Chapter 615: Left Messenger

Qingmu Ridge.

Shennong Hall.

Fang Xing, who was bent over planting trees, suddenly heard a rapid bell tolling.

The bell rang continuously, as if echoing across the entire ridge.

When the bell rang more than thirty-six times, every cultivator turned pale.

"The Qingmu Bell tolls forty-nine times… Is there a catastrophe capable of annihilating our sect? Could the Killing Sect truly be coming?"

A hint of curiosity curled at Fang Xing's lips; he rode his aura-light and arrived at the Ancestral Hall.

Before him, Qingyu Zi and the other three Yin Shen true cultivators, along with numerous Daoji cultivators, were all present.

"Over the years, although Qingmu Ridge has distributed abundant Daoji spiritual items, forming a Daoji foundation still carries a failure rate…"

"Even now, there are fewer than a hundred Daoji cultivators…"

Fang Xing scanned the room again, silently sighing.

The battle with the Blood Shadow Sect had shattered the sect's very foundation; the damage was too great to recover from in less than several centuries.

"All of you…"

Qingyu Zi, carrying a wooden sword, glanced around and raised his hand to cast a sealing formation, locking the entire Ancestral Hall.

Then, he stepped aside, revealing he was not the host of this meeting.

"If Qingyu Zi isn't the host… then who is?"

Fang Xing's eyebrow twitched.

Indeed, the next moment, a tall figure clad in green robes materialized.

His face was covered in wild, knotted whiskers—wasn't this the Qingmu Patriarch?

"Huh? Wait—something's off!"

Fang Xing was now Level 18 Druid, his natural perception growing sharper, and as an Yin Shen true cultivator who had mastered the Divine Art of Flesh Genesis, he understood this intimately.

Thus, he sensed that the Qingmu Patriarch's body, though appearing ancient, was in fact extremely "new."

"It's as if a single drop of essence-blood had been prepared in advance, then regenerated using the Flesh Genesis Divine Art…"

"And though he tries to conceal it, his aura is faintly weak… Is this a side effect of resurrection?"

"Did the Qingmu Patriarch encounter a great enemy who slew his original body?"

Fang Xing lowered his gaze, expressionless.

The Qingmu Patriarch swept his gaze across the hall and spoke: "The Killing Sect is advancing from the south—it is inevitable!"

At these words, many disciples turned ashen.

"Silence!"

Qingyu Zi stepped forward, his cold, hard gaze sweeping the room and quelling all commotion.

"According to the Ten Sects Pact, Qingmu Ridge will be carved up to feed the tiger…"

Qingyu Zi continued: "But our Patriarch risked everything and obtained proof that the Killing Sect intends to annihilate the Ten Sects… Under the Supreme Divine Palace Pact, the Killing Sect's treacherous ambitions demand joint destruction by all Ten Sects…"

"What proof?"

Fang Xing wondered inwardly: "Could it be proof bought by betraying his own sect?"

After all, at the highest levels, raw power is all that matters—there's little room for schemes.

The Qingmu Patriarch either betrayed his sect or died fighting.

Given the Yang Shen True Sovereign's love of life, ninety-eight percent of the time, he betrayed his sect!

"And considering his recent resurrection technique… Did even the Killing Sect refuse to take him in?"

Fang Xing sneered inwardly, barely suppressing a laugh.

"Wait—don't laugh… If I laugh, I'll have to kill the Qingmu Patriarch. Hmm… Actually, that might not be a bad idea… Right now, the entire Qingmu Ridge can barely be turned into my domain—'Sacred Grove'—and though the Qingmu Patriarch is Yang Shen, he's among the weakest of that realm… and he's just lost his original body. Even if he has resurrection tricks, his power will be weakened by a third…"

"If I rise up now, an Yin Shen True Cultivator slaying a Yang Shen True Sovereign—I become Qingmu Ridge's new Patriarch!"

"Hmm… That persona doesn't quite suit me."

Fang Xing thought it over, decided against showing off his ultimate capabilities, and watched as the Qingmu Patriarch issued orders, dispatching Yin Shen true cultivators and Daoji cultivators to contact all corners.

Even Minister Min was sent to liaise with the Corpse Controlling Sect.

Hearing this, the cultivators present grew noticeably more composed.

Compared to being abandoned by the Ten Sects, now they could unite against a common enemy.

The reputation of the Ten Sects, both orthodox and demonic, was no mere empty boast!

Or rather, these cultivators, raised beyond the borders, simply didn't understand the might of the Zhou Shenchao.

But in their eyes, while their own sect might not match the Killing Sect, ten sects united could even resist the Zhou Shenchao—surely they could repel the Killing Sect!

Fang Xing watched coldly, sensing things wouldn't be so optimistic.

Thus, while Minister Min was away, he immediately mobilized countless hands to keep planting trees!

…

Several months later.

Qingyu Hall.

"The Killing Sect really are a bunch of madmen…"

Fang Xing looked at the battered Fei Yong and shook his head: "They didn't even bother to justify themselves—they just declared war on the Ten Sects outright?"

Fei Yong, having received Fang Xing's healing, had improved considerably since first seen; he chuckled bitterly: "Precisely… But these madmen are terrifyingly strong—they've crushed even the Flying Sword Sect."

Recently, with the Qingmu Patriarch's evidence, the Ten Sects had finally been forced to unite once more against the Killing Sect's invasion.

One wonders how Qingmu Ridge cultivators would feel if they found themselves sharing a trench with Blood Shadow Sect disciples on the battlefield.

But the Killing Sect was stubbornly relentless—and invaded anyway.

Along the Flying Sword Sect front, the battlefield had already become a sky-shattering sea of corpses and blood.

Though the Ten Sects had united, the heaviest burdens fell on the Flying Sword Sect, the Corpse Controlling Sect, and Qingmu Ridge—simply because they were closest.

Fei Yong had gone to the front once and was carried back unconscious.

"Thankfully, despite the chaos, our Qingmu Ridge's status has been secured," Fei Yong sipped spiritual tea, sounding optimistic.

"I wonder why the Killing Sect has gone so mad as to send their Left Messenger personally to oversee the campaign beyond the borders…"

Fang Xing shook his head: "The Killing Sect as a whole is immensely powerful, and the Zhou Shenchao's generals at Sanjue Pass remain idle, watching the battle unfold like spectators… I fear the frontline pressure is immense."

The Killing Sect worships a true god, granting its followers extraordinary strength and even unique techniques.

In truth, the frontline situation was dire.

But for Qingmu Ridge, everything was cause for relief.

"Hmm…"

Fei Yong thought for a moment, then sighed.

After years of constant fear, the stone had finally dropped—he felt a strange sense of ease.

"But… why is the Killing Sect willing to pay such a price just to enter the lands beyond the borders?"

Nothing is wrong with the content!

Fang Xing raised an eyebrow: "Could it be… that the being they worship is having problems?"

"Can a true god have problems?"

Fei Yong blinked, as if never having considered this.

"Think about how the Killing Sect once held firm in the Zhou Shenchao, then suddenly suffered setbacks… Even if they later regained victories, the setbacks were real."

Fang Xing smiled: "This suggests something… Or perhaps the Killing Sect has decided to betray the god they worshiped, becoming like us—faithless beings?"

The Zhou Shenchao's true power lies in the word "god."

Fei Yong's eyes widened, momentarily speechless.

…

Outside Sanjue Pass.

Black Dharma King gazed toward the northeast, his expression complex.

At this moment, he had clearly broken through his bottleneck and reached Yang Shen Middle Realm!

The greater the cultivation realm, the wider the gap between levels.

Even a single minor step between ordinary Yang Shen Early Realm and Middle Realm was greater than the gap between late Daoji and Yin Shen True Cultivator!

"Zhou Shenchao…"

"Just thinking that half our sect's strength must leave this land—including myself… It's truly melancholy."

"Hehe…"

A shrill laugh rang out—it was White Dharma King: "The Heavenly Court is too powerful; retreating for now is unavoidable… But those Ten Sects beyond the borders—mere chickens and dogs, stray curs—are mostly relics of ancient Dao lineages. How could they possibly comprehend the might of a sect blessed by a true god?"

Ancient Dao lineages!

Black Dharma King chewed on the term, then smiled.

Older does not mean stronger!

It more likely means discarded relics!

Had the lands beyond the borders not been so peculiar, these ancient lineages would have been swept away long ago by the Zhou Shenchao.

Even now, with sufficient cost, sweeping them away wouldn't be difficult.

Only due to special factors—and because the lands beyond the borders serve as a place of exile—have they been barely tolerated.

Sanjue Pass is less a frontline fortress against invasion, and more a prison guard.

The Zhou Shenchao has always turned a blind eye to its own exiled transcendent sects.

But after exile, returning again would be as hard as climbing to heaven.

"Mm, let's go!"

The Black Dharma King and White Dharma King arrived at a military camp.

Throughout the camp, strange soldiers clad in iron armor were everywhere.

These soldiers' armor was pitch black, adorned with unique patterns and symbols that shimmered with powerful spiritual light.

On their faces, bodies… were strange black tattoos.

"Five thousand Guardian Soldiers…"

The Black Dharma King glanced over them and was thoroughly satisfied.

This was an army blessed by divine grace—strictly disciplined, and crucially, cheap to train!

Each one was equivalent to a Ninth Layer Qi Sensing cultivator of the ancient traditions, yet could unleash Foundation Establishment combat power; when united in battle arrays, their strength surged dramatically.

The two entered the main tent and saw another man—a refined scholar with a folding fan in hand.

But if the Green Wood Ancestor saw this man, he would be utterly horrified.

For this man's Yang Spirit thought-form had become as tangible as living flesh—he was unmistakably a Great Cultivator of the Yang Spirit's Later Stage!

"Left Envoy!"

The Black Dharma King and White Dharma King bowed hastily.

"Mm, this time, the Sect has decided to completely purge the Outer Lands. I've been sent here with a divine artifact… We held it back all this time, feigning weakness, to buy time to prepare a super-large ritual."

The Left Envoy's voice was gentle, exuding the demeanor of a refined gentleman, smooth as jade: "We will use the destruction of the entire Outer Lands to please our Lord!"

A divine artifact!

This was also the unique foundation of the Killing Sect—the very weapon capable of defeating the Zhou Shenchao!

"Yes!"

The Black Dharma King and White Dharma King exchanged glances, both stirred with excitement.

Though assigned to these Outer Lands as if exiled, it seemed the Sect held them in high regard.

And there were many offerings to please the gods and gain divine grace.

In that case, perhaps it wasn't so bad?

(End of Chapter)