Chapter 152: with translation of chapter title

Ascension Sect Ancestral Master Wumingkong descended into the main hall atop Righteous Qi Peak, his divine might unmatched, coldly questioning the dazed Heaven Punishment Elder standing still, asking about the whereabouts of Chen Zheng and the Six-Character True Words Talisman.

As his words fell, the gazes of Supreme Elders Feng Baiyu, Xie Tiankui, Lin Feiyan, and others all fell upon the Heaven Punishment Elder, awaiting his answer.

They were all among those who had high hopes for Chen Zheng.

Especially Xie Tiankui, who, while inside the Heavenly Emperor Mirror, had once staunchly supported Chen Zheng and had a fierce argument with Ruyizi's master, Sun Xihua.

Actually, they didn't really care about the ownership of the Five Elements Land talisman, after all it was Chen Zheng's own opportunity.

What they truly cared about was Chen Zheng himself.

If someone like Chen Zheng, a peculiar talent, were to become estranged from the Ascension Sect over a mere trial and a talisman, it would be a great loss.

Under the gaze of the assembled Supreme Elders, the Heaven Punishment Elder lacked his former reverence, his face wooden, like a lifeless puppet, his lips trembling as he uttered two words: 'Left……'

Everyone was puzzled.

"What does 'left' mean?"

Has Chen Zheng gone out for training again?

Wumingkong's expression displeased, his gaze locking onto the Heaven Punishment Elder, he asked again: 'Heaven Punishment brat, what does "left" mean? Speak clearly. Also, where exactly is the talisman of the Five Elements Land? Answer me.'

The Heaven Punishment Elder's numb body finally stirred with vitality; he abruptly turned his head, fixing Wumingkong with a strange gaze, and said: 'Chen Zheng has left, he will not return…… no, he will return, but by then you will regret it for the rest of your life.'

Wumingkong's expression paused.

One moment he says he'll come back, the next he says he won't, and then he says that if Chen Zheng returns, you will regret it for life?

What nonsense is this?

What kind of figure is he, having lived tens of thousands of years, akin to an antique walked out of the annals, having once participated in the Immortal-Demon War, with a will as firm as iron—how could he possibly regret?

With the Heaven Punishment Elder spouting such nonsense, does he even take his questioning seriously?

"Disrespect to the Ancestral Master, slash!"

Wumingkong's deep, sea-like eyes suddenly turned sharp, transforming into a heaven-splitting, earth-rending blade of cold light that slashed at the Heaven Punishment Elder.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed, the Heaven Punishment Elder's arm severed at the root, falling to the ground.

Witnessing this, the Supreme Elders fell silent like cicadas in winter, all knowing that the sect's first Ancestral Master had flown into a rage.

"Where exactly is Chen Zheng's talisman? Stop beating around the bush, Ancestral Master—I won't listen to nonsense." Wumingkong again pressed the Heaven Punishment Elder for an answer.

The Heaven Punishment Elder's face showed no pain from his severed arm, nor any fear; his eyes locked onto Wumingkong as he roared hoarsely: 'Ancestral Master? No, you are the sinner of our Ascension Sect!'

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall was stunned.

Many Supreme Elders who had emerged from spatial rifts and just rushed here to assess the situation were also stunned.

Utterly dumbfounded!

No one expected that a mere Heaven Punishment Elder, a lowly cultivator at the first level of the Longevity Realm's Myriad Longevity stage, would dare to speak such disrespectful words to Ancestral Master Wumingkong.

Does this person even know what he's saying?

Could he have taken the wrong medicine?

Or did he go berserk from cultivation deviation, becoming a madman?

Even if he truly were mad, it would still provoke Wumingkong, and the consequences would be unimaginable!

As expected.

Wumingkong's solemn visage suddenly darkened to the extreme, his whole body emanating a heaven‑toppling killing intent that spread skyward and earthward, lifting the hall above his head clean off before continuing to spread, submerging mountain ranges and valleys, and shaking the towering Ascension Heaven Palace floating high in the heavens until it trembled.

At that moment, hundreds of thousands of inner and outer disciples, true‑transmission disciples, and elders of the Ascension Sect were horrified, kneeling and trembling on the ground, feeling that everything they possessed—even their lives—was no longer under their own control, but wholly subject to Wumingkong's decree.

Even many Supreme Elders trembled, lowering their heads, daring not to meet Wumingkong's gaze.

Too terrifying.

"Slash!"

Wumingkong spoke, his tone icy and devoid of any feeling, his gaze likewise, intending to kill the Heaven Punishment Elder—who was coerced into kneeling on the ground—with a single look.

"Ancestral Master, please calm your wrath! Heaven Punishment Junior Brother must have been provoked by some stimulus to act so foolishly; his disrespect toward the Ancestral Master was not his true intention!"

Feng Baiyu's expression shifted abruptly as he stepped between Wumingkong and the Heaven Punishment Elder, like an ancient immortal mountain spanning the two realms, forged into an insurmountable barrier.

"Is that so."

Seeing Feng Baiyu intercede, Wumingkong retracted his killing intent, his expression easing slightly, and did not strike the Heaven Punishment Elder again.

A flicker of doubt crossed his eyes, and he also sensed that the Heaven Punishment Elder's condition was somewhat off.

Otherwise, even the dullest person would not dare to call him a sinner of the Ascension Sect to his face.

Moreover, he is no sinner at all, but the foremost of the Ascension Sect's Three Holy Ones, the sect's stabilizing divine needle.

"I'd like to see just how great a stimulus the Heaven Punishment brat received to lose his reason and become this deranged."

Wumingkong snorted coldly, pointed a finger, and the already‑killing‑intent‑shattered hall's upper space instantly warped time and space, wildly twisting, conjuring out of thin air a vast light‑shadow like a heavenly curtain.

"What just happened, how could there be such overwhelming pressure that nearly crushed me? Could it be that the Sect Master Supreme has ascended to immortality?"

"Huh, quick look, what is that?"

Throughout the Ascension Sect, many who had been forced to kneel by the killing intent Wumingkong had released struggled to rise from the ground, and upon discovering the enormous light‑screen hovering above Righteous Qi Peak, they gazed up in doubtful uncertainty.

"That light‑screen contains the legendary power of time; it is the Sect Master Supreme and the Supreme Elders who have exerted great magical power to reverse time, hoping to glimpse what occurred on Righteous Qi Peak in the past."

Elders with keen eyesight exclaimed, seeing Wumingkong and the others on the peak, and guessed what they were doing.

In fact, this is not true time reversal, but rather Wumingkong using the power of temporal rules to retrogress to past events.

At this moment, the images within the enormous light‑screen shifted rapidly, like a fleeting glance.

Finally, the image froze on the scene of Chen Zheng having finished his cultivation in the main hall atop Righteous Qi Peak, while the Heaven Punishment Elder knocked on the door outside.

Whether it was Wumingkong, Feng Baiyu, Xie Tiankui, and other Supreme Elders who knew the inside story, or the countless elders and disciples completely unaware of the situation, their gazes sharpened.

Everyone was curious about what the Ascension Sect's first legendary figure, Chen Zheng, would say to the Heaven Punishment Elder.

Under the gaze of all, the light‑screen shifted, showing the Heaven Punishment Elder pushing the door open, inquiring of Chen Zheng and Wang Daoling and others, and stating that Wumingkong wished to test Chen Zheng, whereupon Chen Zheng, upon hearing it, burst into loud laughter.

These have no real ups and downs, skip them.

But next, when Chen Zheng bluntly called Wu Mingkong a shameless old dog, Jiang Rourou, the Transmission Elder, Yi Jianqiu and others on the Feather Ascension Palace were terrified, their bodies twitching.

"Chen Zheng, too… too crazy, a hundred times crazier than what the Heaven Punishment kid said!"

"He keeps saying shocking things nonstop, as if he wants to pierce a huge hole through the heavens!"

On the Righteous Peak, many Supreme Elders felt horror.

Some even doubted whether they were seeing things, or if the image on the light screen was fake.

Could it be that Wu Mingkong's rewind was a false timeline?

Otherwise, how could such absurdity occur?

"Dog‑brave enough to challenge the heavens, dog‑brave enough!"

Wu Mingkong, seeing himself insulted by Chen Zheng, turned ashen, a torrent of murderous aura erupted from his body, shattering the light screen as if the heavens were enraged, ready to unleash an apocalyptic disaster.

He, a venerable Patriarch whose imposing presence suppresses the countless beings of the Mysterious Yellow Vast World, was insulted by a junior disciple.

And the whole Feather Ascension Sect witnessed it.

Shame!

An absolute, unparalleled humiliation!

"Patriarch, calm down, first see why Chen Zheng is so crazy; there must be a reason," Feng Baiyu regained composure and urged again.

Wu Mingkong, enraged yet mocking, forced a voice through his teeth: "Fine, I'll take a good look at the reason. If Chen Zheng can't give a proper explanation, I'll not only erase him but also annihilate his ancestors for eighteen generations!"

Feng Baiyu snapped his fingers, and a massive light screen reappeared in the sky.

Everyone, full of doubt, stared unblinking at the light screen, eager to know why Chen Zheng insulted Wu Mingkong as an old dog over a test.

Why?

The scene continues.

On the light screen, Chen Zheng's divine bearing was unparalleled; his words—"Wu Mingkong and the sect never cultivated me, why test me, why demand my loyalty"—made everyone finally understand why Chen Zheng acted so heretically.

The entire Feather Ascension Sect fell silent, moved by Chen Zheng's thunderous words.

Silence!

On what grounds?

Three words rang deafeningly.

It stunned everyone into speechlessness.

Many bowed their heads.

Shame colored Feng Baiyu's face.

Many Elders who had dealt with Chen Zheng were so embarrassed their faces turned crimson, wishing they could crawl into a crack in the ground.

Someone like Chen Zheng, if placed in another sect, would have been vigorously cultivated—any Heaven‑grade elixir, Immortal Pill, Dao Artifact—whatever he needed would be presented for him to choose.

But what about our Feather Ascension Sect?

Not even a single hair was given to him.

If not stingy, then what?

What reason is there to demand his loyalty?

Wu Mingkong isn't an old dog, he is…

"Alas, we were wrong, but we can still make amends. Tomorrow… no, today we'll open the Treasure Vault and vigorously cultivate Chen Zheng," many Elders sighed, making a hard decision.

They still didn't know Chen Zheng had already left.

"Hmph, Chen Zheng is spouting nonsense! As a disciple of this sect, loyalty to the sect is a given!" Wu Mingkong shouted angrily.

"Indeed, he can't even pass the Patriarch's minor test yet insults the Patriarch; his conduct is abysmal, far from the lofty Hua Tian," a cold‑mannered man, Sun Xihua, said disdainfully.

"Who says our Feather Ascension Sect never cultivated him? The cultivation robe and sword he received upon entry, the Great Freedom Profound Golden Sword Qi he refined, the Grain‑Opening Pill and Essence Pill from the Inner Immortal Courtyard—aren't those resources?" Supreme Elder Deng Ao exclaimed angrily.

"..."

Many were left speechless hearing Deng Ao, Sun Xihua, and Wu Mingkong's righteous speeches.

How could you utter such words?

Patriarchs and Supreme Elders like this wear one's heart down.

Feng Baiyu felt weary, unwilling to argue with Wu Mingkong and others, only wanting to know where Chen Zheng went, sighing, "Let's keep watching."

Hearing that, everyone ignored their private contempt for the three and kept watching the massive light screen.

At that moment, Chen Zheng invoked his Original Golden Core; instantly, dazzling lights flickered across the light screen, blinding many, and a storm like a landslide and tsunami roared through the Feather Ascension Sect.

"That's Chen Zheng's Original Golden Core; he's broken through again—impressive! I've never seen a Golden Core with ninety‑nine Divine Abilities; I must count them: one, sixty, ninety‑nine… what the—???"

An Elder stared at the light screen, shouting wildly while counting the Divine Abilities on the Golden Core, but halfway through, his voice abruptly stopped as if a rooster's neck had been grasped.

He was completely stunned.

Xu Yueer, Long Xuan, the Transmission Elder, Jiang Rourou, Yi Jianqiu and others were also stunned.

Sun Xihua and Deng Ao were also stunned.

Feng Baiyu was also stunned.

Wu Mingkong was also stunned.

Hundreds of thousands throughout the Feather Ascension Sect were all stunned.

Not a single one was not stunned!

"Hahaha, stunned, aren't you? See? Chen Zheng has mastered a full three hundred fifteen Divine Abilities; he surpasses everything, forever beyond your imagination! Wu Mingkong, you fool, for the Five Elements Earth Spirit Talisman, for selfish desire, you caused such a figure to leave the sect. If you're not a sinner, what are you? Not an old dog—what then? You should be suppressed in a mortal latrine, eating excrement daily for ten thousand years!"

Heaven Punishment Elder suddenly leapt from the ground, howling madly, his voice echoing repeatedly through the Feather Ascension mountains.

With each howl, the image on the light screen finally reached its conclusion.

The invincible figure of the Feather Ascension Sect, Chen Zheng, turned and left the sect without hesitation!

Thump! Thump…

Seeing this scene, the disciples and Elders all wore faces ashen, their bodies drained of all strength, collapsing in large, limp heaps like cut wheat.

"Chen Zheng, why did you leave the sect? Come back! We'll cultivate you immediately, with the whole sect's effort."

"Our Feather Ascension Sect actually produced an invincible being that broke the limits of heaven and earth and cultivated 315 divine abilities, yet we failed to seize it. How could we be so foolish…"

"Chen Zheng is too generous. The Transmission Elder only gave him a single Sky‑blue Yi Yuan Pill, worth over a hundred thousand White Sun Pills, and he repaid it with a Dao artifact worth hundreds of billions! Such a generous figure… sigh…"

Many Grand Elders roared in heart‑wrenching pain, sighing with regret, as if they could call Chen Zheng back.

Several Supreme Elders also had dimmed eyes, looking lost, sharing the same regret in their hearts, their guts turning green with remorse.

Chen Zheng!

In the history of the Feather Ascension Sect, no, in the entire Three‑Thousand Great Worlds, the greatest prodigy ever, they could not comprehend him, yet they knew that if he continued cultivating this way, he would inevitably lead the Feather Ascension Sect to brilliance, sweep the Great Unity Sect, unify Xuanhuang, and conquer the heavens.

But his own stupidity was hand‑delivered by them out of the sect.

It is tantamount to burying the Feather Ascension Sect's future with their own hands.

How could they not regret?

This time not only Wu Mingkong will regret for life, but every one of them will regret for life.

"Chen Zheng shouldn't be far away. Pursue! No matter what, we must bring him back and seek his forgiveness!" Feng Baiyu's expression shifted several times as he gritted his teeth and spoke to the assembled Supreme Elders.

"Indeed, we must demand him…"

"Do not pursue!"

Xie Tiankui and the others, as if clutching a lifeline, snapped out of their daze, about to echo Feng Baiyu, when a hoarse voice cut them off.

The crowd was stunned, turning their heads to look.

They saw Wu Mingkong no longer exuding his former supreme aura; instead his eyes were blood‑red, his expression feral, staring at them fixedly, as if anyone daring to chase Chen Zheng would meet his thunderous strike.

"You shut up!"

Feng Baiyu suddenly became expressionless, his eyes flashing with endless authority, his pupils reflecting the wails of spirits and the fall of countless immortals, cold‑staring at Wu Mingkong.

"I…"

Wu Mingkong suddenly felt that Feng Baiyu had become a supreme ruler; no matter how high his own cultivation, he could not resist, and his body involuntarily stepped back a few paces.

"Go!"

Feng Baiyu flicked his sleeve, pulling the Heavenly Punishment Elder into the space inside the Heavenly Emperor Mirror, and led dozens of Supreme Elders out of the Feather Ascension Sect to pursue Chen Zheng.

In place, only Wu Mingkong, Sun Xihua, Deng Ao, and over thirty Supreme Elders on their side remained, their expressions shifting between gloom and brightness.

(End of Chapter)