Chapter 629: Unification

Several days later.

A shocking piece of news spread, shaking the entire Outer Lands to its core!

In the Battle of Blood Shadow Sect, the Seven-Pact Alliance was utterly crushed!

Not only was the Blood Shadow Sect's Patriarch slain in battle, but their mountain gate was soon breached, formally erasing this one of the Top Ten Orthodox and Demonic Sects from existence!

Additionally, the name of the Natural Sect's Patriarch echoed throughout the Outer Lands.

Now, everyone knew this Patriarch was unyielding in character, having concealed his true strength while mingling under the Green Wood Patriarch's shadow.

Only when the moment arrived did he soar to the heavens!

His One-Handed Dragon Transformation Art possessed the combat power of a Yangshen cultivator at the late stage!

During the Battle of Blood Shadow Sect, he not only killed the Fourth-Generation Patriarch summoned by the Divine Altar through forbidden rites, but also seized the Divine Altar's "Eight Treasures Lotus Merit Pool"—an act equivalent to ripping out their very heart.

Even if the Divine Altar's Lord barely escaped, the sect would inevitably decline.

Moreover, it was confirmed that Golden Temple's Monk Huangmu and Spirit Controlling Sect's Xu Patriarch also perished in this battle!

Thus, of the Outer Lands' Top Ten Orthodox and Demonic Sects—Corpse Driving Clan, Blood Shadow Sect, Hao Yang Sect, Flying Immortal Palace, Divine Altar, Green Wood Ridge, Flying Sword Sect, Spirit Controlling Sect, Golden Temple, and Three-Eye Monastery—four have already been annihilated.

With Golden Temple and Spirit Controlling Sect losing their Yangshen Patriarchs, even though their sect bases still stood and their grand arrays still functioned, all their Yinshen True Elders and Foundation Establishment cultivators had fled clean away.

Aside from a few loyalists who changed identities and prepared to lie low, most had defected to the Killing Sect!

What else could they do?

The Outer Lands are surrounded by dead ends on three sides, and the final Three Absolute Passes would never allow passage.

Thus, for defeated cultivators in this region, there were only two choices: either hide their identities and pray they never slipped up for the rest of their lives, or surrender—there was no third path.

At the suggestion of the Natural Patriarch, the Killing Sect now accepted all defectors without exception, abandoning its former cruel policies entirely.

Instantly, the Natural Patriarch's reputation for benevolence spread across the Outer Lands.

Then, Fang Xing incorporated these newly surrendered cultivators into the Servant Army and continued attacking the bases of the Divine Altar and other sects.

By this stage of the war, the Four-Pact Alliance still chose to fight to the death, assembling their final alliance of cultivators at the Divine Altar's mountain gate.

But this time, they were defeated faster and more brutally…

Beneath the ten-thousand-year Tree Person summoned by Fang Xing, no matter how sturdy the defense, it collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The Divine Altar's Witch Lord and the Three-Eye Monastery's Black Feather Daoist died on the spot; the other two Yangshen True Lords vanished completely, never appearing again even after their sects were destroyed.

Thus!

The Killing Sect had fully conquered the Top Ten Orthodox and Demonic Sects and unified the Outer Lands!

…

The former Divine Altar mountain gate.

A victory banquet was underway.

"Congratulations, Left Envoy, on completing this great feat!"

The Black and White Protectors, the Six Grand Priests, and representatives of the surrendered Orthodox and Demonic cultivators were all present.

Each wore broad smiles as they toasted and congratulated the young man in green robes seated above.

The Poisonous Hand Scholar's face was pale, yet he drained every cup offered.

At his level of Yangshen cultivation, he was nearly indistinguishable from an ordinary flesh-and-blood mortal.

Fang Xing, however, had no interest in such banquets; ignoring the surprised glances around him, he hid in the Divine Altar's scripture library, silently reading one scripture after another.

"The Divine Altar's depth feels even greater than Flying Sword Sect's… and they clearly understood the art of self-preservation."

"Had the Killing Sect not appeared suddenly—and especially had I not intervened—they might not have ended up like this."

Fang Xing returned a scroll of Divine Invocation scripture to its wooden rack, silently shaking his head.

Ever since he reconnected with his true body, this war had held not the slightest uncertainty.

After all, even at the final moment, he could have used himself as a signal relay station, allowing his true self to strike directly.

Even a single wave of divine destruction power would have been an unbearable weight for the Outer Lands.

"Moreover, in this unique environment of the Outer Lands, the Killing Sect's advantage is immense… even against the legendary war legions of the God of War, we would surely win…"

Divine armies were invincible precisely because they carried chaplains and temple priests who wielded various healing and buffing divine arts.

But the Outer Lands naturally had terrible signal quality; for a true god to grant divine arts required vastly more energy.

Yet for Fang Xing, this place offered one-hundred-percent conversion.

Even against the Zhou Shenchao's armies, he could exhaust the fat until they were thin, and the thin until they were dead!

"The most ruthless tactic in warfare is cutting off supplies!"

"In divine wars, the most ruthless is severing faith!"

Fang Xing suddenly understood, and opened another box.

This had been seized from the Divine Altar's Yangshen True Lord—"Witch Lord."

The box was lavishly decorated; inside lay a state letter.

"This is a state letter addressed to the Zhou Shenchao…"

"It seems the Killing Sect has driven the Divine Altar to desperation—they're even considering surrendering to the Zhou Shenchao. Though the Zhou Shenchao may not favor these ancient Daoist sects, they'd certainly prefer them over the Killing Sect unifying the Outer Lands."

Fang Xing smiled: "Good thing we moved fast enough!"

"Indeed."

At some point, the Poisonous Hand Scholar had appeared behind Fang Xing, echoing: "Still… I can't help but look forward to it—if the Zhou Shenchao sends an expeditionary force here, I'll bury them all as the most exquisite offering to our Lord."

Fang Xing: "…"

He'd forgotten the Killing Sect were all madmen. Had he not insisted strongly, things might have turned out exactly like that.

"Have you finished your banquet?"

"A dull affair, filled with Shitan and flattery…" The Poisonous Hand Scholar's eyes gleamed with dark light: "Had it not been for your command, O Divine Favored One, I'd have preferred to open the Killing Sect's grand ceremony outright…"

"The Killing Sect's grand ceremony…"

Fang Xing's forehead twitched—such a ritual was absolutely unsuitable for children.

The Killing Sect's madmen, when happy, might even sacrifice their own priests, protectors, or even their Grand Master!

Yet he quickly stopped dwelling on it.

"Now that we hold all the bases of the Top Ten Orthodox and Demonic Sects, correct?"

"Precisely. Shall we destroy them all?" The Poisonous Hand Scholar sounded eager.

"No. I plan to plant bamboo at other sect bases—just make sure you watch over them…"

Fang Xing smiled: "Anyone who dares destroy my bamboo groves becomes an enemy of both the Natural Sect and the Killing Sect—and may be destroyed at will… This is also a divine decree!"

Divine decree!

Every single word, every single syllable, was absolute!

Hearing the term, the Poisonous Hand Scholar immediately grew solemn: "I understand. I shall see to it personally, O Noble One!"

A Divine Favored One would never lie with a divine decree.

And Fang Xing had not lied.

His words truly were a divine decree.

"Bamboo groves expand continuously. Once mature, their roots sprout shoots, which grow into new bamboo…"

The ten-thousand-mu bamboo sea on the western slope of Poisonous Dragon Hill was already expanding.

Moreover, these plants, planted and cultivated by Fang Xing's own hands, continued to grant him experience as they grew!

That was precisely why he had decided to plan carefully—plant bamboo one by one, nurture them to a certain stage, then simply wait for harvest.

"The Druid's Plant Domain, once reaching late-stage mastery, becomes a snowball effect—experience gains become enormous!"

"After attaining Legend status, one can rise a level every few years thanks to this very method."

Fang Xing mused.

Once this planting plan was complete, he could safely travel through the Zhou Shenchao.

After all, no matter how much he indulged in wine, women, and idleness outside, his Druid level would still rise quietly.

"By the way, O Divine Favored One, there's one small matter."

As the Poisonous Hand Scholar turned to leave, he suddenly remembered something, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Among the Servant Army, some Yinshen True Elders have subtly suggested… though carefully worded, they appear to be colluding to sow discord between the Killing Sect and the Natural Sect."

"Expected. Almost certainly the work of those two escaped Yangshen True Lords."

Fang Xing smiled.

A powerful force is rarely destroyed from without.

Most often, it fractures from within—through division, conflict, corruption…

Now that the Killing Sect had unified the Outer Lands and looked around for enemies, it suddenly saw the Natural Sect.

One must admit, those hidden rats knew how to play their game.

But they could never have imagined Fang Xing's true relationship with the Killing Sect.

And as an "ally," whichever side grew too strong would inevitably invite suspicion.

"Though the Yinshen True Elders who made the suggestion have already been sacrificed, this issue still needs resolution."

Said the Poisonous Hand Scholar.

As one of the rare intelligent members of the Killing Sect, he knew governance was infinitely harder than destruction.

In truth, he had no real desire to govern at all.

When faced with such trouble, wasn't the solution simple? Just purge the Servant Army and mercenary forces as offerings to the God.

If you can't solve the problem, solve the person who raised it.

After all, the Killing Sect doesn't care about this.

"You..."

Fang Xing felt speechless, sensing he still had to shoulder the burden: "Let me handle it... To resolve this, there are two approaches: the Way of Kingship, which means ignoring the anomaly until it collapses on its own—but that demands immense effort, gentleness, and non-action. Too troublesome, too time-consuming. Better to use the Way of Tyranny!"

"How tyrannical? Destroy all the lands beyond the realm?" The Poisonous Hand Scribe perked up at this.

Fang Xing glared at him: "A snake without a head cannot move. If we capture and eliminate the mastermind, won't all problems vanish?"

"The Yangshen Zhenjun is determined to hide, and the lands beyond the realm are vast—it's still troublesome."

The Poisonous Hand Scribe said: "Perhaps... we should prepare some high-tier offerings, then invoke divine power for a 'Divine Prophecy!'"

"No need for such trouble."

Fang Xing shook his head: "They're just two rats. I've already obtained their personal scent items—perfect for cursing them both to death!"

After all, his lifespan was now utterly worthless—he was willing to pay the cost.

Moreover, to counter such a curse, besides high-rank protective wards, the best solution is to seek purification from a divine priest. But beyond the realm, aside from the Killing Sect, there are no true divine priests—making this an absolute kill.

(End of Chapter)