Chapter 357: Storming the Gate (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

"Dare you threaten me?"

Fang Xing sneered, ordered his cultivation avatar to retrieve the storage bag and spiritual treasure of the Dark River True Lord, then returned to the Mingkun Hao.

The cultivation avatar had no good way to deal with a Nascent Soul True Lord's soul exiting the body, but his main body could easily subdue one with a single strike!

After all, the Nine Yang Divine Art contained techniques to seal off space, not to mention the Great Sun Dharma Realm!

Of course, Fang Xing used neither of these methods—merely the simplified version of the Buddha Palm he had just deciphered, and he captured him effortlessly.

…

"The Dark River True Lord? He's actually the younger brother of a Great True Lord?"

After Fang Xing left, the assembled Foundation Establishment True Lords erupted in chaos.

"If the Dark Cloud Great True Lord finds out, trouble will surely come to the island…"

Hong Wanjin of the Wanbao Tower looked deeply concerned.

Decades had passed, yet he remained the chief manager of the Wanbao Tower; as a merchant, he despised disorder above all.

Iron Sword Sect.

"That Mingkun Island Master is terrifying… his demonic fire techniques—even a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't dare meet them head-on. He destroyed a True Lord's physical body in just a few blows."

Sister Murong marveled.

"Was the one who finally acted none other than the 'Fang Yun True Lord,' rumored to be evenly matched with the Peng Demon Island Master? Rumor says he's a fourth-rank middle-grade body cultivator—was that golden hand his fleshly spiritual technique? It can freeze space and seize Nascent Souls! With such a move, his intimidation rivals that of a Great True Lord."

Fire Dragon True Lord had sharper eyes—he knew the 'Fang Yun True Lord,' who had only struck once, was the true powerhouse.

A late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator is called a 'Great True Lord' because his spiritual power and soul awareness vastly surpass ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators; with just a few powerful secret arts or soul-attack techniques, he can effectively prevent Nascent Soul escape into void-space and possess the power to annihilate Nascent Soul True Lords.

In today's battle, it seemed the Fang Yun True Lord's fleshly spiritual technique also had the power to seal void-space—his intimidation was truly unmatched.

…

Inside the Mingkun Hao.

"Release me… or my elder brother will not spare you…"

"Mingkun Island Master, we have no grudge against you. I can provide intelligence on the Yin Heaven Sect—even mobilize members of the Dark Cloud Hall to assault Yin Heaven Island together."

Fang Xing sat cross-legged, pulling out the Dark River True Lord's Nascent Soul.

Once his restrictions were slightly loosened, the Nascent Soul immediately began babbling.

In short, nothing but threats and pleas for mercy…

"Only invites ridicule."

Fang Xing pondered silently, then sent a thread of spiritual force into the Dark River True Lord's mind sea.

"You… want to soul-search me?!"

The Dark River True Lord's face paled, then he shrugged indifferently: "Fang Yun True Lord, don't waste your effort. You're just a body cultivator—your soul awareness is inherently weak. The Nascent Soul essence holds firm and unyielding; if I refuse to speak, you absolutely cannot… wait—"

A flicker of fear surfaced in his eyes, then his expression grew distant and vacant…

"The Ten Thousand Hearts Secret Art… indeed effective."

Fang Xing nodded. The 'Ten Thousand Hearts' scripture he obtained from the Gray Robe Marquis was originally a soul-transmission technique.

Soul awareness, spiritual force, soul power—these were merely the outermost layers of the soul.

Even so, they could be wielded in countless ways.

The 'Ten Thousand Hearts' scripture encompassed everything: soul attacks, soul-searching techniques, mind-control secrets… all clearly detailed.

"If I invested some effort to fully master the Nascent Soul essence, I might even make the Dark River 'submit'—unconditionally obedient, internally recognizing me as master, dying the moment I die."

Fang Xing watched the Dark River Nascent Soul, now utterly vacant, and ordered his cultivation avatar to form hand seals.

Two beams of golden light instantly shot into the Dark River Nascent Soul's eyes.

The reason he didn't use the Great Sun Buddha Spell was simple—he still needed this Nascent Soul essence as nourishment for the advancement of the Ten Thousand Dharma Ghost Infant.

As for his main body?

In the Demon God World, he'd already devoured nearly all the primordial spirits… it was like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

"Is the Dark Cloud Great True Lord story real?"

Fang Xing spoke directly, asking his most pressing question.

"It's true. But Dark Cloud is selfish, only focused on breaking through to the Formless Realm. When several Nascent Soul True Lords in the Dark Cloud Hall died on missions, he never lifted a finger…"

The Dark River True Lord spoke blankly: "Though we're brothers, we're not close… he won't come to save me."

"Worthless!" Fang Xing cursed.

If Dark Cloud Great True Lord didn't come, where would he find another late-stage Nascent Soul essence?

He then asked about other secrets of the Dark Cloud Hall, but this dark organization used complete anonymity—many cultivators, even Nascent Soul True Lords, could hide their identities and take random missions.

Due to its tight internal structure and loose external network, it was nearly impossible to discern its true nature.

More crucially, with a Great True Lord backing it, its reputation was solid—it ranked among the top forces in the Hanhai cultivation world.

As for the Dark River True Lord? He merely managed business in this sea region.

The missions against Moonlight and Firecloud True Lords were rare big jobs.

'He only lives on Mingkun Island as a trading hub, to coordinate subordinates and assign missions… and maybe keep an eye on me?'

'Those two mid-stage Nascent Souls had long-term surveillance orders from the Dark Cloud Hall—if they weren't too weak, they'd have stormed here directly.'

'Damn it, wasn't the dual-cultivation progress supposed to be blazing fast? Why is mastering a grand technique so damn slow?' Fang Xing couldn't help but complain about the cultivation world's absurd sense of time.

A Nascent Soul True Lord could seal himself away for decades.

In that time, Blue Star martial artists and Source Force cultivators had already broken through to Sainthood or Star Lord realms…

'In the end, I'll still have to go kill him myself.'

He casually tossed the Dark River Nascent Soul to the ravenous Ten Thousand Dharma Ghost Infant nearby. His main body ignored the ensuing screams and stepped outside.

"This vast, beautiful cultivation world... the Formless lineage will never escape my grasp."

…

Yin Heaven Island.

This island housed the Yin Heaven Sect's main gate, rich in spiritual energy, filled with birdsong and floral fragrance.

On this day:

BOOM!

The heavens suddenly churned with stormy clouds; a beam of light plummeted from the ninth heavens, obliterating a mountain peak in a straight line.

Its force was like thunder—low-level cultivators were terrified, their hearts and livers shattered; those caught in the blast died or were wounded in droves.

Only after Yin Heaven Sect suffered heavy casualties did a nearly invisible spaceship slowly emerge from the heavens.

"It's a Nascent Soul-level automaton!"

"Mingkun Hao!"

"The Mingkun Island Master is attacking!"

High-rank female cultivators of the Yin Heaven Sect shouted: "Why aren't you activating the mountain-protection formation fully?!"

But the sect's formation master pulled out the token and froze in embarrassment: "One key formation node is destroyed—the formation's power has collapsed. We can't hold!"

Fang Xing struck precisely where it hurt—aiming for the snake's seven-inch spot.

Since the Mingkun Hao had stealth capability, he would exploit it to the extreme.

Most major Nascent Soul sects didn't keep their protective formations fully powered at all times—it drained spiritual veins and spirit stones too quickly.

Thus, Fang Xing launched a thousand-li surprise strike, hidden, and shattered the mountain housing the key formation node, then piloted the Mingkun Hao to crash down—pure brute force!

This secret intelligence on the key formation node came straight from the Dark River True Lord's mouth.

Clearly, this Dark Cloud Hall True Lord had zero integrity—he'd secretly gathered intelligence on Yin Heaven Island, likely hoping to sell it for profit.

He never expected to meet Fang Xing, who paid with a knife.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The Yin Heaven Sect's mountain-protection formation was fourth-rank, named the Cloud-Water Nine Diagram Formation, water-element dominant, famed for defense—even surpassing the former Nanhuomen's formation.

Alas… it was shattered at the very start by the destruction of one node; its power plummeted.

When the Mingkun Hao cast its oppressive shadow and charged through the formation, the Cloud-Water Nine Diagram Formation let out a mournful cry as its countless formation patterns shattered.

SWISH SWISH SWISH!

To the Yin Heaven Sect's female cultivators, countless Foundation Establishment and Jin Dan-level automatons poured out from the Nascent Soul war-automaton city, ruthlessly slaughtering all life.

"Mingkun Island Master, how dare you?!"

A Nascent Soul female cultivator roared in fury, her colorful ribbon spiritual treasure sweeping the sky like a rainbow of flowers, blasting dozens of drones to pieces in one strike.

"Hmph! You Yin Heaven Sect plotted against me first—so why shouldn't I come to annihilate your sect?"

Fang Xing's cultivation avatar sneered, his body streaking like a rainbow, holding the Qingyang Demon Lamp. With a flick of his finger, eight violet-and-green fire serpents emerged, sweeping the surroundings in a show of power, engaging two early-stage Nascent Soul True Lords of Yin Heaven Sect.

Then his main body soared into the sky, heading straight for a mirror-like lake.

SPLASH SPLASH SPLASH!

The lake instantly transformed into a yin-yang fish; two mid-stage Nascent Soul spiritual fluctuations surged into the heavens.

"Fang Yun True Lord, you go too far!"

Moonlight True Lord and Firecloud True Lord stood side by side, their spiritual auras subtly linked, faces flushed with rage.

They hadn't even come to attack—yet these two Mingkun Island cultivators dared come to retaliate?

Worse, both Nascent Soul True Lords felt a dark premonition.

'Fang Yun is a match for the Peng Demon Island Master. His arrival here must mean he has a trump card.'

Moonlight True Lord sensed her sect's destruction, the deaths of countless disciples—her heart bled.

Firecloud True Lord's fury could no longer be concealed: "Perfect! Today, we'll erase our past humiliation and avenge our sect!"

Although he had not yet fully mastered that great divine technique, his cultivation with the Bright Moon True Lord had brought both of them significant progress; now, working together, he was confident that even if they couldn't defeat a Nascent Soul late-stage True Lord, they were not far behind.

"You two idiots, don't you know inflation's hit? Your combat power's depreciated!"

Fang Xing sneered, raised his hand, and unleashed the fifth form of the Great Sun Tathagata Divine Palm—Selecting Buddhas to Burn Incense!

A sky-piercing, earth-shaking Buddhist light illuminated all directions, revealing the pale faces of the Bright Moon and Fire Cloud True Lords.

"What kind of divine technique is this? You're a fourth-rank top-tier body cultivator?!"

"A True Lord?!"

This was the tragedy of a cultivator facing a high-warrior: one who sealed himself away for decades, only to find his former ants had become divine dragons, and then was abandoned by the entire world…

The third chapter update will come later.

(End of chapter)