Chapter 208: The Last Hope, Return to the State of Yu!

The great hall transformed by the Divine Temple Hall Master Xing Lin is extremely terrifying!

Around the Central Divine Temple, the five Emperor Lords of the Great Expansion Dao Sect had originally used a formation to completely seal off the space surrounding the Central Divine Temple.

This was originally to prevent the people of the Dark Divine Temple from taking advantage of the chaos and using the spatial formation to escape from here.

But now, the great cauldron transformed by Xing Lin directly destroyed the surrounding sealing formation, and all the disciples of the Dark Divine Temple were directly sucked into the cauldron.

The space inside the cauldron.

"Everyone, disciples of the Divine Temple, I, Xing Mou, know that I no longer have the qualification to speak to you in the capacity of Divine Temple Hall Master."

"The great battle of the past left me, Xing Mou, heavily wounded, and the divine fire within my body is like fluff in the wind, which could vanish at any moment."

"Under this life-and-death torment, I, Xing Mou, was bewitched by the Will of Heaven and Earth, and committed the absurd act of betraying the Divine Temple."

"This time, I, Xing Mou, can only atone with my death, hoping to resolve this crisis by sacrificing my own life."

Xing Lin's voice echoed in the cauldron's space, and all the disciples of the Dark Divine Temple fell silent at that moment.

Among them, even now many still cannot comprehend, or are unwilling to accept that the one who betrayed the Divine Temple would actually be the Divine Temple Hall Master.

To them, this blow is no different from the collapse of their faith.

After all, the Dark Divine Temple worships deities, but they have never actually seen any deity.

On the contrary, Hall Master Xing Lin—many of those Dark Divine Temple disciples have seen him, or at least heard of his deeds.

And yet this very person, whom they regarded as their faith and spiritual pillar, ultimately betrayed them.

Some do not understand, and naturally there are those who can figure out why Xing Lin betrayed.

Put simply, a Divine Communication Realm expert ignites the divine fire within their body, uses the divine fire to sustain their dharma‑form body, and gradually transforms into a divine body.

In this process, if the divine fire suffers heavy damage, it will give rise to a large amount of thoughts similar to inner demons.

After all, to countless resentments and some malevolent entities, a cultivator's divine fire possesses a deadly attraction.

In the past, when the divine fire was vigorous, those thoughts and malevolent entities that rushed in would be completely burned away by the divine fire, and the energy contained within them would be thoroughly purified, becoming fuel for the divine fire.

But Xing Lin has suffered injuries, very serious injuries.

That injury damaged the foundation of his divine fire, making the flame not vigorous enough.

Over the years, under the influence of resentment and malevolent entities, his divine soul has become lost.

Furthermore, at this time the Will of Heaven and Earth took advantage of the opening, so being bewitched is understandable.

But those like Qi Shaoyu, who are also Divine Communication Realm experts, understand that thoughts arise from the heart.

Although Xing Lin, due to his injury, was invaded by resentment and then bewitched by the Will of Heaven and Earth to decide to betray the Divine Temple, the premise is that he certainly had previously entertained the thought of defecting in his heart.

A thought without a root does not arise.

If he did not have this seed in his heart, neither the intrusion of resentment and malevolent entities nor the bewitchment of the Will of Heaven and Earth could directly cause Xing Lin to make such a decision.

Since ancient times, many Divine Communication Realm experts have suffered heavy damage to the foundation of their divine fire, and qi deviation is not uncommon.

But every cultivator who suffers qi deviation ultimately walks a path dictated by the deepest obsession in their heart.

Some become killing‑only executioners, some lead a miserable life in obscurity, hiding their names, and ultimately die lonely.

Still others, relying on their strength, occupy a state and enjoy the pleasures of being an earthly emperor.

In short, whether it be power, freedom, slaughter, etc., they are all seeds deep within a cultivator's own heart.

Whether it be resentful thoughts or malevolent entities, they act like fertilizer, only causing the seed of obsession to take root and sprout quickly; they never create an obsession seed out of nothing.

The seed of Xing Lin's betrayal of the Divine Temple was certainly planted long ago.

That thought might have been a fleeting idea that he let go of, but at least it shows he once considered it.

A single thought can make you a god or a demon.

Once a thought arises, wanting to completely erase it is far from simple.

Xing Lin himself also knows this.

Actually, with his strength, plus the five Divine Temple Elders, there is still hope of defeating the five Emperor Lords of the Great Expansion Dao Sect and breaking out of Wilderness City.

But this battle will inevitably cause many more Divine Temple disciples to die miserably, and even the Divine Temple Elders may fall.

And he himself, although he has regained clarity, is ultimately an unstable factor; even if he survives, sooner or later he will still lose himself again.

Simply put, Xing Lin directly transformed himself into a Divine Cauldron, using his own cultivation and all means to activate the cauldron, leading many Dark Divine Temple disciples away from here.

Doing this serves both as atonement and as a way to live up to his former identity as Divine Temple Hall Master.

"Everyone, the Divine Cauldron can traverse space; according to your thoughts, I, Xing Mou, will control the cauldron to send you to the place you wish to go."

"Nowadays, the Divine Temple faces an unprecedented calamity; if you wish to leave the Divine Temple, I, Xing Mou, can understand."

"But I, Xing Mou, earnestly ask you all: even if it is for survival, when leaving the Divine Temple, please remain as neutral as possible; do not choose betrayal as I did."

Xing Lin's voice sounded again.

Obviously, he also understands that after this, more Divine Temple forces will likely choose to leave the Divine Temple.

After all, the Great Expansion Dao Sect has mobilized five Emperor Lords this time; if they do not achieve something, it would be unworthy of the deployment of Divine Communication Realm experts.

The Divine Temple will certainly suffer the harshest blow.

Within the vast space of the Divine Cauldron, some people listening to Xing Lin's words fell into contemplation.

As Xing Lin said, many among them had already harbored the thought of leaving the Divine Temple.

After all, for the vast majority of cultivators, they have no choice; from birth they may be Divine Temple disciples, and their families and clans are forces of the Divine Temple.

They only know they are members of the Dark Divine Temple because their parents and elders are members of the Dark Divine Temple.

Many people even fail to understand why their elders and teachers insist on this.

They would rather hide away, living in a sunless existence, than give up their identity as members of the Divine Temple.

In their view, what is the purpose of cultivation?

Is it not to freely and unrestrainedly pursue the pinnacle of martial arts, or to enjoy an unfettered life thanks to the painstakingly earned cultivation?

Clearly there is an opportunity to live in the sunshine, so why must one choose a more arduous path?

Among the several top powers within the Divine Palace, relying on their strength, they could still develop well, and they definitely have the potential to rival the Three Undying Kingdoms.

Even counting the years of suppression, they could possibly reach the standing of two sects and two lineages.

Such strength of two sects and two lineages would be hegemon-level in the whole Heavenly Mystic Realm.

"Grandfather..."

"Grandmaster..."

"Dad..."

Some disciples of the Dark Divine Palace came to their senses and could not help urging their elders and teachers.

They had truly had enough of that furtive, mouse-like existence.

They also wanted to exchange ideas with the geniuses of other sects, mingle with the holy sons and daughters of other powers, and experience the splendor of the Heavenly Mystic Realm.

They did not want to spend their whole lives hiding in a stronghold, stepping out only with extreme caution, never daring to show their true faces.

At this point, some of the older generation of the Divine Palace forces seemed to have had an epiphany.

They looked around.

Back when the Divine Palace was flourishing, all the countless cultivators of the Heavenly Mystic Realm were disciples of the Dark Divine Palace.

And now?

Many of the several thousand Divine Palace forces have been completely wiped out.

Countless disciples also lost their lives in the years of bounty hunts.

Because of the Great Expansion Dao Sect's bounty, when other sects captured Divine Palace disciples, they did not treat them as humans, arbitrarily torturing, killing, and humiliating them.

"Fellow Daoists, my Mount Wu Sect... has given up."

Within the quiet space of the Great Cauldron, an old man with white hair and beard slowly spoke.

Beside him stood only a petite girl whose face bore several terrifying scars.

The girl looked at the old man: "Grandfather..."

The old man shook his head at her, clasped his hands toward the crowd, and said with a bitter expression: "Fellow Daoists, my Mount Wu Sect now has only a dozen or so disciples left."

Back then, the Mount Wu Sect also had a million disciples...

The old man's words trailed off, but everyone understood the pain in his heart.

Within the Divine Cauldron space, Xing Lin's voice did not sound; only a mysterious ripple slowly appeared, sending the old man and his granddaughter out.

The Clear River Sect also gave up, fellow Daoists, Xue Mou apologizes.

With the Mount Wu Sect taking the lead, soon many forces that had suffered heavy losses in these years successively abandoned the Divine Palace.

The number of people inside the Divine Cauldron kept dwindling.

In the end, fewer than half chose to remain.

"Old Seven, my soul can't hold on anymore; the Divine Palace will henceforth rely on you."

"Several older brothers, Xing Lin is sorry to you."

After sending away most of the Divine Palace disciples, Xing Lin's weak voice sounded again.

"Alas!"

Zhong Lihui let out a deep sigh.

The Palace Master this time can be said to have carried out a sweeping reform of the Divine Palace.

Although this move greatly weakened the Divine Palace's forces, those who remained are absolutely trustworthy.

"Fellow Daoists."

Zhong Lihui looked at the sects that had still chosen to remain within the Divine Cauldron space and said, "Old man, in my capacity as an Elder of the Divine Palace, I hereby request... I implore the Palace Master to appoint Fang Xu of the Established Mystic Gate as the new Divine Son of our Dark Divine Palace. Do you have any objections?"

"Appoint Fang Xu as Divine Son?"

Although everyone was somewhat surprised, they realized that if the Divine Son selection continued, Fang Xu's position as Divine Son would be a foregone conclusion.

Nowadays, Palace Master Xing Lin has perished.

The Dark Divine Palace cannot go a day without a master; it urgently needs someone to shoulder this burden.

They were not very familiar with Fang Xu, but they had heard of some of his deeds.

Furthermore, Fang Xu's performance in the Divine Son selection led some to feel that the Dark Divine Palace might truly need such an unconventional leader.

More importantly, everyone is well aware of this.

Among the Divine Palace Elders, the Seventh Elder, Qi Shaoyu, supports Fang Xu.

Because she is Fang Xu's Grandmaster.

Nowadays, the Second Elder, Zhong Lihui, also proposed that Fang Xu become the Divine Son, which means he also supports Fang Xu.

The other three Divine Palace Elders have always been indecisive; since Qi Shaoyu and Zhong Lihui agree, they certainly will have no objections.

"Agree."

"The Three Corpse Sect also agrees!"

"The Qi Huang Gate also agrees!"

……

After a brief hesitation, all the forces present acknowledged Fang Xu's position as Divine Son.

But at this moment, Xing Lin had no sound within the Divine Cauldron.

"Palace Master?"

Zhong Lihui called out in a common-sense way.

"The Palace Master's last trace of soul has completely perished." At this moment, Fang Xu suddenly spoke.

The strength of the Mysterious Water Soul allowed him to keenly sense that within the Divine Cauldron, Xing Lin's final wisp of soul had just dissipated.

Upon these words, the many old-generation cultivators within the cauldron all became sorrowful and spiritless.

As the current Temple Master of the Dark God Temple, Xing Lin didn't do much, and even caused the temple to suffer several major blows.

But they fought side by side with Xing Lin for nearly a thousand years.

Over the years, they had already left a deep friendship between them.

Now Xing Lin has completely fallen, and everyone inevitably feels some sorrow.

With Xing Lin's divine soul dissipating, the space of this divine cauldron also gradually became somewhat unstable.

Everyone knows we must leave quickly.

Otherwise, if the divine cauldron shatters, they will all be swept into the spatial turbulence.

"Divine Son, the Temple Master is gone; you give the order."

Zhongli Hui looked at Fang Xu and said, "Where should we go next?"

Just now, Xing Lin had said he hoped those sects that had left the Dark God Temple would stay as neutral as possible and not choose betrayal.

But no one could guarantee that among those people, nobody would choose to betray their master for glory, selling out the temple's other forces to gain advantages from the Great Expansion Dao Sect.

Thus, many sects' strongholds can no longer be returned to.

"Seventh Elder." Fang Xu pondered for a moment and looked at Qi Shaoyu.

Qi Shaoyu shook his head.

He knew what Fang Xu wanted to ask.

"Under the Immortal Island lies an ancient divine beast, Baxia."

"I only know how to awaken it, but I don't know where it has taken the Immortal Island."

Hearing this, Fang Xu felt somewhat disappointed.

Actually, the Immortal Island is a very good place.

The space on the island is large enough to accommodate these temple disciples now.

But if even Qi Shaoyu can't find where the Immortal Island is now, probably no one in the entire Heavenly Mystery Realm can find it.

Now, besides the Immortal Island, where else could I take them?

"Fang Xu, how about… we return to Yu State?"

At this moment, Kong Jie suddenly spoke.

"Yu State?"

Some of the older generation of the temple's forces froze for a moment.

"It's Three Mountains Island." Fang Xu explained.

Three Mountains Island is indeed a good choice.

The land there is barren; aside from the Ascension Society, no other forces have established sects there.

The powers of the Central Continent wouldn't expect the Dark God Temple people to hide in such a godforsaken place.

Most importantly, that place has relics of the God of Expansion, and inside lives a past incarnation of the God of Expansion.

From Fang Xu's current perspective, the strength of that past incarnation of the God of Expansion is definitely above the God-Uniting Realm.

"What do the several elders think?" Fang Xu didn't make a decision but instead consulted the opinions of several temple elders.

He had been thrust into command in a crisis, his prestige insufficient; it would be better not to be too autocratic.

Several temple elders exchanged glances, and Zhongli Hui said, "Three Mountains Island is indeed a good place to hide."

"But there is a problem that needs to be solved."

Saying this, he glanced at the many worried temple disciples before him and said, "For the temple to survive and develop, Three Mountains Island lacks sufficient usable resources; how are the juniors' cultivation issues to be resolved?"

"Don't worry too much about resources; this old one has a way."

At this moment, an elderly woman in fine clothes leaning on a cane below slowly said, "The Red Rock Chamber of Commerce can solve this problem for us."

Red Rock Chamber of Commerce!!

Everyone was stunned.

That is the second-largest chamber of commerce in the Heavenly Mystery Realm; its strength might not be as good as the Three Immortals.

It can only barely be ranked in the second tier.

But in terms of wealth, none of the Three Immortals' states can compare to it.

"Can Grandma Zu Jiang connect with the Red Rock Chamber of Commerce?" Qi Shaoyu looked at the old woman in surprise.

The old woman gave an embarrassed smile: "It's not really a connection, because behind the Red Rock Chamber of Commerce is our Zu Family."

As soon as she said that, everyone present was dazed.

"I understand; the Red Rock Chamber of Commerce originally started in the Qi State."

"The Zu Family used to be the first family of the Qi State…"

Zu Jiang smiled and nodded: "If the Divine Son decides, I will arrange for the Red Rock Chamber of Commerce to regularly go to Three Mountains Island to purchase some things and bring along a large amount of resources."

Fang Xu nodded.

Since the cultivation resource issue can be resolved, Three Mountains Island seems to have become their best destination.

"Then shall it be Three Mountains Island?" Fang Xu looked at the crowd and spoke.

Everyone also firmly nodded.

Afterwards, Qi Shaoyu and several others jointly forced control of the divine cauldron to erupt with its last power, sending them to Three Mountains Island. (End of chapter)