Chapter 721: Mountain Gate Dharma Lineage

Chapter 721: Chapter 721: Mountain Gate Dharma Lineage

Xu Yunfan’s Divine Thought repeatedly swept the area with the Cause and Effect Secret Technique, while his Attribute Panel’s analysis module ran at full speed, searching for any trace of the White-haired True Daoist.

But other than the traces of Reincarnation fluctuations Han Shi had previously discovered in the reef area a hundred li southwest of White Bone Island—which had clearly been left intentionally—he still had nothing.

This only served to heighten Xu Yunfan’s vigilance.

The White-haired True Daoist’s mastery of Concealment and the profoundness of his schemes far surpassed Xu Yunfan’s previous estimates.

To act rashly would be to walk right into his opponent’s trap.

He needed to wait for a clearer opening, or for his opponent to lose patience and expose a weakness.

His opponent was unable to suppress his aura of decay, a sure sign his lifespan was short. Xu Yunfan, on the other hand, had plenty of life to spare and all the time in the world.

The White-haired True Daoist would surely be the first to lose his patience.

’The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. But who is the mantis, and who is the oriole? That remains to be seen.’

Xu Yunfan thought to himself, his gaze growing increasingly profound.

He was certain that the White-haired True Daoist wasn’t the only one coveting this place.

The attitude of True Monarch Pu Du on Chenghua Mountain was also intriguing, forcing him to be more cautious.

At this thought, Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but sigh. ’In this damn place, countless people try to drag you down with every step you take.’

’All I want is to cultivate my way to the very top, step by step, and see the view from the pinnacle of the Immortal Dao.’

’But here I am, facing endless tribulations, with no choice but to grit my teeth and press forward.’

’The path of the Immortal Dao is a dark one; just gaining a foothold is an arduous struggle.’

’Fortunately, I still have my Attribute Panel.’

Having constructed the Grand Array, established preliminary control over the environment, and influenced the Qiu Long’s condition, the only thing left for Xu Yunfan to do was wait patiently.

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Time seemed to stagnate as it flowed slowly through the blood-red and gray gloom of the Netherworld.

The churning, bloody waves crashed relentlessly against the White Bone reefs, letting out a dull, mournful sound.

The dim, gray sky hung low, eternally unchanging.

The cold, clear light of the Taiyin Nether Dragon Fruit hanging from its branch was particularly stark against the deathly silent backdrop.

The grievously wounded Qiu Long lay coiled, every faint fluctuation of its energy a testament to its weakness and agony.

Xu Yunfan remained completely unfazed by this.

In a game at this level, patience was often more lethal than power itself.

His trap was laid, the bait was set, and the net was cast.

Now, he would wait for the truly big fish—or the hidden oriole—to lose its nerve and take the bait.

Until then, this Bitter Sea Qiu Long, a manifestation of the Dao Fruit, would be left to slowly suffer in this causal cage he had deliberately voided.

Its pain and weakness were the very leverage that allowed him to wait so patiently.

Only by maintaining this state could Xu Yunfan have some peace of mind.

’Honestly, being able to see it but not touch it is a special kind of torture. But there’s nothing for it. For a Golden Core True Monarch, every step forward is watched by someone trying to block your path.’

’Forget the Celestial Tribulations; the Human Tribulations are the truly monstrous part.’

’To date, in his quest for a Golden Attainment Fruit Position and to advance further, Xu Yunfan had already killed three cultivators in the Golden Core Realm.’

’For any other Golden Core True Monarch, this would be like a hell-difficulty dungeon.’

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Ten years passed quietly amidst the turbulent changes of the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.

Golden Core True Monarchs remained high and mighty, looking down upon the mortal world.

Today, the gates of the Primordial Sect’s Divine Sky Mountain—one of the Nine Immortals Mountains revitalized by Divine Sky True Monarch Xu Yunfan—were thrown wide open, presenting a magnificent sight.

News that Divine Sky True Monarch was opening his gates to accept disciples from the mortal world spread throughout the vast Northern Continent, the domain ruled by the Primordial Sect.

Countless Mortal Realms and the minor Immortal Sects that depended on the Primordial Sect were shaken by the news.

Although the Primordial Sect was branded as the Demon Dao by the Wansheng Sword Sect and the Puchen Pure Land, in the Northern Continent that it ruled, the Primordial Sect was the sky itself.

Divine Sky True Monarch’s name and his dazzling military exploits—resisting Qingyuan and Wisdom Sun, slaying Red Sun, and joining forces with Dongming to invade an Otherworld—had long since spread across the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.

After the three great Sects had devoured the prize that was Aitira, even the scraps left behind were a greasy feast for others.

The chance to study under this newly ascended True Monarch, even as a nominal disciple, was a dream for countless cultivators—a ladder to the heavens that could change a family’s destiny.

This was a world apart from the Primordial Sect’s usual practice of drafting ’consumables’ from the Mortal Realms.

For Divine Sky True Monarch to personally recruit disciples was an event of incredible prestige. Anyone accepted would ascend to the heavens in a single step, finally escaping the fate of being a low-grade consumable.

In an instant, the Northern Continent was in an uproar. Countless young men and women, all dreaming of cultivation, traveled over mountains and through rivers under the escort of their families or sects, converging on the Primordial Sect’s territory at the foot of Divine Sky Mountain.

The Mountain Protection Array of Divine Sky Mountain opened a massive gateway, its purple-gold thunder patterns flickering in and out of view in the void.

On the plaza before the mountain gates, layers of Arrays and trials had already been established.

Steward Disciples of the Primordial Sect, their expressions stern, oversaw the process according to the standards set by Xu Yunfan, screening candidates layer by layer for their bone structure, aptitude, comprehension, and character.

The process was, naturally, both brutal and efficient.

The Primordial Sect’s tradition was survival of the fittest, and the disciple selection process was no exception.

Illusory realms interrogated their Heart Demons, immense pressure tested their bodies, Spirit Stone pillars gauged the quality of their Spirit Roots, and they even faced combat phantoms to test their adaptability and fighting instincts.

Countless hopeful youths were dejectedly eliminated during the harsh trials. Some were even injured, their willpower failing or their attempts to force their way through ending in failure.

The air in the plaza hung thick with the smell of sweat and blood, mixed with the bitter cries of the failed aspirants.

In the end, fewer than twenty youths managed to ascend Divine Sky Mountain’s Trial Peak and arrive at the massive Cloud Platform before the Divine Sky Palace.

Their clothes may not have been lavish, but their eyes were bright and their expressions resolute. Though they bore the marks of their trials, their auras were far more condensed than when they had first arrived.

To have made it this far meant they were one in a hundred million, proof enough of their potential.

Suppressing their excitement and trepidation, the youths waited quietly for the moment that would decide their fate, their eyes fixed on the towering palace ahead, which radiated a vast and powerful Thunderbolt Dao Rhyme.

Divine Sky Palace.

Inside Divine Sky Palace, upon the Cloud Platform.

Xu Yunfan was seated high upon a nine-tiered Cloud Platform, Purple Gold Thunder Light contained within his form, his aura as deep and vast as the ocean.

He did not intentionally release his aura, but the mere presence of a Golden Core True Monarch was like a thunderous star hanging high in the sky, inspiring a deep, soul-felt reverence and sense of insignificance in every youth below.

His Divine Thought swept silently over the so-called ’raw jade’ below as he pondered another matter.

The words of True Monarch Pu Du—"value quality over quantity" and "you must take over Qingyuan’s affairs"—weighed on his mind like heavy stones.

The Primordial Sect’s tradition was to let nature take its course, leaving life and death to fate. For Pu Du to force him to take disciples and pass on his teachings now... his intentions were anything but simple.

’These disciples... calling them inheritors of my legacy is a stretch. They’re more like burdens foisted upon me, requiring resources now and potentially causing trouble or dragging me down in the future.’

But Xu Yunfan couldn’t be bothered to dwell on it. He was fairly certain that True Monarch Pu Du was simply looking for a way to advance, to break through to the Late-Stage Golden Core and complete the Great Celestial Cycle.