Chapter 174: Zhiyang Shangren and the Head of Hehuan Laomo

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, looking at the seal and restriction of the chains that had imprisoned him for hundreds of years, now severed by a single sword Qi, the woman in the black dress believed Yan Taibai's words.

"Do not change back to your original form; you are quite pleasing to the eye like this. Go and do what you wish to do! Remember not to go too far; you must know that too much is as bad as too little."

Yan Taibai chuckled and reminded her.

"Yes, Master, this slave obeys."

Seeing this, the woman in the black dress gave Yan Taibai a flirtatious look, then transformed into a mass of black Qi and left the stone chamber.

In Yan Taibai's hand, however, was the black box that had been in the woman's hand.

Subsequently, Yan Taibai flicked his palm, and the black box opened.

A dazzling white light shone from within the box, and then a burst of pure, clear spiritual Qi rushed toward his face, directly filling the entire stone chamber.

After the white radiance dimmed, one could see a white jade stone, several inches in size, flickering incessantly within the light inside the black box.

At the same time, inside this translucent jade, there was a thumb-sized green calf, shaking its head and wagging its tail, moving about incessantly, looking vivid and lifelike.

"It is indeed the Spirit Eye Jade; such dense Heaven and Earth spiritual Qi, truly a good item. It seems I did not save this corpse ghoul in vain."

"I hope it does not disappoint me too much; otherwise, I can only say I am sorry."

"I wonder just how much ability this Jin Laoguai, the number one person of the Yunmeng Three Sects, truly has."

Yan Taibai stared at the Spirit Eye Jade inside the black box with a slightly fiery gaze, smiling to himself.

After examining and playing with it for a good while, Yan Taibai finally put away the black box and the Spirit Eye Jade, and then left the stone chamber where the corpse ghoul had been imprisoned.

After all, he could not afford to miss the good show that was to follow.

……

Half a month later, the Tiannan Cultivation World experienced another significant earthquake, originating from the Heavenly Dao Alliance.

And if one looked at this earthquake from the surface, it was a good thing for the Righteous Alliance of Fengdu Kingdom and the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects.

Because the Yunmeng Three Sects, one of the most powerful forces in the Heavenly Dao Alliance, had been slaughtered by a Nascent Soul Stage corpse ghoul.

Many Foundation Establishment Stage and Golden Core Stage disciples and elders suffered heavy losses, and even Jin Laoguai, the number one among the three sects' Nascent Soul cultivators, could do nothing against that corpse ghoul, which was equivalent to a Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivator, allowing it to leave the Yunmeng Three Sects safely. Within a short month, it had bloodily slaughtered several more cultivation families and killed the Nascent Soul cultivators of two cultivation sects, making everyone in the Xi Country and nearby countries' cultivation sects feel insecure.

However, soon, Yan Taibai, now the number one person of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, told the many cultivation sects and families of the Heavenly Dao Alliance some good news.

That corpse ghoul, which was no weaker than a Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivator, had already been exterminated by him.

This made most of the cultivation sects and families of the Heavenly Dao Alliance feel relieved, especially the Yunmeng Three Sects of Xi Country, who were even more obedient to Yan Taibai.

Although everyone knew there must be some connection, faced with Yan Taibai's terrifying strength, they simply had no room for choice.

After all, for Yan Taibai, this was already giving the Yunmeng Three Sects a way out.

If they still did not listen, the next time it would not be Foundation Establishment Stage disciples or Golden Core Stage elders.

Regarding this point, everyone knew it clearly.

Therefore, not only the Yunmeng Three Sects of Xi Country but all the major sects and cultivation families of the Heavenly Dao Alliance began to truly and earnestly prepare to deal with the armies of the Righteous Alliance and the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects.

After all, if they did not prepare well, their own fate would not be much better.

As a result, the Righteous Alliance of Fengdu Kingdom and the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects had also assembled their armies and set up their defensive lines.

For a time, the entire Tiannan Cultivation World could be described as being in a state of extreme tension, with everyone feeling insecure.

It was even more terrifying than a hundred years ago, because this time the Heavenly Dao Alliance had an extra Yan Taibai, which brought the Heavenly Dao Alliance, a force that was originally just a loose alliance, together.

This caused the strength of the entire Heavenly Dao Alliance to increase greatly; after all, Yan Taibai and the duo of Long Han and Feng Bing were equivalent to two Great Cultivators of Nascent Soul Late Stage, and some even suspected that Yan Taibai was already the number one person in the Tiannan Cultivation World.

As for why they suspected this, it was mainly because it was rumored from the Yanyue Sect that Yan Taibai had defeated Long Han and Feng Bing, which was why the two agreed to help other sects and cultivation families take back their former cultivation countries.

Moreover, that corpse ghoul was also subdued by Yan Taibai.

This meant that the greatest advantage of the Righteous Alliance of Fengdu Kingdom and the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects—their two Great Cultivators of Nascent Soul Late Stage—had already vanished completely.

They were even in a disadvantaged position; after all, Yan Taibai, having already defeated Long Han and Feng Bing, had wiped out all the Nascent Soul cultivators from the Righteous Alliance of Fengdu Kingdom and the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects who had gone to the Yanyue Sect to offer apologies, leaving not a single one behind.

One could imagine that this strength and divine ability alone surpassed that of Hehuan Laomo of the Hehuan Sect and Zhiyang Shangren of the Taizhen Sect.

After all, among the Nascent Soul cultivators who went to the Yanyue Sect from the Righteous Alliance and the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects, besides Yunlu Old Demon, who was a Nascent Soul Mid-Stage Peak cultivator.

There were also three Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivators; under such circumstances, Yan Taibai was still able to wipe them all out, with not a single one escaping.

This was enough to prove that Yan Taibai's current divine ability and strength already surpassed that of Hehuan Laomo of the Hehuan Sect and Zhiyang Shangren of the Taizhen Sect.

Of course, there was also Wei Wuya of the Nine Nations Alliance.

And Wei Wuya, after receiving the request for help from Zhiyang Shangren of the Righteous Alliance of Fengdu Kingdom and Hehuan Laomo of the Hehuan Sect of the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects, only replied with one sentence: their Nine Nations Alliance needed to guard against the Mulan Tribe taking advantage of the situation, so they could not help anyone, and told the two of them to be extra careful.

Upon receiving this reply, Great Elder Zhiyang Shangren of the Taizhen Sect and Great Elder Hehuan Laomo of the Hehuan Sect had dark expressions.

In the council hall of the Hehuan Sect in Heavenly Luo Kingdom: "This damned Wei Wuya has probably already reached a cooperation with Yan Taibai of the Yanyue Sect and intends to sit on the sidelines. 'Guarding against the Mulan Tribe'? Ridiculous. Last time, our sides joined forces and drove back the Mulan Tribe; it has only been this long, how could they have recovered so quickly? It is clearly that they do not want to offend Yan Taibai of the Yanyue Sect. This villain is truly hateful, actually wiping out all the fellow Daoists we sent. Isn't this clearly wanting to go to war with our Righteous Alliance and the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects, and also wanting to take back their original territory? Truly ridiculous."

Great Elder Lian Wuyou of the Demon Flame Sect snorted coldly and said.

"Regardless, we can only hold them off. After all, the Heavenly Dao Alliance now has an extra Yan Taibai, and their strength has greatly increased. I just don't know how fellow Daoist Hehuan and fellow Daoist Zhiyang are doing? I hope that with the two of them joining forces, they can defeat Yan Taibai of the Yanyue Sect; otherwise, it will be troublesome. Perhaps, in order to preserve our vitality, we will have to return the cultivation countries we originally seized to their Heavenly Dao Alliance."

The current Great Elder of the Yuling Sect, one of the Six Demon Sects, Han Lingshan, said in a deep voice with a grave expression.

The original Great Elder of the Yuling Sect, Dongmen Tu, had been directly wiped out by Yan Taibai when he went to the Yanyue Sect to offer apologies.

Although the Yuling Sect still had several Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivators, they had no interest in this position of Great Elder.

Originally, they were focused on closed-door cultivation, attempting to break through to become Great Cultivators of Nascent Soul Late Stage. Now, they had to deal with the Heavenly Dao Alliance and Yan Taibai.

The divine ability and strength that Yan Taibai had displayed had already exceeded their expectations.

Their only hope was that Zhiyang Shangren of the Righteous Alliance's Taizhen Sect and Hehuan Laomo of the Hehuan Sect, two Great Cultivators of Nascent Soul Late Stage, could join forces to defeat or exterminate Yan Taibai, this great threat.

Otherwise, regardless of whether Yan Taibai could break through to the Spirit Severing Stage, for the next thousand years, the entire Tiannan Cultivation World would inevitably be firmly suppressed by him, with no one able to resist.

As for why other Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivators were not included, it was naturally because most of the Nascent Soul Mid Stage and above cultivators of the Righteous Alliance and the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects were currently being held back by the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the duo of Long Han and Feng Bing.

As for them, they could only wait for news here. If they won, the Righteous Alliance and the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects would truly form an alliance, and then in one fell swoop remove the cultivation sects and families of the Heavenly Dao Alliance's countries, and divide up the entire Heavenly Dao Alliance; in this way, the Nine Nations Alliance would have to act according to their wishes.

If they were defeated, they would either continue to form an alliance and deal with Yan Taibai and the Heavenly Dao Alliance using the armies of the Righteous and Demonic paths.

Although there was little hope for the latter, it could still make Yan Taibai wary.

Currently, the Righteous Alliance, the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects, and the Heavenly Dao Alliance had not yet truly gone to war.

As for whether a war will truly break out, it depends on the outcome between Yan Taibai, Zhiyang Shangren, and Hehuan Laomo.

If the former, Yan Taibai, wins, then they must fight to the death; in any case, there is no longer any possibility of reconciliation.

If Hehuan Laomo and Zhiyang Shangren are victorious, then the Heavenly Dao Alliance will from this moment on become history in the Tiannan Cultivation World.

"Preserve our strength; if Yan Taibai of the Yanyue Sect wins and defeats Fellow Daoist Zhiyang and Fellow Daoist Hehuan, will he give us a chance to preserve our strength? By then, even if we cede the cultivation countries we originally seized, it will be of no use."

The Sect Master of the Tiansha Sect said coldly.

The disciple he had planted in the Luoyun Sect of the Yunmeng Three Sects had been wiped out directly by Yan Taibai, and coupled with the Tiansha Sect's Deputy Sect Master, who had originally gone to offer an apology but was instead killed by Yan Taibai, at this moment, the hatred this Tiansha Sect Master held for Yan Taibai could not be washed away even if he exhausted the waters of the five lakes and four seas.

However, he still did not hold much hope that Hehuan Laomo and Zhiyang Shangren could kill Yan Taibai.

After all, the strength and divine abilities Yan Taibai had displayed had already exceeded those of a Great Cultivator of Nascent Soul Late Stage.

Under these circumstances, the chances of Zhiyang Shangren and Hehuan Laomo winning by joining forces were truly not high.

But they no longer had any choice; they could only fight to the death.

After all, if they did not fight to the death while their strength had not yet been greatly affected, there would be no chance left once their vitality was severely damaged.

Although the principle of the frog in boiling water did not exist in the cultivation world, this group of Nascent Soul cultivators who had lived for hundreds of years naturally understood it.

"How exactly did this Yan Taibai cultivate? Even if his constitution is heaven-defying, it is impossible for him to cultivate such powerful divine abilities. He is merely at the Nascent Soul Early Stage, yet he was actually able to defeat both Long Han and Feng Bing. It is truly inconceivable. Even Tianhen Old Monster only managed to slightly injure Zhiyang Shangren at the cost of being heavily wounded himself. His divine abilities and strength are truly unfathomable."

The Sect Master of the Qianhuan Sect had an ugly expression and asked with some suspicion.

"Think about the Ghost Spirit Sect! Back then, more than half of the Ghost Spirit Sect simply vanished, and coupled with the various strange phenomena at the Yanyue Sect, even if someone said he was an immortal reincarnated now, I would believe it."

The person speaking was the Master of the Blood Killing Gate, which had replaced the Ghost Spirit Sect to become one of the new Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects.

"An immortal reincarnated? Fellow Daoist Xuesha really knows how to joke; how could such a thing exist?"

The Sect Master of the Qianhuan Sect gave a dry laugh; he did not believe the words of the Blood Killing Gate Master at all, yet he could not help but doubt.

After all, the divine abilities and strength Yan Taibai had displayed today completely exceeded common sense.

It was truly shocking and inconceivable; they had not reached this level after cultivating for hundreds of years, yet Yan Taibai had become the number one person in the Tiannan Cultivation World after cultivating for only a little over a hundred years.

At the very least, on the surface, there was no one who could defeat Yan Taibai, a Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator. Coupled with the defeat of Long Han and Feng Bing, and the total annihilation of the Righteous Alliance and the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects' Nascent Soul cultivators at the Yanyue Sect, they had to admit it under these circumstances.

Yan Taibai was already the number one person in the Tiannan Cultivation World. Especially if Zhiyang Shangren and Hehuan Laomo were defeated this time.

Then this title of the number one person in the Tiannan Cultivation World would be well-deserved.

And they would be the price paid.

Therefore, their hearts were filled with worry, yet they were helpless.

As for going to assist, in a battle of this magnitude, most of them were not even Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivators; they would purely be a hindrance.

"Regardless of whether it is true or not, we have no room for choice at this moment; we can only fight to the death."

Tian Wuxin, the head of the Hehuan Sect, said in a deep voice.

If an accident happened to Hehuan Laomo, then the Hehuan Sect would inevitably face the fate of defeat, and might even become history in the Tiannan Cultivation World.

Even though it had stood in the Tiannan Cultivation World for tens of thousands of years, Yan Taibai was also a Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivator who had not appeared in tens of thousands of years.

Even if the Nascent Soul Early Stage could not wipe out the Hehuan Sect and the entire Demon Dao Six Sects, it would be the same once he advanced to the Nascent Soul Mid Stage or became a Great Cultivator of Nascent Soul Late Stage. By then, who would be Yan Taibai's opponent?

This was also an important reason why Hehuan Laomo and Zhiyang Shangren chose to join forces to deal with Yan Taibai.

As for the other Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivators, it was not that they did not want to help, but that they were all being held back.

Nowadays, it was not just the Nascent Soul cultivators in charge of the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects; Long Han and Feng Bing of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, and the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Righteous Path such as the Taizhen Sect and Haoran Pavilion were also watching.

This matter concerned the future of the entire Tiannan Cultivation World. Whoever won or lost would determine the fate of them all, and the fate of their sects.

"If we could kill this Yan Taibai and obtain the fortuitous opportunity he possesses, perhaps we could also break through to the Nascent Soul Mid Stage, or even become a Great Cultivator of Nascent Soul Late Stage."

The Sect Master of the Qianhuan Sect said in a deep, expectant voice.

This was indeed the truth, and it voiced the inner thoughts of everyone, but saying it was one thing, while actually doing it could only be a thought. In reality, even if Zhiyang Shangren and Hehuan Laomo could kill Yan Taibai, they would not tell them about this fortuitous opportunity, and might even fight another battle among themselves.

Such a thing was not impossible.

"It seems you all really hope those two will win. However, it is a pity; they have been defeated and have already been beheaded by me." As the voice fell, two streaks of light landed in the great hall.

"Boom!" They were two bloody heads.

The heads of Zhiyang Shangren and Hehuan Laomo! (End of chapter)