Chapter 613: Dark Clouds Press Down on the Mountain, the Sect Is About to Fall

Secretly resorting to the methods of Tribulation Cultivators, while dishonorable, was hardly a major issue in the Northern Domain.

Everyone had their own dirty tricks, so no one was in a position to point fingers.

However, the Sects and Cultivation Families that fell victim to this were essentially vassals of the Holy Lotus Sect, who had loyally protected the lands surrounding Qii Mountain.

For a Nascent Soul Upper Sect like the Holy Lotus Sect to resort to this was not only unbecoming of their status, but it also cost them the loyalty of their followers.

Originally, because the Celestial Principle Sect was an outside power, some Sects had been secretly supporting the Holy Lotus Sect.

But as soon as this news broke, those supporters immediately cut ties and switched their allegiance.

If it had ended there, it would have just been a humiliating and painful loss of face. But the Celestial Principle Sect’s threat to report them to the Moral Sect terrified the Holy Lotus Sect’s Elders.

After Qu Yang merged with the Ten Thousand Years Snow Lotus, he developed bizarre and powerful Divine Techniques, allowing him to forcibly refine living people into Puppets.

Aside from lacking their own consciousness, these puppets were no different from when they were alive; in fact, their strength was often enhanced.

Those two Core Formation Cultivators who had previously rushed out and self-detonated their Golden Cores to block the Celestial Principle Sect’s assault were actually Human Puppets refined by Qu Yang.

In the Central Domain, no one would dare to do such a thing so blatantly. If caught by the Moral Sect, they would be the first to be punished—likely by being stripped of their Spirit Land and having their right to operate as a Sect revoked.

As it stood, the lord of Zengguang Immortal City in the Northern Domain was from the Moral Sect’s Celestial Punishment Peak.

If the matter were reported and the Daoist Soldiers from Celestial Punishment Peak were dispatched, everyone in the sect would be charged with aiding a tyrant, and their fate would be tragic.

Fortunately, whether because the matter was too trivial to warrant the Moral Sect’s intervention or because their attention was consumed by the great war between the Human-Demon Races, several years passed without anyone from the Moral Sect appearing, allowing the Holy Lotus Sect to breathe a collective sigh of relief.

But in every confrontation, the Celestial Principle Sect held the moral high ground, painting their side as evil Demons who would stop at nothing. One could only imagine the state of the Sect Disciples’ morale.

They were already at a disadvantage, relying on their indignation and loyalty to the Sect to bolster the disciples’ confidence.

But with the Celestial Principle Sect’s propaganda campaign, the Holy Lotus Sect had been cast as the villain, and it was hard to say what the rank-and-file disciples were truly thinking.

“The Sect’s Spirit Stones dwindle by the day, and more critically, we have no new disciples. We are raising tens of thousands of mortals in the Medicine Garden Secret Realm, yet the number of Immortal Seedlings among the children of age each year is in the single digits. Fellow Elders, tell me, what should we do?”

At the head of the Three Worlds Hall sat a Cultivator whose aura was vast and unfathomable. Behind him, countless roots twisted and writhed, emitting a soft, rustling sound.

The roots blocked the light, plunging his entire figure into darkness.

“Sect Leader, I suggest we have the Qi Refining Disciples with limited prospects marry early and produce more offspring. All the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the Sect have grown old; there are precious few under the age of fifty. If this continues, and the Celestial Principle Sect besieges Qii Mountain for another 60-Year Cycle, I’m afraid you all won’t have any Foundation Establishment subordinates left.”

A gaunt Elder Daoist spoke, flicking the Buddha Dust whisk in his hand.

“That only treats the symptoms, not the root cause! Making Qi Refining Disciples breed… only you could come up with such an idea!”

The Elder who retorted had a fleshy growth on his head, a greasy face, and large grease and wine stains on the front of his Magical Robe.

“If you ask me, the proper course of action is to find an ally. It doesn’t matter if they’re from within Liang Country or outside of it; we just need a Nascent Soul True Monarch who is willing to intervene. The Celestial Principle Sect is in a precarious position as well; I refuse to believe that Old Man Shi is willing to waste his lifespan in a protracted stalemate with us. If we just give him an honorable way out—say, another Nascent Soul True Monarch declaring their support for our Sect—he’ll have the justification he needs to silence the hardliners in his own ranks and agree to peace talks.”

“Easier said than done. In this climate, what True Monarch would risk offending the Celestial Principle Sect for us? If you’re so capable, why don’t you volunteer for the task? Go ask the Sect Leader to let your disciples leave the Sect and find reinforcements. We can still manage to sneak a single Foundation Establishment Cultivator out.”

The gaunt elder fumed, his eyes wide as he began to shout.

“Silence!”

Seeing the Elders below on the verge of another argument, Qu Yang roared from the darkness. Layers of lotus leaves materialized behind him, and the immense pressure made everyone tremble, their ears ringing.

“Leave, all of you. If you come up with a viable plan, report it to me in private…”

The five Elders departed quickly, and the Three Worlds Hall fell silent once more.

Ever since his fusion with the Snow Lotus, no attendants were permitted in the Three Worlds Hall.

After a long while, a dry, raspy laugh echoed from the darkness—part mad, part self-mocking.

“Ancestor, I’m not as capable as you thought. A Nascent Soul Pill, plus the three streams of Tier Five Spiritual Energy accumulated on the Immortal Reception Platform over centuries… none of it was enough for me to find my opportunity to break through to the Nascent Soul realm…”

The roots receded, revealing Qu Yang’s face, upon which green shoots had begun to sprout.

Had he continued his normal Cultivation, his talent would have at least allowed him to reach the stage of facing a Celestial Tribulation, with a fifty-fifty chance of survival.

But the situation, with threats both internal and external, did not afford him that much time.

With no hope for a short-term breakthrough, he could only resort to a Forbidden Technique, following the same path True Monarch Jiulian had once walked.

Because his Cultivation was weaker, the Snow Lotus’s influence over him was even more severe. He often woke startled from his sleep, ‘feeling as though he was no longer human.’

To make matters worse, Qu Yang possessed a Fire Element Celestial Spiritual Root, yet he had fused with a Ten Thousand Years Snow Lotus. This had utterly destroyed any chance he had of reaching the Nascent Soul realm.

Moreover, because his own nature was incompatible with the Snow Lotus, he lived in constant agony.

However, after the Snow Lotus took control of most of his body, there were fringe benefits: Qu Yang could borrow the full might of the Spirit Plant.

Controlling vines and refining Human Puppets were merely the most superficial applications of its Divine Techniques.

Only someone who actually managed to set foot on Qii Mountain Peak would discover the true extent of Qu Yang’s power.

“Come, come… after absorbing the flesh and blood of so many Cultivators who died on Qii Mountain, you must be just one step away from Tier Five… The day Shi Chengdong breaks through to the Immortal Reception Platform, I will take all the elite Cultivators of my Sect and the Celestial Principle Sect and die with them. Ancestor, you can rest assured. I will not let the Holy Lotus Sect be destroyed on my watch. Once the Snow Lotus achieves the status of an Innate Spiritual Root, it can carry on the Sect’s legacy all the same.”