Chapter 326: Return with Sword in Hand

The arrival of the demonic seeds caught everyone off guard, and in an instant, the Nine Continents plunged into chaos.

Countless immortal sects and noble families shattered in the clash, and innumerable cultivators who had wasted half their lives perished in the howling tide of corpses.

Only a few noble families who reacted in time found a sliver of hope, barely surviving as they fled east and west.

The Daoist strongholds of Yu Zhou's Wendaoshan, Qing Zhou's Huangyunshan, Ling Zhou's Lingjianshan, You Zhou's Wuseya, and Xuan Yuanshan on the border between Yun and You Zhou.

Among the several Daoist strongholds ruling over the entire Qingyun realm, countless ancestral elders and divine lords hovered in the void, gazing down at the ruined lands of the Nine Continents, their deep eyes seeming to hold boundless cosmic seas.

There was no doubt—this was a world-shaking transformation.

What needed to be determined now was the origin of this change.

The abbot of Wendaoshan held two crimson jade orbs, turning to look at the Daoist attendant behind him.

"Send word to the Heavenly Book Academy—ask them to divine the celestial fate."

"Yes."

The Daoist attendant immediately bowed and accepted the order, then floated gracefully down the mountain through the sea of clouds.

Soon, the five Grand Masters of the Heavenly Book Academy received the message; five golden-edged edicts descended from the sky before them, differing in wording but sharing the same purpose: to seek insight into the celestial fate.

At that moment, the five Grand Masters stood atop the mist-shrouded cliffs, their brows furrowed upon seeing the message.

As one of the Seven Immortal Sects, the Heavenly Book Academy, bearing the title of Sacred Sect of Great Xia, was renowned throughout the world for its mastery of celestial fate divination, capable of calculating all under heaven and comprehending past and present.

Yet celestial fate divination was exceedingly difficult to master; to this day, only You Yingqiu had achieved any understanding of it.

After the corpse tide erupted, they had immediately protected her to perform the celestial calculation, and the divination had just concluded.

Yet during the process, all they saw was an endless, pitch-black void—no revelation from the Dao was granted.

That meant what they had attempted to divine had touched upon the Dao itself.

Though celestial fate divination was profoundly mysterious, human power could only calculate the fate of mortals—how could one possibly divine the Dao itself?

Zuo Qiuyang stood with his back to the sea of clouds, facing his four junior disciples: "Sometimes, the absence of revelation may itself be a revelation—this calamity may be a heavenly tribulation."

Chai Hu stared at him for a long while: "Are you saying our human race has angered Heaven?"

"Each immortal sect knows full well what deeds they have committed that defy the Dao."

"Brother, are you referring to the ruins?"

Zuo Qiuyang looked at Chai Hu: "Naturally, those ruins."

Lü Fengchuan couldn't help interjecting: "Earlier, all five of us senior siblings studied the Dao fruits within those ruins—each contained nothing but the power of the Dao. How could that possibly defy the Dao?"

"What do you think, sister?"

Zuo Qiuyang turned to look at You Yingqiu, who remained silent, her hand sketching divine talismans.

At dusk, as golden light shimmered, a massive talisman coalesced in the void and radiated outward in all directions.

Upon receiving the feedback, countless figures from the immortal sects fell silent, then turned their gazes toward the four cardinal directions—to the ruins now encircled by demonic seeds.

A thousand years ago, the ancient remnants clan launched a full-scale assault upon the Dao; their emperor used immense power to imprison Heaven, seeking to replace it.

Then Heaven descended sacred artifacts, granting humanity great power to exterminate the remnants clan, ushering in the renaissance of human civilization—and all things related to the remnants clan were deemed by Heaven as things to be utterly erased.

For example, the cultivation arts and divine artifacts once used by the remnants clan were all reduced to dust under Heaven's wrath, incompatible with the laws of heaven and earth.

So all knew: the relics must also count as such.

Yet during this period, every immortal sect had been opening the ruins, seizing divine fortunes—perhaps precisely this act had enraged Heaven's wrath, triggering this vast tribulation as a warning not to overstep.

This seemed to confirm the old saying: those who follow Heaven prosper; those who defy it perish.

The Heavenly Book Academy's solution was to seal the ruins, locking them away permanently.

On Wendaoshan, Huangyunshan, Lingjianshan, and Wuseya, countless immortal sect elders stared at the golden scroll with unreadable expressions.

Puff—

A finger of light shot from a high mountain, slicing one golden scroll into a thousand golden sparks; an elder of Wendaoshan raised an eyebrow and departed with a dismissive remark: "Nonsense."

Never mind that the corpse tide now surged like an ocean—approaching the ruins was harder than climbing to heaven.

The divine fortunes pulsing within those ruins were not something cultivators could simply abandon.

Human greed is boundless—why live a hundred years when you can live a thousand? Why settle for the finite when you can roam the infinite?

Besides, this is merely a corpse tide—no matter how grotesque and violent the dead shells, they are still mindless corpses. How can this be called a heavenly tribulation?

"First, send the Elders of the Elder Hall to lead disciples and hold back the corpse tide."

"Ignore Zhongzhou, Qingzhou, and Liangzhou for now—where the demonic corpses are most numerous. Focus on securing the lands north of Shengjing, evacuating refugees."

At the peak of Yunwu Mountain, Zuo Qiuyang rose and departed across the sea of clouds, walking to the massive mountain bell beneath Tianshu Peak.

He had anticipated this outcome—the reluctance of the immortal sects to abandon the divine fortunes within the ruins—before sending the message.

Cultivation through human effort is too arduous; many spend lifetimes in vain, halted before the Great Dao. Now that a shortcut to instant ascension has appeared, how easily could one ask them to forsake it?

Not even the five immortal sects, but even within the Heavenly Book Academy itself, the Dao fruits stirred restless desires.

Gong—

Gong—

Gong—

As the mountain bell rang, several elders descended, and countless inner-court disciples gathered at the summons.

After receiving the Grand Master's decree, they all set out toward the four directions of Shengjing.

Yet the demonic seeds blocking the imperial palace's great array surged like a tidal wave; those who broke out from within the city killed one wave only to face another, barely able to advance a step.

Even when elders tore open gaps with their arts, most Heavenly Book Academy disciples dared not advance.

Once too far from the city, the corpse tide would flow back, making retreat nearly impossible.

Meanwhile, Shengjing was already overflowing with people.

Not only teahouses, taverns, immortal gardens, and restaurants, but even the streets were packed.

These were refugees—some noble families who had fled into the city before the corpse tide fully surged, now gasping as they stared beyond the walls.

Sssss—

The demonic seeds crashed against the great array, emitting a grating, teeth-chilling tearing sound.

The entire array trembled violently; golden immortal light surged like hot oil poured into a cold pot, exploding into countless dazzling flashes against the black tide.

The front-line demonic seeds were instantly shredded upon contact, but more surged behind them, trampling over their fallen comrades to claw and gnaw at the trembling barrier.

Where golden light met black mist, blinding white light erupted—each collision sent out concentric shockwaves.

The array's runes flickered erratically: sometimes golden light blazed, shredding hundreds of demonic seeds; sometimes the black tide pressed the barrier inward, deforming it—before the shattered remains of the corpses could even fall, they were crushed into paste by the next wave.

Witnessing this, though some knew this array, originating from the northern frontier, had held back barbarians for a thousand years and could not be breached, they still trembled with dread, as if they would be drowned by the demonic tide in the next second.

"Lord Zhao, you've traveled far. Once inside the city, you're safe—my Prince invites you to rest."

"Lord Zhou, all elders, my Prince invites you to rest and dine."

"Elder Wu, my Prince…"

"Lord He, Lord Zuo—please bring your clansmen to rest in my courtyard for a while."

Along Yong'an and Changsheng Streets, countless figures darted among the refugee noble families, guiding each prominent figure into a vast mansion.

At that moment, Prince Chong, Chancellor Wei, the Minister of Rites, and other pro-immortal officials all stood at the gate, bowing in welcome.

In the past, the pro-immortal faction controlled tax revenues and held stakes in Yunzhou's spirit stone trade, amassing immense wealth—such mansions were plentiful for them.

To others, this calamity meant doom; to Prince Chong and his allies, it was a boundless opportunity.

So they opened their mansions wide, prepared endless spirit wine and spirit stones, gathered every physician and healer in the city, and invited noble families to rest within—free of charge.

For they believed: this demonic tide would eventually pass. With the debt of gratitude forged in this crisis, the future—whether the Office of Immortal Affairs or even the throne—would be theirs for the taking.

After prolonged invitations, Prince Chong's mansion gradually filled to capacity.

After replenishing their spirit stones, each family lord ascended the mansion's high tower, gazing at the endless corpse tide and the Heavenly Book Academy elders and disciples slaying demonic seeds.

Earlier, their single-minded focus on bringing their clans to Shengjing had suppressed all questions—but now, with a moment's respite, those questions rose within them.

Why had the demonic seeds suddenly erupted? Where did they truly come from?

In Qingyun, there was the doctrine of cause and effect—they did not believe in effects without causes.

Lord Zuo Qiuyang's name was Zuo Qiuyun, younger brother of Zuo Qiuyang, Grand Master of the Zuo Hall. Though younger, due to cultivation level and lifespan, his hair and beard were now streaked white.

Gazing at the sea of corpses and blood, Zuo Qiuyun softly spoke.

"All under heaven know that only the boundless ruins could harbor so many demonic seeds."

Hearing this, the surrounding noble lords all froze, their eyes narrowing.

After the Qiling Incident, the Six Immortal Sects had sealed all ruins under the pretext of demonic disturbances, fencing off hundred-li zones with strict guard, forbidding anyone to approach.

Some small families living near the ruins had even abandoned their ancestral homes.

Yet now, tens of thousands of demonic seeds poured from the ruins—there was only one answer.

"It seems the immortal sects have stolen from their own posts."

He Ye, lord of the He family, spoke softly, his gaze profound.

He and the Zuo family were in-laws—his wife was Zuo Qiuyun's youngest sister; his daughter was a direct disciple of Zizai Hall.

Compared to other noble families, their status was higher, and thus they feared no immortal sect's wrath—they dared to speak openly.

Hearing this, all recalled the Youth Immortal Gathering: the shockingly young prodigies of the immortal sects, the ancient disciples whose cultivation had skyrocketed after years of stagnation, the three major sect wars that erupted on the Moonlight Plateau mere days after the Gathering ended.

Without doubt, they had obtained something extraordinary within the ruins—but it had triggered this world-shaking upheaval, leaving countless families displaced and dead.

At that moment, three figures soared toward the mansion from the direction of the Heavenly Book Academy.

He Lingxiu, Chai Ze, and Shi Junhao, who had been in seclusion for over a year, landed gracefully in the courtyard and ascended the high tower of Prince Chong's mansion.