Chapter 267

Azure Wood Domain, Changsheng Sect.

A black wooden vessel flew through the air; on its black sail, the two bloody red characters 'Changsheng' were clearly visible.

At the bow of the wooden vessel, which was several dozen zhang long, sat a large chair; Chang'an wore a luxurious robe made of red bean spider silk, lazily leaning back in the chair.

Several scantily clad girls had flushed cheeks, curled up like lazy cats at Chang'an's feet, their gazes like water, unblinking as they looked at Chang'an's handsome yet somewhat evil face.

Two months ago, Chang'an in one go condensed a life pool, becoming a powerful expert of the Life Pool Realm.

What made the entire Changsheng Sect's senior leadership almost pop their eyes out was that, cultivating the same Changsheng Sect secret manual, Chang'an's foundation was more than ten times stronger than that of the current Sect Master and the Supreme Elder.

Chang'an's condensed life pool was thick and broad, his magical power formidable, its purity far surpassing that of his peers.

On the third day after breaking through to the Life Pool Realm, Chang'an publicly challenged the Changsheng Sect's First Vice Sect Master; before tens of thousands of Changsheng Sect disciples, he defeated the First Vice Sect Master in just three moves, making him vomit blood and kneel, utterly embarrassed as he bowed in surrender.

Chang'an is the current First Vice Sect Master of the Changsheng Sect, the youngest Vice Sect Master–level senior in the sect's history.

All Changsheng Sect disciples know full well that, given Chang'an's prestige, his strength, and his influence among young disciples, replacing the current Sect Master is merely a matter of time.

Or rather, it just depends on Chang'an's mood.

Chang'an's strength is too great, extraordinarily strong, far exceeding the standard expected of the Changsheng Sect's inherited secret manual. Inside the sect, someone secretly gossiped, saying that the current Sect Master had once privately said that he might not be a match for Chang'an.

In just two months, several of Chang'an's close aides that everyone knows also broke through one after another.

Including Chang'an himself, Chang'an now commands a Life Pool Realm combat force numbering a full seven people.

Moreover, aside from Chang'an, the foundations of his several close aides are extremely solid; the life pools they condensed are more refined and vaster than those of ordinary Elders and Vice Sect Masters of the Changsheng Sect, and their magical power is several times greater.

As Chang'an's prestige grew, even Elders and Vice Sect Masters secretly defected to his side.

Apparently sensing the girls' intense flirtatious glances, Chang'an suddenly lowered his head and smiled at them. His smile, full of evil charm, made the girls' hearts race, their faces flush crimson, their bodies tremble involuntarily, and fine beads of sweat appear on their noses.

"You little girls, I'll deal with you properly later," Chang'an laughed triumphantly.

He stood up and looked at the faintly lit exit of the passage ahead.

With his hands behind his back, standing at the bow, Chang'an exhaled deeply.

It was not in vain that he had captured Yu Mo and Qing Feng alive; after great effort, consuming enormous strength and time, he brought them to the nearest divine envoy and offered them as sacrifices to the heavenly god.

The heavenly god's bestowal exceeded Chang'an's abundance.

Not only did it directly increase their magical cultivation, but also, based on the Changsheng Sect's inherited secret manual, a certain heavenly god personally intervened and devised for him the Nine Tribulations Changsheng Classic.

After returning to the Changsheng Sect, Chang'an switched to cultivating the Nine Tribulations Changsheng Classic; he easily picked up from his old cultivation method, restarting from the first heavenly lock of the Chonglou Tower, charging forward and breaking through, advancing like a bamboo split, rapidly cultivating to the peak of the thirty-third heavenly layer of the Chonglou Realm, and finally breaking through successfully.

With a composed smile, Chang'an narrowed his eyes, looking proudly at the surrounding scenery.

The heavenly god's bestowal... truly, divine grace is vast!

The Nine Tribulations Changsheng Classic not only produced extraordinarily pure magical power, but also completely eliminated the drawbacks from Chang'an's previous devouring of others' life essences and magical sources—his cultivation had been impure and unstable—and it also made up for his physically weak shortcomings.

At this moment, Chang'an is not only supernaturally adept in magical cultivation, but his physical strength can also match that of flood dragons head-on.

With such a formidable physique, Chang'an's combat power surged, and moreover, cultivating the Nine Tribulations Changsheng Classic became as easy as a fish in water, making him increasingly adept with women.

Over the past two months, Chang'an has been prosperous and pleased, living a very comfortable life.

The wooden vessel sped forward, soon shooting out of the passage; ahead lay a stone cavern about fifty li in radius, with a modest-sized Shibao perched in a corner of the cavern, and on the rear cliff face a winding stone staircase could be seen leading up to a pitch-black mine.

The wooden vessel rushed swiftly toward the Shibao.

Along the way, many dwarf and midget slaves knelt respectfully on the ground.

They are all natives indigenous to the Changsheng Sect's territory; although illiterate, they all have the two bloody characters 'Changsheng' on the black sail etched deep into their souls.

To them, these two bloody characters are no different from a deity.

At the Shibao's gate, several hundred people were already waiting there; the wooden vessel was still seven or eight li away, and these people had already knelt on the ground.

An old man with white hair, his cultivation roughly at the first or second heavenly layer of the Chonglou Realm, heavily knocked his forehead to the ground and loudly shouted from afar: "Belonging to the Zhao family, we welcome Sect Master Chang'an!"

"Sect Master Chang'an?"

Chang'an gave a composed smile; he liked this title.

If it weren't for that old fogey and the old fogey behind him, who control too many resources of the Changsheng Sect, and if he hadn't yet gotten hold of some secrets, he would have already moved to kill the current Sect Master and take full control of the Changsheng Sect.

However, Chang'an firmly believes that the Changsheng Sect will sooner or later be in his pocket.

He unhumblely waved his hand and said calmly: "Rise, no need for formalities; you will understand that I, Chang'an, differ from those old fogeys who love pomp—I value practical results… as long as you work diligently, I will surely reward you."

Chang'an recalled the terrifying power the heavenly god had released during the sacrifice, and the composed, magnanimous aura behind it; these days he has been studying the heavenly god's words and deeds.

Even if his imitation is imperfect, Chang'an feels that he and those old fogeys, those country bumpkins, are no longer on the same level.

Grace and bearing… Chang'an strives to adjust every muscle and bone in his body, striving to present the true, lofty image of a deity as he envisions it.

His smile was like blossoms… oh, no, it was a radiant smile like the False Sun, his gaze gentle yet profound as he looked at the many members of the Zhao family.

His gaze shifted, and Chang'an looked at the few young girls kneeling behind the Zhao family elder.

His eyes lit up suddenly; Chang'an almost broke from his deliberately maintained dignified composure to become a wolf—what lovely, delicious little girls! Beautiful, truly beautiful, compared to the Changsheng Sect's wilted flowers and wanton women, they possess countless innocence and purity.

These few little girls were so beautiful that Chang'an very much wanted to execute them on the spot.

Suppressing the fire in his heart, Chang'an said gently: "Rise, these few young ladies, are you the Zhao family's famed Four Beauties? Indeed pure and flawless, like flawless white jade, truly like dew-kissed pearls."

He praised them with a sound, then Chang'an smiled: "Very good, from now on they will be my first batch of personal disciples; from now on, stay by my side."

The Zhao family's clansmen all smiled as they rose, earnestly inviting Chang'an to enter the Shibao for a feast.

The Changsheng Sect's personal disciples… especially the female disciples beside the sect's high-ranking members—everyone knows what they're like.

However, paying four 'money-losing goods' to embrace the Changsheng Sect's hotshot First Vice Sect Master… the future Sect Master's thigh—what a bargain!

Our family is going to prosper.

The Zhao family elder laughed until his face was wrinkled like a blooming chrysanthemum, repeatedly inviting Chang'an to enter the Shibao.

Chang'an smiled gently, he floated down from the wooden vessel, surrounded by his two close aides and the retinue of followers; just as he was about to enter the Shibao, his expression suddenly stiffened slightly.

"Hmph!"

With a soft snort, a vast expanse of pink, slick light swirled across the ground; aside from the two close aides, everyone inside the stone cavern—whether Zhao family members, those slaves, or Changsheng Sect disciples—went limp and collapsed unconscious.

"Senior Brother?" a close junior disciple of Chang'an asked urgently: "What's happening?"

Chang'an flipped his palm, and a deep blue crystal the size of a child's fist appeared in his hand.

In the deep blue crystal, specks of cold light glimmered; threads of silver‑blue, though extremely fine, exuded an aura of extreme danger as they darted through the crystal. At its core, a faint human silhouette could be seen swimming about.

It was a figure with a human body and fish tail, a beautiful mermaid illusion.

At that moment, waves of subtle chill spread from the deep blue crystal; as soon as Chang'an's palm touched it, a thin layer of ice formed on his fingertips.

"The Heavenly God's decree… a decree sent directly to us." Chang'an flushed with excitement.

At the previous sacrifice, Yu Mo and Qing Yuan must have hidden great secrets, so Chang'an received the Heavenly God's generous reward. Besides cultivation methods and realm, he was also granted this transmission divine crystal by the Heavenly God's gracious bestowal.

With this divine crystal, Chang'an can converse directly with the Heavenly God, no longer needing a divine envoy to relay messages.

This is a qualitative change in his status.

It is the Heavenly God's recognition and affirmation of Chang'an.

At the same time, it signifies that Chang'an now holds higher authority, allowing him to pray for greater power from the Heavenly God's artifact, even to borrow its strength for short‑range instantaneous translocation.

Since obtaining the divine crystal, this is the first time Chang'an has received a direct decree from the Heavenly God.

Chang'an's legs felt a little weak.

He reverently held the divine crystal, his knees went soft, and with a Thud he knelt on the ground.

Devout and obedient, he was like the utmost filial son and grandson worshipping his own ancestors.

"Supreme, great Heavenly God, your devout servant Chang'an listens to your decree!"

Chang'an stammered as he respectfully spoke those words.

His two trusted senior brothers also knelt on the ground, even more utterly prostrate than Chang'an, their foreheads pressed firmly to the earth.

In the divine crystal, the tiny mermaid illusion trembled, and a faint voice issued from it into Chang'an's ears. The two senior brothers behind him strained their ears, yet heard nothing.

Chang'an's expression shifted slightly; he leapt up and growled in a low voice, "Take those four girls and return—at top speed."

He waved his right hand; a pink sword light shot from his fingertip, and Chang'an quickly etched a line of large characters on the ground before the Zhao family's gate: "The four girls he took with him; he remembers the Zhao family's favor; due to an urgent matter, the banquet will be discussed later."

The wooden boat turned its prow and sped toward the Changsheng Sect headquarters.

Chang'an strained to drive the wooden boat; the black vessel kicked up a gale, returning more than ten times faster than the outward journey.

Within two hours, Chang'an rushed back to the Changsheng Sect.

After a quarter hour, Chang'an burst into the Changsheng Sect Master's inner chambers.

After a few words, Chang'an flew into a rage; sword light burst from his hand, and before the crowd he cleaved the Sect Master's head in two, also severing his life pool into two halves.

Sensing the terrifying mighty power within Chang'an, all the Changsheng Sect's high‑ranking officials and ordinary followers fell to their knees in worship, loudly chanting "Sect Master Chang'an" over and over.

Sensing the terrifying mighty power within Chang'an, all the Changsheng Sect's high‑ranking officials and ordinary followers fell to their knees in worship, loudly chanting "Sect Master Chang'an" over and over.

Chang'an immediately ordered all Changsheng Sect disciples who had achieved Foundation Establishment to gather at the sect headquarters.

After another two quarters of an hour, Chang'an stood before the Changsheng Sect headquarters plaza, holding the divine crystal in silent prayer; subtle spatial undulations spread outward, and strange power began to coalesce in the void.

Soon after, a shaft of azure‑blue cold light descended from the vault of heaven, and a gigantic teleportation array a hundred meters in diameter appeared out of thin air on the plaza.

"This is the Divine Spirit's grace." Chang'an pointed at the exquisitely crafted, radiantly shimmering gigantic teleportation array and roared, "All disciples, this is the Divine Spirit's grace. The Divine Spirit's decree commands us to embark on a campaign… against Triple Linked City."

"The Divine Spirit's envoy will guide us to annihilate every mortal who dares offend the Divine Spirit… the lowly wretches."

"Those who achieve merit in this campaign shall be richly rewarded; the cowardly and fearful shall be slain without mercy."

Chang'an's gaze swept over all the Changsheng Sect disciples present.

Among the hundreds of great regions nearby, dozens of individuals like Chang'an—who had earned merit, obtained a divine crystal, and held sway over a territory—these Heaven's Chosen gathered their followers and, relying on the Divine Spirit's grace teleportation array, began to mobilize troops.

Many lacking Chang'an's advantages, merely ordinary Heaven's Chosen deemed fortunate ones, also mustered their henchmen and, following the indications of the divine edict, headed to the nearest places possessing a Divine Spirit's grace teleportation array.

In the Changsheng Sect where Chang'an resides, within half a month nearly a thousand so‑called Heaven's Chosen and their henchmen converged here by various means.

What astonished Chang'an was that among these Heaven's Chosen were several old rivals from the Six Paths Palace.

Upon meeting, they exchanged a knowing smile and nodded deeply in mutual respect.

Regardless of their former standings.

"All Heaven's Chosen under heaven are one family"; everyone strives for the benefit of the Heavenly God.

Now they have formed an allied army; they will campaign against Triple Linked City and, following the Heavenly God's will, utterly destroy everything within it.

In just half a month, Xuan Zhu's command gained an elite army of hundreds of thousands of cultivators.