Chapter 605: The Wolf is Coming

Several days later.

Qingyu Hall.

Fang Xing received a paper crane and immediately smiled: "Sure enough... now that Min Zinong has been promoted to the Mid-Stage of the Dao Foundation, he can't hold back anymore, can he?"

The Mid-Stage of the Dao Foundation was a hard requirement for the Deputy Hall Master of the Shennong Hall.

Unless there were only a few Dao Foundation cultivators left in the entire sect, this would not be changed.

"To be honest, I really don't care for this Deputy Hall Master position. If it weren't for planting trees..."

Fang Xing sighed.

Facing this kind of probing, he had countless ways to deal with it, but at this moment? Using the simplest strategy of breaking skill with force would suffice.

He stood up, turned into a beam of green light, and arrived at a pavilion in the middle of the lake.

The pavilion in the middle of the lake seemed to be made of jade, and inside, a person was brewing water and boiling tea. It was none other than Hall Master Min!

"Zhou Shidi Fang... you?"

However, the calm and collected expression of this Hall Master Min completely shattered the moment he saw Fang Xing: "You..."

The teapot in his hand shook, and a few drops of water splashed out: "... have actually broken through to the Late Stage of the Dao Foundation?"

At this moment, Fang Xing had slightly adjusted his breath-concealing technique, releasing the mana fluctuations of the Late Stage of the Dao Foundation.

Upon seeing this, Hall Master Min was shocked.

If Fang Xing had already been promoted to the Late Stage of the Dao Foundation, then this Deputy Hall Master position was as stable as Mount Tai!

He could even attempt to squeeze him out and become the Hall Master of the Shennong Hall himself!

"Hehe... I have been contemplating the Fundamental Diagram of Divine Abilities and fortunately gained something."

Fang Xing waved his hand casually, and an emerald spiritual mushroom gathered in the void, bringing various recovery and buff effects.

"Congratulations, Zhou Shidi, for mastering the 'Meat Tai Sui' divine ability!"

Hall Master Min knew his stuff and immediately stood up, cupping his fists.

"Haha, many thanks..."

Fang Xing sat down boldly: "I didn't expect it either. I was already half-buried, yet I could still break through... This breakthrough to the Late Stage of the Dao Foundation has also increased my lifespan, and furthermore, I have realized a 'Meat Mushroom Life Extension' secret technique from this pseudo-divine ability... Although it cannot increase lifespan, it is still possible to slowly repair some of the lifespan lost to the paper-folding art."

He wasn't lying; after all, his vision and knowledge were too high, and his understanding of divine abilities far exceeded that of ordinary cultivators.

And the pseudo-divine ability 'Meat Tai Sui' was originally inclined toward healing and recovery... it indeed had such potential.

Although it couldn't repair too much, the healing effect varied from person to person.

"Zhou Shidi is truly a heaven-sent talent..."

Hall Master Min exclaimed repeatedly, and the two conversed happily.

After Fang Xing left, Min Zinong hurried into the pavilion: "Uncle... how did the talk go?"

"What do you mean how did it go? He has already been promoted to the Late Stage of the Dao Foundation; this position is as solid as if it were cast in bronze and iron..."

Hall Master Min glared at his nephew and comforted him: "In the sect, cultivation is ultimately what matters. You... are just unlucky. Uncle will help you plan for another position."

"Late Stage of the Dao Foundation, how is that possible?"

Min Zinong was shocked. Breaking through to the Mid-Stage of the Dao Foundation and the Late Stage were completely different levels of difficulty.

"Could it be... that this person used a secret technique to devour a Dao Foundation? That's not right... In the last few decades, it seems no one in the sect has mastered the Meat Tai Sui Dao Foundation..."

Min Zinong was extremely frustrated, and even more clearly understood that his uncle had likely made a deal with Fang Xing using him as a bargaining chip!

Transferring him away to show that there was absolutely no intention of moving the other party's Deputy Hall Master position.

And in return, Fang Xing would not come to compete for the position of the main Hall Master!

Alas, even if he knew, he could only accept it.

After all, among cultivators, strength is always respected!

The small disturbance in the Shennong Hall soon passed.

And Fang Xing's promotion to the Late Stage of the Dao Foundation did indeed drop many people's jaws, but that was all it was.

Unless he were promoted to a Yin Spirit True Person, these small matters between Dao Foundations would at most be reported to a few Yin Spirit True Persons.

The high and mighty Yang Spirit True Monarchs had a true overall situation to consider and needed to play a big game of chess.

On a mountain peak where white clouds drifted.

Dan Laozu Qingmu, wearing a green robe with tangled beard and hair, was sitting cross-legged.

In front of him was a white jade chessboard with nineteen horizontal and vertical lines.

On the chessboard, the white and black jade pieces were like two great dragons, baring fangs and brandishing claws, fighting fiercely.

In a local area of the chessboard, it was treacherous and unpredictable, as if shrouded in a layer of fog, making it impossible to see the direction of the game.

Slap!

Dan Laozu Qingmu picked up a white piece with his right index and middle fingers and pressed it down solemnly.

Once this move was made, the situation on the chessboard changed drastically; the white pieces seemed to lock in victory, about to form a "Great Avalanche"!

"It seems that the Killing Life Sect has decided to dispatch a detachment to the Outer Lands?"

The words spoken by Dan Laozu Qingmu while playing chess were even more earth-shattering.

After all, the entire Outer Lands, especially the many low-level cultivators of the Qingmu Ridge, all thought that the Killing Life Sect would not come again.

Yet they didn't expect that after crying wolf so many times, the wolf was really coming!

The person playing chess against Dan Laozu Qingmu was none other than someone from the Killing Life Sect!

Within the Killing Life Sect, headed by the Sect Master, there were two Great Envoys and four Great Protectors.

The one who came to play chess with Dan Laozu Qingmu was the Southern Protector of the Killing Life Sect — "Black Bai Bai Fa Wang," who was also a Yang Spirit Great Zhenjun!

"Previous attacks and great victories... were just for better defense."

"This Outer Land, it is rumored that the faith of the gods is difficult to reach... it is a naturally isolated place, a place to hold firm."

Black Bai Bai Fa Wang picked up a black piece and replied with a smile.

The Great Zhou Zhou Shenchao worshipped many gods of the "Heavenly Court," and it was rumored that the gaze of the gods reached everywhere.

But in fact, in the mortal world, some forbidden lands could still block the gaze of the gods.

The Outer Lands were such a strange place; not only was it difficult for the gods' gaze to reach, but even wanting to promote believers in this place required consuming more power.

Precisely because of this, the Outer Lands became an extraterritorial place, and also a "place of exile" for the Great Zhou Zhou Shenchao, with a positioning almost like a "garbage disposal station."

By the same token, these ten righteous and evil sects that actually had no gods backing them could flourish in the Outer Lands.

And the Killing Life Sect had a True God overhead!

"The main body of my Killing Life Sect is naturally still in the Great Zhou Zhou Shenchao, but a clever rabbit has three burrows. There are many living beings here, so it is not impossible to consider."

Black Protector chuckled: "And if my Killing Life Sect becomes the head of the ten sects in the Outer Lands, your Qingmu Ridge won't be doing so well..."

Slap!

The black piece fell, and the black dragon, which seemed to be at the end of its rope, suddenly gained a breathing space, and even had the potential to soar into the sky.

"Fellow Daoist is a member of the Killing Life Sect, yet you would still abide by the agreement?"

Dan Laozu Qingmu seemed a bit surprised and began to hesitate.

"Naturally not..."

Black Protector said frankly: "I came here to bring war to this place... the more that die, the more destruction, the more it conforms to my Lord's wishes... even if my Lord can only receive one-tenth of the sacrifices here, and the reward is only one-tenth... but..."

He smiled strangely: "Being able to lower the difficulty at the beginning is also not bad, so I still have to swallow your Qingmu Ridge... Old Man Qingmu, what are you going to do?"

If he had Qingmu Ridge as a base, it would be easier to attack other major sects.

The strategy of feeding a tiger with one's own flesh, when encountering a real evil tiger, is just like throwing a meat bun at a dog...

"Old man..."

Dan Laozu Qingmu sneered: "Since the fellow Daoists of the Flying Sword Sect and the Upper God Palace have abandoned me, I will naturally surrender..."

He suddenly threw the white piece, disrupting the chessboard, and sneered: "Not just the territory of Qingmu Ridge, but my disciples, and even myself, can join the Killing Life Sect and become a hall of the Killing Life Sect. How about that?"

The reason Dan Laozu Qingmu struggled to open his treasury after the defeat and maintain the existence of the Qingmu Ridge sect was to package it and sell it for a good price!

Even he himself could join the Killing Life Sect; he didn't want any ancestors, any orthodoxy, or any Dharma lineage anymore!

"Haha, Qingmu, you are truly ruthless, I like it."

Black Bai Bai Fa Wang laughed loudly: "My sect has four Great Protectors, all of whom have the strength of the Early Yang Spirit Realm. With your cultivation, Fellow Daoist Qingmu, one day you will become the Green Protector of my sect... Once we gather the five protectors, we can blood-sacrifice the entire Outer Lands, and we can all become immortals and gods!"

Upon hearing this, Dan Laozu Qingmu's expression became somewhat greedy.

But the next instant, he saw Black Bai Bai Fa Wang suddenly rise, flip the chessboard, and smash it down toward Dan Laozu Qingmu's head!

Clatter!

The clouds and mist dispersed, and Dan Laozu Qingmu was horrified to discover that the nameless mountain peak he had chosen for the game was actually located on a great chessboard of heaven and earth!

And with Black Bai Bai Fa Wang's action of swinging the chessboard, the entire heaven and earth seemed to flip in that instant!

Heaven as the chessboard, stars as pieces, who dares to play?

Bang!

In this instant, heaven and earth seemed to be sealed, and the chessboard in Black Bai Bai Fa Wang's hand carried the power of heaven and earth, smashing heavily onto Dan Laozu Qingmu's head.

Clatter!

Half of Dan Laozu Qingmu's body collapsed, and his head was smashed directly into meat paste.

But a green light flashed, and his body was rapidly recovering.

Only, the recovered Dan Laozu Qingmu had wrinkles crisscrossing his face, like the bark of an old tree.

Two beams of green light shot from his eyes, and his Yang and harmonious thoughts surged into the sky: "Black Bai Bai Fa Wang! I asked for sincere surrender, why do you do this?"

Between heaven and earth, a huge green wood giant appeared and roared.

"Haha, our Killing Life Sect has never needed dogs."

Black Bai Bai Fa Wang laughed loudly: "Dan Laozu Qingmu, if I capture your Yang Spirit and go to the Great Zhou Zhou Shenchao to hold another sacrifice, I might be able to directly promote myself to the Mid-Stage of the Yang Spirit!"

The chessboard magic treasure in his hand flickered with light, and nineteen horizontal and vertical light marks suddenly appeared between heaven and earth.

They intersected, like a great net, encompassing the green wood giant composed entirely of thoughts within the grid!

Not only that!

Beside Black Bai Bai Fa Wang, at some point, another white, graceful figure appeared.

The two of them joined forces, their mana climbed step by step, and two equally vast and Yang-harmonious thoughts surged into the sky, faintly forming the style of a Taiji Yin-Yang fish, suppressing the green wood giant.

"White Bai Bai Fa Wang?"

From within the collapsing green wood giant came Dan Laozu Qingmu's surprised shout: "Even you are here?"

"Hee hee... I respectfully send you on your way, fellow Daoist."

Accompanied by a thin voice, the Heaven and Earth Chessboard shrank with a boom, trapping a faint green light within it. This green light only managed to persist for a few moments before it dimmed and extinguished...