred tribulation cultivations of his own, yet still could not catch up to his senior brother.

Setting everything else aside, just the Yangwu Dao Sword at his waist, after years of nurturing, had long since become a two thousand nine hundred tribulation treasure.

That single sword alone was enough to crush the vast majority of prodigies in the world.

Moreover, if this man were willing to ascend and take office, a fourth-rank immortal seal would still be within easy grasp.

Mount Shenhxu and Mount Tianwu had once only found each other disagreeable, but after Taixu Danhuang personally slew Qingluan, a grudge was formed; he only hoped it would not affect the greater matter at hand.

"You may all do as you please."

Daoist Xuanwu's voice was cold, yet it was not that he bore any grudge against the crowd—it seemed to be his nature from birth.

He did not oppose these people coming to Mount Shenhxu to seek aid.

This operation of the Tribulation Scripture, apart from the dispute between the Puti Sect and the Sanxian Sect, was itself a chaotic brawl for the young prodigies to compare their abilities and thoroughly establish their standings.

If that were so, then without a few proper opponents, it would lose its flavor instead.

Jin Chan's absence had already left Xuanwu somewhat displeased; as for the so-called Mahamayuri Great Ming King, just how much foundation he actually possessed was still uncertain, and it truly failed to rouse any interest.

For this reason, he had followed a few people to Mount Shenhxu.

"So much the better."

The man beside him smiled, stepped out from the crowd, and cupped his hands toward Mount Shenhxu in salute: "We pay our respects to Senior Shenhxu; we have come on this journey to seek Taixu Danhuang to discuss a great matter together."

"Master is currently in closed-door cultivation; please come this way, everyone."

The treatment this group received was clearly more than a grade above that given to Hong JIng earlier.

The Eighth Peak had not only thrown open its mountain gates directly, but six peak lords led by Daoist Jin Lei had personally come out to welcome them.

They seemed to have long known the purpose of this group's visit.

Daoist Qianfeng and several other peak lords were rubbing their fists and palms, quite eager to give it a try.

Daoist Jin Lei, however, wore a calm expression and said softly: "If you have all come for the matter of the Tribulation Scripture, you may be disappointed. Junior Brother Tiandan is not in the mountain. We sent word long ago and have yet to receive any reply."

"Not in the mountain?"

The immortal gate prodigy was somewhat taken aback, and Xuanwu also slightly furrowed his brow.

Taixu Danhuang was the openly proclaimed tribulation-crossing figure of Mount Shenhxu, the Shenhxu Walker; with such a status, how could he possibly be unreachable?

Even if he dared not take part in this matter, this excuse was rather clumsy.

"Heh heh..."

That prodigy gave a dry laugh, yet inwardly began to harbor doubts.

A figure capable of slaying Qingluan—how could he possibly be frightened off by a Mahamayuri Great Ming King who had never shown himself? Could there be some hidden truth to the matter back then, and was Qingluan killed unjustly?

Or perhaps this man feared the Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva who had instigated this affair?

After all, Senior Shenhxu spent his years wandering the Great Void with his soul, unlike other elders who could protect their juniors at every moment.

But regardless of which reason it was, this Daoist Tiandan was somewhat unworthy of his illustrious title of Taixu Danhuang, and it was rather disappointing.

If he did not dare to enter the tribulation, why then raise his banner in the first place.

(End of this chapter)