Chapter 159

"Demon Lord Chong Lou!"

"The Lord of the Demon Realm!"

"How could he come here?!"

Some Shushan disciples who had seen Chong Lou couldn't help but exclaim.

The other guests' faces changed wildly.

A tree's shadow, a person's name.

Chong Lou, who looked down upon the six realms and was nearly invincible, was known even to ordinary mortals like Shen Qingfeng and Lin Tiannan, let alone major immortal-cultivating sects like the Qionghua Sect and the Penglai Sword-Wielding Hall.

Knowing that this crimson figure in the sky was the famous Demon Lord, everyone showed an expression of facing a formidable enemy.

Could it be that the Demon Lord came specifically to attack Shushan on the day the Sword and Qi sects merged?!

Isn't it all over now?

Many martial arts figures had thoughts of running away. After all, if the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up. With so many immortal-cultivating sects present, what did it have to do with ordinary mortals like them?

Shang Fengzi and Feng Yao's faces were deathly pale. They had traveled thousands of miles to congratulate the Shushan Sect, never expecting to encounter such a thing. It was truly a stroke of bad luck.

Seeing the ants below all fearing for their lives, a look of disdain flashed in Chong Lou's eyes. His good mood had been completely ruined by these guys.

"Except for Feipeng, you are one of the few opponents who can make me feel pleasure. Therefore, today, as you succeed as Shushan Sect Leader, I have prepared a gift for you."

Chong Lou waved his large hand, and amidst flashing red light, four demonic beasts with terrifying auras suddenly appeared, scaring the guests in the square into fleeing in all directions.

The Sword Saint took a step forward, ten thousand sword lights ready to be unleashed, and said with a stern face, "What does the Demon Lord mean by this? Are you going to wreak havoc on my Shushan again? Do you really think my Shushan has no one!"

Chong Lou didn't even look at the Sword Saint and spoke to Chu Yang on his own, "A few days ago, you eliminated the Water Demon Beast in Miaojiang, and these are the other four great Wind, Thunder, Fire, and Earth Demon Beasts I found after traveling through the human world. Take them all."

If it were anyone else, they would probably curse Chong Lou for being crazy—who gives demonic beasts as gifts? But Chu Yang knew very well that Chong Lou was helping him establish his authority.

He believed he had the ability to handle these few demonic beasts.

"Many thanks for the senior's kindness!"

Since he had already decided to sit firmly in the Sect Leader's position, there was no point in Chu Yang continuing to hide his skills. He directly threw out the Demon Refining Tower and, in full view of everyone, took the four great Demon Beasts into the tower to be refined.

The appearance of the Demon Refining Tower caused quite a stir!

"Isn't that Shushan's Demon Locking Tower? How can it be moved?"

"That's not the Demon Locking Tower! The Demon Locking Tower is on the mountain behind us!"

Most people looked in the direction of the sound and could just see the majestic outline of the Demon Locking Tower in the clouds, standing between heaven and earth.

"If it's not the Demon Locking Tower, then what is that in his hand?"

"Could it be that Shushan has two Demon Locking Towers?"

Not to mention the guests who came to watch the ceremony, even Qingwei and the others looked at Chu Yang with surprise, and high above, Chong Lou was also interested.

Chu Yang coughed lightly and smiled, "The magic treasure I just used is called the Demon Refining Tower. It is a magic treasure I refined myself after feeling inspired while repairing the Demon Locking Tower. I hope you all don't mind the display."

Once these words were spoken, the sound of gasps could be heard incessantly in the square.

Everyone knew that although the Demon Locking Tower was Shushan's treasure, part of its power was bestowed by the God Realm, especially the Demon-Transforming Water inside that naturally restrained demons.

Coupled with the continuous improvement of arrays and the addition of various talismans by past Shushan masters, the Demon Locking Tower had a unique advantage in restraining demons.

And the magic treasure Chu Yang refined himself could actually suppress the four great Demon Beasts! If Demon Lord Chong Lou hadn't personally confirmed the authenticity of the four great Demon Beasts, they wouldn't have believed it no matter what.

Not to mention outsiders, even the Shushan disciples had expressions as if they had seen a ghost, and the Wine Sword Immortal and others also looked at Chu Yang with disbelief.

Qingwei and the Sword Saint couldn't sit still!

Qingwei hurriedly walked to Chu Yang's side and asked in a low voice, "Chu Yang, is what you said true?"

The Sword Saint continued, "This is no child's play, do not speak recklessly!"

Chu Yang smiled brightly and joked, "Senior Uncle, Junior Uncle, whether a second Demon Locking Tower exists in this world—if others don't know, surely you two know?"

"There is only one Demon Locking Tower..." Qingwei sighed, "The Demon Locking Tower is the culmination of the arrays of Shushan's past sages. Ordinary people wouldn't even be able to understand it, let alone learn it. I didn't expect that you could master all the arrays in the time it took to go inside. It truly is..."

After saying this, the Sword Saint followed up with a few words, "Shocking to the world."

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, how many people could believe such a thing?

The moment Chu Yang brought out the Demon Refining Tower, even without considering his cultivation, he had sufficient qualifications to sit in the Shushan Sect Leader's seat.

Only at this moment did everyone come to their senses, their gazes focused on the crimson figure in the sky.

The Demon Lord's appearance was clearly to support Chu Yang!

How could he let someone easily insult an opponent he acknowledged? "Although you borrowed external objects, your performance was not bad. I am very satisfied."

Chong Lou laughed up at the sky, and his figure disappeared.

From this point on.

No one dared to question Chu Yang's succession as Shushan Sect Leader again.

Just kidding!

A ruthless person who could win two rounds against the Demon Lord—the fact that he didn't attack them just now was already showing mercy.

If they were still ignorant, what was the difference between that and seeking death? In the crowd.

Tang Xuejian poked Jingtian in the waist and said sneakily, "That red-haired guy is not bad."

Jingtian nodded, a bitter smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, "It's just that he likes to pick fights. It would be better if he could change that bad habit."

Tang Xuejian agreed deeply.

While the two were whispering, Chu Yang on the other side was scanning the four great families with a sharp gaze.

It finally settled on Ouyang Ying.

"Does Sect Master Ouyang still have objections?"

"My eyes were dull, please forgive me, Sect Leader Chu."

"Forgiveness is not the issue. Sect Master Ouyang cares about the world; you are a rare model of the righteous path."

"I dare not, I dare not!"

Ouyang Ying said "dare not" twice and retreated into the crowd with a red face.

Chu Yang wasn't praising him; there was a hidden meaning in his words, and he heard it, so he felt ashamed.

Chu Yang smiled kindly, a smile that made Shen Qingfeng and the others feel cold and uneasy.

Fearing that he would really take his anger out on these people, the Sword Saint hurriedly shouted, "From today on, Chu Yang succeeds as Shushan Sect Leader. All matters, big and small, in Shushan shall be decided by his word alone!"

Everyone's heart trembled! Decided by his word alone!

This was an authority that had never appeared in the history of Shushan.

Even a Sect Leader with as much prestige as Qingwei had to consult and decide major matters with Cang Gu and others.

Some Shushan disciples looked silently at Qingwei, hoping he would say something, but they only saw Qingwei nodding with a smile.

Got it!

They had already discussed it; we were just here to go through the motions.

No need to waste time, just bow! The Shushan disciples knelt down in a vast crowd, and the sound of their voices gathered into four words.

"Greetings, Sect Leader!" Feng Yao of the Qionghua Sect, Shang Fengzi of the Penglai Sword-Wielding Hall, and other guests also bowed in salute.

"Greetings, Sect Leader Chu!"

Chu Yang looked back at the smiling Qingwei and the others, and suddenly had an idea, so he immediately issued his first new rule as Sect Leader.

"From today on, Shushan will establish the position of Supreme Elder and form the Shushan Seven Saint Palace, named after the Big Dipper..."

Qi Sect: Qingwei, Cang Gu, Jingming, Youxuan, Heyang—five people in total.

Sword Sect: Dugu Sword Saint, Wine Sword Immortal—two people in total.

Exactly seven people corresponding to the name of the Seven Saints.

The Sword Saint was slightly stunned but readily agreed, as did the others.

Under normal circumstances, most Shushan seniors who retired behind the scenes would leave Shushan and find a place to build a hut and cultivate, putting all their effort into the chance to become an immortal.

This could also avoid some power disputes.

Qingwei was advanced in age, and the chance of becoming an immortal was very small; it was more likely he would pass away somewhere.

Chu Yang's move was to have him stay in Shushan to end his days.

The Seven Saint Palace would choose the seven peaks closest to the main peak to guard the sect's main hall. The original Sword Sect, which was the original site of the Immortal Sword Sect, was left for the Sword Saint as a dojo.

Xu Changqing, Chang Yin, and other excellent second-generation disciples of the same generation as Chu Yang would naturally also be promoted to elders.

As for those guys who had made things difficult for Chu Yang, Chu Yang didn't need to do anything; they would obediently go down the mountain themselves and never dare to mention Shushan for the rest of their lives.

With the promulgation of the new sect rules, the Shushan disciples bowed to Qingwei and the others.

"Greetings, Supreme Elders."

As soon as the matter of the Supreme Elders was finished, the Wine Sword Immortal lowered his head with a complex expression.

He had originally intended to say goodbye to his senior brother, the Sword Saint, after the ceremony, but Chu Yang had created this Seven Saint Palace.

If he left just like that, wouldn't the Shushan Seven Saint Palace become a joke? He couldn't let Xu Changqing take his place; what would that sound like?

On one side was family happiness, and on the other was the bond of fellow disciples, making the Wine Sword Immortal so conflicted he wanted to slit his own throat.

Husband and wife are of one mind.

Ming Yuanqing also noticed the hesitation on the Wine Sword Immortal's face and couldn't help but feel dejected. Based on her understanding of him, he probably wouldn't be able to leave Shushan for a while.

"Anu, after the ceremony ends, shall we go back to the Nanzhao Kingdom and wait for your father first?"

"Is Father not coming home with us?"

"You heard it just now; Father is now a Supreme Elder of Shushan and has many things to deal with. He might come to find us later."

"Oh! That's okay, Anu will wait for Father!"

Looking at the innocent smile on Anu's face, Ming Yuanqing only felt pain in her heart, even more heartbreaking than the Wine Sword Immortal's silent departure back then.

Just at this moment.

Chu Yang dropped another bombshell, completely shocking everyone.

"Since I began cultivating, I have often had doubts in my heart."

"Although Shushan disciples often enter the world to cultivate, everything is done only superficially; there is no insight to speak of, and they fear love like a tiger..."

"Once inner demons arrive, the light result is the destruction of the Dao and death, and the heavy result is falling into the demonic path, never to be redeemed, just like the Jiang Ming disaster decades ago."

"If the Grandmaster Jiang Juezhi had chosen to fulfill them back then, for Jiang Ming, the Great Dao was narrow and almost cut off. If he had taken a few more steps forward, it might not have been impossible to suddenly see the light."

"In this way, he wouldn't have had to suffer decades of torture in the Demon Locking Tower, only to be liberated today."

"Every time I think of this, the congestion in my heart cannot dissipate for a long time!"

"Therefore, today, I will risk the world's condemnation and abolish some outdated sect rules!"

"From now on, Shushan disciples can marry and have families just like ordinary people and will not be expelled from the sect for doing so."

As soon as the words fell.

An uproar suddenly erupted!

Can monks get married? This concept was too far ahead of its time, making it difficult for many immortal-cultivating sects to accept, completely subverting their cognition.

The guests looked at each other, no one daring to make a sound, even if they thought the new Sect Leader's brain was a bit problematic.

The Wine Sword Immortal, who had been freed from his dilemma, trembled slightly. He looked up at Ming Yuanqing, who was already weeping with joy.

Li Xiaoyao was also full of smiles. In this way, he could stay by Ling'er's side and learn arts at Shushan.

Jingtian scratched his head and secretly glanced at Tang Xuejian, thinking whether he should take the opportunity to find a master...

Xu Changqing let out a long sigh of relief, and Zi Xuan's face was as beautiful as a flower. If the former could become an immortal, they could be together for ten thousand years.

In the quiet square, laughter suddenly came from the Xiahou family's team among the four great families.

"Hahaha, Shushan is really interesting. If there really weren't those rules and regulations, I'd quite like to join this sect!"

"Xie, you're already old; Shushan wouldn't take you!"

"Hey! Little girl, don't look at my age; my martial arts talent is high! Maybe the new Sect Leader will see me and think I'm a talent worth molding!"

"Hehe, if you can join Shushan, then I can too!"

"Miss Xia, Brother Xie, everyone is looking at you. You'd better be quieter..."

A cute girl with exquisite features was bickering with a somewhat sloppy uncle. Standing beside them was a handsome young man in gorgeous clothes, looking distressed as he tried to persuade them.

Chu Yang turned around and looked at them.

Xie Cangxing awkwardly closed his mouth, and Xia, who was arguing with him, looked back and was startled. She hurriedly waved her hand to apologize, "Sect Leader Chu, I'm sorry, we didn't mean it..."

Chu Yang smiled, "You two don't need to be so nervous. I see that your bones are extraordinary; you are indeed qualified to join Shushan, especially this Senior Xie."

Xia covered her mouth in shock. She was just joking; she didn't expect it to come true.

Xie Cangxing laughed from ear to ear and turned to the young man in gorgeous clothes, "Little Young Master, I have brought you to Shushan to meet Master Xiahou as promised. The matter of me breaking your jade pendant should be settled, right?"

Xiahou Jinxuan nodded, "Brother Xie, please decide for yourself. Jinxuan here congratulates Brother Xie on getting his wish."

Xie Cangxing strode out, not forgetting to look back at Xia and say, "Little girl, the Shushan Sect said they would take you, aren't you going?"

Xia's gaze wandered between Chu Yang and Xiahou Jinxuan, looking conflicted. After a long while, she shook her head, "I... I'd better not go."

Xiahou Jinxuan said anxiously, "Miss Xia, this is a great thing, how can you be so muddled?"

"Bookworm, who are you calling muddled!" Xia glared at him, "I haven't paid back the money for the jade pendant I owe you, how can I leave?"

Xiahou Jinxuan shook his head, "Since Brother Xie and I are settled, naturally I am settled with Miss Xia as well."

Xia insisted, "How can such a short distance be enough to compensate? At the very least, I have to send you back!"

Xiahou Jinxuan said helplessly, "Really don't have to, Miss Xia..."

While the two were arguing endlessly, Chu Yang said, "Miss Xia has an ailment in her body. If you leave rashly, I'm afraid it will be incurable by medicine in the future."

Xia was struck by lightning, her body stiffened on the spot, and her face turned deathly pale.

(End of chapter)