Chapter 497 - 478: The Profound Lady of the Joyful Sect

Chapter 497: Chapter 478: The Profound Lady of the Joyful Sect

A flash of blood-red light streaked across the sky.

Many powerful Cultivators looked up at the sky, their eyes filled with shock and suspicion.

’The Blood Shadow Splitting Technique?’

Feng Yishan stood on a high platform in the Celestial Heart Sect. The incredibly dense bloody aura had caused him to fly out of his Cave Mansion at top speed.

’Such speed... not even Divine Thought can track it. This is comparable to the Tunneling Speed of a Great True Monarch...’

’Which Nascent Soul True Monarch from the Blood Sea Sect encountered such a powerful enemy? Even the Blood Shadow Divergence Skill was useless, forcing them to abandon their body and burn their Essence just to escape with their life.’

As one of the Southern Domain’s most prominent Major Sects, the Blood Sea Sect was well known in Dian Country. Several of its Divine Techniques were unique to the Hundred Demons Blood Sea Technique and instantly recognizable.

The Blood Shadow Splitting Technique was especially famous. Not only did it double one’s Tunneling Speed, but if attacked, it could also split off several Blood Shadows to take the blow and save the user’s life.

A Nascent Soul Cultivator from the Blood Sea Sect had once used this technique to escape from the clutches of a Great True Monarch, earning it a reputation as a top-tier life-saving Divine Technique.

’In recent years, the Blood God True Monarch has become terrifyingly powerful, to the point of overshadowing the Great One Sect and the Joyful Sect... He was the one who dealt with the Hundred-Eyed Celestial Centipede that caused such a stir last year. He’s considered the Cultivator in the Southern Domain most likely to reach the Divinity Transformation Realm. For someone to dare attack a Blood Sea Sect Nascent Soul... I’m afraid this won’t end peacefully.’

The blood-red light vanished as quickly as it had appeared, soon disappearing from the range of his Divine Sense. Feng Yishan sighed, then summoned a disciple and gave an order: everyone was to act with caution for the time being to avoid attracting disaster.

He also instructed them to gather intelligence, keeping a close watch on Dian Country for any major incidents and monitoring the Blood Sea Sect’s subsequent movements over in Nan Chu.

The Blood Sea Sect had five Nascent Soul True Monarchs in total, each a pillar of the sect. It was highly likely the Blood God True Monarch would personally act to take revenge.

If that happened, the Celestial Heart Sect would have to make preparations in advance to avoid being caught in the fallout.

「Wanfu Mountain.」

The damaged Grand Array had been mostly repaired and was operational once more. This restored some confidence to the panicked disciples of the Hundred Skills Sect, providing them with at least a basic level of security.

Within the Mountain Gate, the ruined walls and dilapidated halls were not being repaired as quickly; the rubble had only just been cleared away.

However, with the return of the Three Extremes Gu Immortal, Yu Baichan, the Sect had someone to rally behind, preventing morale from completely collapsing.

Yu Baichan reared countless Gu Insects, had hundreds of disciples and grand-disciples under his command, and was accompanied by four Core Formation True Men, all of whom returned with him to the Hundred Skills Sect.

After sorting out their lineage and seniority, they were all officially inducted into the Hundred Skills Sect.

"Was my personal letter delivered to the Five Elements Sect? What did they say?"

In front of a thatched hall, an old man in a green robe paused to admire the flowers. Three entirely golden Gu Insects danced around him, flying up and down with extreme joy.

"Reporting, Master, it has been delivered. The Sect Leader of the Five Elements Sect, Master Houtu, received me personally. I also presented twelve Leopard Embryo Dragon Tiger Pills as an apology."

Five Core Formation Cultivators stood before him. The dark-faced, middle-aged cultivator in the center stepped forward to report.

"I explained the misunderstanding between our sects and made it clear that you are now in charge of the Hundred Skills Sect, severing all ties with past events. Master Houtu was very courteous and said he wouldn’t hold a grudge. However, I was told that True Monarch Bai was away, so I was unable to meet him."

"It’s only normal that he left. How could a figure of his stature stick around to guard the Five Elements Sect for long? With that single sword strike, he killed my foolish senior brother and swept through the Hundred Skills Sect. The reputation he established is more than enough to protect the Five Elements Sect. Who would be blind enough to go looking for trouble with them now?"

Yu Baichan waved his hand. The three Golden Light Gu Insects shot off like arrows loosed from a bow, a piercing whistle trailing them as their wings beat the air and they flew away from Wanfu Mountain.

"As long as we maintain a cordial relationship, it’s fine. The Five Elements Sect doesn’t even have a Perfect Core Formation Cultivator; they’re no threat to us. Once I’ve reorganized the Sect, I’ll invite the Celestial Heart Sect and the Red Flame Sect to renegotiate the division of Ore Veins in Dian Country. The current arrangement was decided a 60-Year Cycle ago. It’s long been obsolete and should be..."

He was right in the middle of an enthusiastic speech when his expression suddenly changed, and he stopped mid-sentence.

His left hand formed a seal, and a Water Mirror materialized above the thatched hall, reflecting the sky for dozens of miles in every direction.

A streak of blood tore across the horizon, moving so fast that the Core Formation True Men present didn’t even have time to react, thinking their eyes were playing tricks on them.

’That Blood Shadow... it seems to be the Blood God True Monarch!’

Yu Baichan’s heart pounded wildly. He had crossed paths with the Blood God True Monarch once before in Nan Chu and had a profound memory of his aura.

’His aura is so weak... like a candle in the wind, about to be snuffed out at any moment. Did he run into a Great True Monarch?’

"What? The Blood God True Monarch is the one on the run?"

His senior disciple, Hong Zhichang, was so shocked he blurted out the impolite question, unable to maintain his composure.

"But he has a Tier Five Flying Sword! He’s arguably the number one Cultivator in the Southern Domain... Didn’t even Elder Ning, the Late-Stage Nascent Soul from the Great One Sect, admit that the best he could do against the Blood God True Monarch was fight to a stalemate, with no hope of actually defeating him?"

"There’s no mistake. I’ve been rearing Gu Insects for centuries. I can pick out a specific larva from a pile of millions. When it comes to Spiritual Sense, very few people can surpass me."

Yu Baichan’s expression was complex, a mixture of fear and bewilderment.

"But you’re right about one thing. The Nascent Souls of the Blood Sea Sect are said to be immortal—’As long as the Blood Sea is not exhausted, we are Immortal and Undying; with a thousand Blood Shadows, we achieve Blood Rebirth’... To force the Blood God True Monarch, who wields the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword, into such a state... that is indeed beyond what an ordinary Great True Monarch is capable of."

"Could a strange insect have emerged from the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains? Master, our sect faces the Southern Border directly. Should we lay low for a while?"

Hong Zhichang had followed his master deep into the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains several times. He had personally witnessed the Hundred Poison Gold-Eating Insects, which formed a black cloud that wiped clean everything in its path.

He had seen a terrifying giant snake, its body like a mountain range and its length stretching for thousands of feet. The mere pressure it exuded had forced him to his knees, and he felt as though a single glance into its pupils would have blinded him.

Of course, the most terrifying of all was a Seven-Colored Moth that inhabited a dreamlike, illusory valley.

Years ago, Yu Baichan and a friend, a Nascent Soul Gu Cultivator from the Southern Border, had set out with several disciples to capture an Ancient Exotic Insect.

Following a map, they ventured deep into the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains. They collected several types of Thousand-Year-Old Spirit Medicine and reaped a bountiful harvest.

But by the time they reached that valley, realized something was wrong, and tried to retreat, it was already too late.

The Nascent Soul Gu Cultivator seemed to fall under a spell, walking dazedly toward the valley. He walked right up to the Seven-Colored Moth, gathered all his True Essence, and killed himself by smashing his body against the cliff wall.

After his Nascent Soul emerged from his body, it remained in the same dazed state, repeatedly ramming itself against blade-sharp crystal threads in the valley, seemingly oblivious to the pain.

Terrified, Yu Baichan didn’t dare utter a single word. He just grabbed his disciples, turned, and fled.

Fortunately, the Seven-Colored Moth seemed to pay them no mind whatsoever, continuing to dance gracefully in the valley on its own, with no intention of giving chase.

Only after fleeing the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains without stopping did they dare to pause and let out a sigh of relief.

After returning, they unanimously concluded that the Seven-Colored Moth had to be a Tier Five existence. Only that could explain why a Nascent Soul True Monarch would act as if he had lost his Soul and willingly walk to his death.

From that day on, neither Yu Baichan nor his disciples ever set foot in the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains again.

Seeing the Blood God True Monarch in such a miserable state today, his first thought was of the unfathomably powerful Insect Beasts lurking in the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains.

"It’s not impossible. Unless the Blood God True Monarch provoked the Demon Race from the Qingqiu Death Sea, I can’t imagine who else near Dian Country could injure him so severely that even his Nascent Soul is on the verge of collapsing... Send more scouts toward the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains. If a Tier Five Insect Beast has truly left the mountains, our only choice is to temporarily abandon the Mountain Gate and seek refuge in the Central Domain."

Yu Baichan felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He felt his luck was truly rotten to have inherited such a mess.

The Sect’s Secret Vault had been completely emptied by Bai Zichen, making it difficult for the Hundred Skills Sect to even function normally. He had been forced to pay out of his own pocket, contributing many of his personal treasures to keep it afloat.

Now, there was this earth-shattering piece of bad news. If a Tier Five Insect Beast really had left the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains, then taking over the Hundred Skills Sect wouldn’t be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, but rather a heavy, inescapable burden.

’I can only hope the Blood God True Monarch overestimated his own abilities and blundered into the depths of the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains, provoking one of those Insect Beasts that are infinitely close to Tier Five... After all, not since the Tier Four Top Grade Hundred-Eyed Celestial Centipede tens of thousands of years ago has such a powerful Insect Beast been known to leave the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains.’

Yu Baichan comforted himself. It hadn’t reached the worst-case scenario yet.

Without territory or a Spirit Vein, a Nascent Soul Great Master who fled to the Central Domain would have less freedom than a Nascent Soul Loose Cultivator.

The Central Domain had the densest population of Cultivators in the entire Cultivation Realm. All the Spirit Veins there had been claimed long ago, making it impossible to find one without an owner.

If a sect’s lineage were to be broken and a Tier Three Spirit Vein became available, dozens of powers would immediately descend to fight over it.

The intensity of the competition, the depth of the scheming, and the sheer investment of manpower and resources involved were all unimaginable to an outsider.

A foreign sect like the Hundred Skills Sect, upon arriving in the Central Domain, could only take up temporary residence in an Immortal City or Market, paying exorbitant annual fees in Spirit Stones.

In the long run, with no income, their expenses would far exceed their revenue. The Sect would be unable to recruit any new blood.

In less than a hundred years, the Hundred Skills Sect would exist in name only.

...

「Joyful Sect, Nine Heavens Profound Lady Hall.」

Beneath a holy statue sat a woman draped in white gauze. Her features were demure and graceful.

The Female Cultivator’s skin was fair, her figure exquisite. The white gauze was wrapped tightly around her, revealing only her wrists and ankles. Her face perpetually wore an expression of compassion and mercy, yet she radiated an ineffable charm at all times.

With a delicate hand, she held a needle, her expression focused as she embroidered an auspicious dragon and phoenix pattern onto a silk fan.

"Ah..."

The silver needle pricked her thumb, and a scarlet Blood Pearl seeped out. The Female Cultivator raised her head, her gaze shifting as countless flower petals seemed to fall within her pupils.

Her gaze seemed to pierce through layer upon layer of palaces, through the Mountain Protection Array, and across the vast distance, reaching all the way to the Blood Sea Sect hundreds of thousands of miles away.

’He pushed the Blood Shadow Splitting Technique all the way back without a moment’s rest? So much so that his Nascent Soul can barely hold its form?’

The current Profound Lady of the Joyful Sect rose gently. Her bare feet padded on the floor as she walked out of the Nine Heavens Profound Lady Hall.

’Such powerful Sword Intent... so vast and boundless, reaching everywhere... Which Sword Monarch from the Central Domain has come here? How is it that I’ve received not a single scrap of news?’

No one knew the age or history of the Joyful Sect’s Profound Lady. As the Sect’s most powerful warrior and its highest-ranking member, she shouldered the responsibility of performing celestial rituals and communicating with the Upper Realm. As such, the Profound Lady rarely appeared outside the Sect.

Aside from the highest echelons of the Joyful Sect, outsiders were often unaware of when a succession had taken place, or which True Monarch now held the title of Profound Lady.

All anyone knew was that every Profound Lady possessed a Late-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivation, was exceedingly mysterious, and had very few recorded battles.

’Has that Blood God Son gone mad? Did he really think that just because he has the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword, he could stand on equal footing with those monstrous geniuses? This Sword Intent doesn’t feel like the one from the Five Phoenix Sword Sect... Could he have provoked some reclusive old monster from the Cyan Lotus Sword Sect?’

The last of the petals vanished from the Profound Lady’s eyes, which returned to their normal color. Using her Dharma Eye to peer across such a distance was taxing, even for her Late-Stage Nascent Soul Cultivation.

Returning to the hall, she shook a small silver bell. Two disciples appeared and knelt silently before her. She began to issue her commands:

"Issue a decree. Summon the three Bodhisattvas and two Divine Generals to return at once and convene in my hall for a discussion... The Blood Sea Sect has grown arrogant and tyrannical, forgetting its place. Now that they’ve offended a great power, it’s the perfect opportunity to make them spit out everything they’ve swallowed!"