Chapter 628: Sacrifice and Cultivation

Wuuu~

The Youjing was dark and dim, nearly without light; occasionally, mournful wails, half-human, half-beast, were stirred by the wind.

Wan Zhuliu strode forward, each step sending gusts of force rippling outward; occasionally, strange beasts startled by his aura scattered in panic, while the Ink Dragon carried the Great Sun Mirror to illuminate his path.

Not long after, Wan Zhuliu halted.

Hum~

The Ink Dragon lifted its head; the incense fire within the Great Sun Mirror burned fiercely, like a pillar of light illuminating the way ahead.

Before them lay a stretch of charred earth, littered with the corpses of countless strange beasts; a cold, chilling aura spread like mist, briefly halting the Youjing 's erosion of the corpses.

Wan Zhuliu's expression remained indifferent; he stood still, unmoving.

At the center of the piled corpses stood an altar forged from unknown material; Yun Yeshan sat cross-legged upon it, eyes closed in meditation, breathing in and out as thin strands of dark crimson blood-qi rose from the corpses and entered his mouth and nose.

"That old ghost…"

Wan Zhuliu's gaze grew deep and dark; upon that altar, he felt profound oppression—as if a force threatening his very life were brewing.

"The greatest matters under heaven are sacrifice and cultivation; cultivation of the self comes second, sacrifice to gods and heaven comes first…"

A low voice echoed; Yun Yeshan slowly opened his eyes. His form was no longer the pure silver of before—now stained with a dark crimson blood-glow, he radiated an eerie malevolence.

"Sacrifice and cultivation."

Wan Zhuliu lowered his eyelids.

He had heard such words before—not only from this old ghost, but also in the scrolls left behind by the Long Mo Daoist; yet he did not accept the notion that sacrifice must come before cultivation.

Listening to Yun Yeshan's chant, he asked coldly:

"Have you gathered enough blood offerings for your ritual?"

"Huu!"

Yun Yeshan drew a deep breath; as the dark wind surged, the thousands of strange beast corpses surrounding the altar turned to dust, their torrential crimson blood-qi swallowed whole:

"Still lacking a bit."

"How much is 'a bit'?"

Wan Zhuliu frowned.

"Hmm, roughly the bone, blood, and essence-soul of one Divine Palace."

Yun Yeshan replied.

Wan Zhuliu sneered:

"Pang Wenlong has gathered several major sects, aiming for the Imperial Capital. Go capture him yourself—it should be enough."

"You've stopped hunting those ghostly wraiths, then? Seems he's finally gathered all the materials for the sacrifice."

Yun Yeshan was unsurprised; with his methods of concealment, Pang Wenlong had no way to force him out except through sacrifice.

And this, he had anticipated.

"I hope this time you truly kill Pang Wenlong."

Wan Zhuliu had no interest in his or the Thousand-Eyed Ghost's schemes; his expression darkened: "At the very least, don't interfere with my pursuit and killing of Li Yuan!"

"Naturally."

Yun Yeshan rose, placed incense upon the altar, then turned:

"Let's go."

……

……

"Lii!"

The Jin Lingying spread its wings and soared upward from within a city.

"Incense is hard to come by."

On the eagle's back, Li Yuan toyed with a fragrant-ding vessel; its incense was scarce, and not a single strand above seventh-rank:

"Useless except as fuel for listening."

The journey from Longhu Temple to the Imperial Capital was long, not to be reached in a day or two; Li Yuan wasn't in a hurry, so he stopped at every city to gather incense.

But the imperial court had already harvested it years ago, and temples had been sealed for the past few years—his gains were meager; despite passing dozens of cities, he found not a single strand of seventh-rank incense.

Yet there were plenty below sixth-rank—more than enough to sustain his constant, high-intensity listening.

"Incense rank too low—even the Comprehension Ball won't respond…"

Li Yuan removed the iron ball from his waist, sighing inwardly.

'My Comprehension Ball!'

Chi Lian stared fixedly at the iron ball in Li Yuan's hand, her silver teeth nearly grinding to dust; had her gaze been lethal, Li Yuan would have died a thousand times over by now.

"Li Yuan…"

Chi Lian spoke.

"Be quiet."

Li Yuan flicked his finger, sealing her acupoint; he closed his eyes, focusing inward, utterly ignoring her.

Master Li was busy.

"Huu!"

"Haa!"

Calming his spirit, he visualized the Kun transforming into a Peng bird; Li Yuan divided his focus, leaving only a fraction of his awareness to monitor Chi Lian and Qi Benchu.

On the gray stone platform, random listening and targeted listening to the voices of the dead sounded simultaneously.

"Spending money like water."

Even though low-rank incense held little use for him now, Li Yuan still felt a pang of loss—most of the listening yielded nothing useful. At his current cultivation level, most of the world's secrets held no meaning, and Tian Shi Yuan was too far away…

"Record them all—might come in handy someday."

Li Yuan mentally sorted through the listening voices; he possessed perfect memory, but only retained those with potential value.

【…A bell rang in the Youjing; Wang Jin found Wan Zhuliu in seclusion; the latter ordered him to seek the Thousand-Eyed Ghost, while he himself went to a site littered with strange beast corpses… (eleventh-rank)】

【…Before dawn, on the Imperial Capital's Star-Gazing Platform, Wu Ying opened his eyes, gazing at the rising smoke of hearths below, filled with melancholy… At one moment, he heard the Jinlin Bell, rose, and departed… (tenth-rank)】

【…Shen Qisheng gazed far off at the Changhong Sword Sect, silent for a long while; only when the Jinlin Bell rang did he sigh and turn away… (tenth-rank)】

【…In the wild mountains, Yan Tianxiong sat by a campfire, turning a bear's paw over the flames, listening as a pale-faced giant reported intelligence; he remained unmoved even upon hearing of the deaths of various evil gods—until the Jinlin Bell rang, then he swept his sleeve and rose… (tenth-rank)】

【…Clouds churned; upon the back of a vulture, the bald monk and the Tianchan Daoist sat facing each other, one holding black stones, the other white, utterly unconcerned by the coming battle, immersed in their game, frowning then smiling… (tenth-rank)】

【…Holding a black umbrella, Huang Longzi left Hengshan City; sometimes he paused to fiddle with the Comprehension Ball at his waist, sometimes hurriedly searched for something, fingers calculating as if casting the Daoist spell 'Immortal's Guidance'… (eleventh-rank)】

……

!

Wan Zhuliu, Wang Jin, Yan Tianxiong, Huang Longzi…

In the listening voices, names—some familiar, some unknown—flashed; Li Yuan recorded them all, perhaps because he neared the Imperial Capital, or perhaps due to the sheer volume of listening.

Whether from the court or the major sects, Li Yuan had gathered ample intelligence on the movements of masters and grand masters, much of which he had relayed to Pang Wenlong.

"Excluding the Emperor, the court now has four grand masters and over sixty masters; without the Evil God Cult, the Dao Sects hold a numerical advantage—but with those old ghosts of the cult included, the edge vanishes."

"Above grand master level, Old Pang alone can suppress the Thousand-Eyed Ghost and that Yun Mo ghost; the only other one left is Wan Zhuliu…"

Li Yuan analyzed the intelligence, assessing the situation.

In his view, the court was at greater disadvantage; if Pang Wenlong could hold off the two old ghosts, and if he truly lured in Wan Zhuliu, victory would be assured.

【…During the incense-blood purification ritual, Wan Zhuliu separated his human bloodline and placed it within the Ink Dragon's body, leaving only his pure Yun Mo essence—thus his lifespan is now short… (eleventh-rank)】

"Wan Zhuliu will almost certainly come to kill me…"

Though no such intelligence appeared in the listening, Li Yuan felt a strong premonition.

After blood purification, Wan Zhuliu's innate talent transformed, his Divine Palace complete—but his life span is now brief; even if he escapes the Eight Temples' constraints, he will never reach Tian Shi Yuan.

His only hope lies in seizing Li Yuan's identity as the Temple Founder and pleading with the Eight Temples.

"But why did he preserve his human bloodline? Surely not for sentimental reasons? Or is there another scheme?"

Li Yuan's thoughts wandered.

He believed he understood Wan Zhuliu somewhat; this Grand Marshal of Dayun was no ordinary loyalist—he had forged a Divine Palace, knew of Tian Shi Yuan's existence—could he truly accept death?

Or does he possess a body-splitting technique?

"Unlikely. Techniques that split lifespan are exceedingly rare—even in Tian Shi Yuan; the Five Great Sects may not possess them; the Yun Mo clan certainly cannot…"

After long contemplation, Master Li resolved:

"Whatever his scheme, once he moves, I'll cut off his human bloodline entirely!"

Hum~

Suddenly, he heard a tremor.

The Listening Wood Tablet glowed with brilliant divine light; the voice of the listening, usually dull and flat, rose several octaves—clearly, a high-rank listening had been captured.

【…Having spent rare treasures to repair the corner of the Purple Cloud Chariot he shattered in rage, Xuan Daozi, grim-faced, boarded a boat and plunged into the Youjing, racing at top speed toward the last known location of the Blood Phoenix Evil God, heedless of the cost to his primordial fire; compared to Ying Xuanlong and others, he was far too late… (thirteenth-rank)】

"Xuan Daozi!"

Li Yuan perked up, listening intently.

High-rank listenings were far more detailed; under his focused attention, he could almost hear the sounds of Xuan Daozi smashing the Purple Cloud Chariot and rowing furiously.

"He has no alternatives left—must compete with Ying Xuanlong, Fenghuang'er, and the other Dao Disciples?"

Li Yuan paid close attention to Xuan Daozi; hearing the strange sounds in the listening, he couldn't help but feel a pang of awe.

Unlike the imperial court's ghostly spirits, or the Thousand-Eyed Ghost reduced to a mere wisp, the Blood Phoenix tainted by the Youjing was a true deity!

Even with protective treasures and guardian spirits, daring to pursue an evil god proved the ferocity of these Sacred Sect disciples.

"It has little to do with me."

Li Yuan glanced over, noted it, then paid no further attention—it was not the Lingyin he sought.

……

……

"Is that the Divine Capital? No wonder it's called the greatest city since ancient times—how magnificent!"

As Qi Benchu exclaimed, Li Yuan opened his eyes; his vision was exceptional, and under the moonlight, he saw at once the colossal city, like a mountain range stretched across the earth.

"Divine Capital?"

Chi Lian frowned, glanced over, and sneered: "A frog at the bottom of a well—what do you know about magnificence?"

"Huh?"

Qi Benchu protested: "Is there any city in the world more magnificent than the Divine Capital?"

"There are many."

His gaze swept over Li Yuan, seeing he was listening, Chi Lian tilted his chin slightly: "My Venomous Dragon Academy has a hundred great cities, all forged from the cores of stars—that is true magnificence!"

(End of Chapter)