Yellow Court Daoist

"Xun Zhenbei."

Lu Qingfeng sensed the aura and curled his lips into a slight smile, choosing to ignore it.

Even with the aid of Xun Zhenbei, a Mahayana True Immortal, reconstructing both the Primordial Spirit and physical body to return to the state of a Primordial Spirit would require an unknown amount of grueling effort.

It would be better to start anew with Reincarnation.

"One reaps what one sows, beyond salvation."

Lu Qingfeng was unfazed in his heart.

Seeing cultivators from the Qing Peak Valley responding to the commotions at the Star Hall and gathering from all directions,

he, unwilling to kill the innocent indiscriminately, stood aloft in the sky and proclaimed, "Xun Tiange, Xi Yunzi, Kuang Tianqi, and Xun Bai conspired to curse and kill me, and have now all perished from the backlash. Out of compassion, I wish not to slaughter needlessly, and give you three days to disperse."

"Those who linger, and those who later identify themselves as disciples of Qing Peak Valley, shall be executed without mercy!"

Since Xun Zhenbei failed to recognize what was good for him, Lu Qingfeng was determined to fulfill his promise and sever the mortal lineage of Qing Peak Valley.

To fend off any notions of underestimation!

Lu Qingfeng's voice reverberated through Yellow Maple Gorge, his intent to kill traversing both heaven and earth, intimidating all the countless cultivators of Qing Peak Valley.

Then, with a jump into the void, he transformed into a towering cauldron, its mouth facing downwards—

Boom!

Encased in wind and thunder, it thunderously enveloped everything below.

"Demon Path!"

"How utterly heartless and mad!"

From below, shouts of outrage erupted. Among them, one person charged forth, his complexion alternating from ashen to crimson—it was Yue Zhong. Inside him, the Poison Fire Demon Flames had not yet been eradicated, and now witnessing the death of Xun Tiange and the others, he was consumed by urgency and fear, making the Poison Fire Demon Flames burn even fiercer.

The flames reduced Yue Zhong's viscera to ashes, further deepening his injuries, leaving him incapable of using any of his mana.

"Is Qing Peak Valley not to blame for instigating such unkindness? And yet you accuse me?" Lu Qingfeng's chilling voice came from within the Green Wood King Ding. Following his voice, the cauldron came crashing down, enveloping Yue Zhong. Inside the cauldron, the Dutian Demon Flames that Lu Qingfeng had long ago infused, exploded furiously, sweeping toward Yue Zhong.

"Demon Path!"

"Demon Path!"

Yue Zhong's furious roars rang from within the Green Wood King Ding, growing weaker with each shout. Lu Qingfeng paid no heed; the cauldron remained in place, and moments later, it ascended again, but within it, all vital signs had vanished, and the roars had ceased.

Yue Zhong had perished!

Thus,

all five of Qing Peak Valley's Primordial Spirit cultivators within Yellow Maple Gorge had been eradicated.

Only then did Lu Qingfeng vanish into thin air, leaving behind an uproar from all sides!

...

In the Spirit Domain,

at Zhou You Immortal Mountain,

"Insolent whelp!"

"The audacity!"

Xun Zhenbei's face turned ashen, his dismay hitting rock bottom. With a sweep of his sleeve, a flicker of Primordial Spirit appeared, taking on the appearance of Xun Tiange.

"Tiange has failed to curse the demon!"

The ephemeral figure of Xun Tiange knelt, trembling voice and all.

His own essence had nearly vanished, and his Primordial Spirit was barely clinging to existence.

Qing Peak Valley had been attacked, and its Primordial Spirit True One nearly annihilated.

Xun Tianxing had ascended to heaven.

In just few decades under Xun Tiange's stewardship, Qing Peak Valley had fallen to such a state, with his heart alternating between hate and shame, causing even more instability to his Primordial Spirit.

"Explain how it came to this in detail!"

Xun Zhenbei's expression darkened, he dismissed Xun Tiange's dissipating form with a cold inquiry.

Without hesitation, Xun Tiange hurriedly recounted his use of the Burning God Book at Jinshan, attempting to capture Lu Qingfeng's True Form, and the subsequent backlash of the curse—all was laid bare.

Without omitting a single detail.

"The nerve of that demon!"

"He intentionally led you into backfiring such a curse!"

Xun Zhenbei now understood clearly.

But—

"The Burning God Book of Zi Ling Fairy is not something Primordial Spirit Practitioners can endure!"

"This man must possess other Divine Skills apart from the Five-Colored Divine Light, or perhaps a Supreme Treasure!"

A Xuan Light gleamed in Xun Zhenbei's eyes.

Yet considering Lu Qingfeng was still in the Mortal world and difficult to deal with, he frowned and pondered.

Beside him, Xun Tiange cautiously asked, "With the demon acting so wildly, Qing Peak Valley may struggle to stand in the Mortal world, I wonder—"

If unable to address it, Qing Peak Valley would cease to exist.

Having dominated the Lower Realm for countless years,

Qing Peak Valley might be erased, with only Six Gorges remaining of the Seven Gorges Immortal Sect.

"Hmph!"

"With such cultivation, he must have reached the zenith of the Primordial Spirit Peak. Given the sparse Spiritual Energy and scarce resources in the Mortal realm, how long can he stay?"

"A few hundred to a thousand or two years at most, he must ascend."

"Once he ascends, send down a Primordial Spirit to the Lower Realm, and reestablish Qing Peak Valley."

Xun Zhenbei snorted coldly, uncaring about the extinction of the mortal lineage.

The Mortal realm depends on the Spirit Domain.

As long as the Spirit Domain's lineage endures, even if the Mortal realm perishes a thousand times over, it can be rebuilt.

Furthermore, in a thousand or two years, Qing Peak Valley would at most have one or two Primordial Spirit Peak Cultivators ascend. For these one or two individuals, would he allow Lu Qingfeng to extort a hundred Immortal Crystals? Xun Zhenbei would never consent!

"This—"

Upon hearing this, Xun Tiange's heart sank, but he bowed his head.

Indeed.

To the esteemed True Immortal, what's a millenia or two? The rise and fall of mortal lineages are nothing unusual.

The inheritance of the Ten Thousand Laws Dao includes more than just the Mortal realm of the Three Mountains and Nine Waters. In the Spirit Domain lie the real sects and abodes—those are the true cores.

Within the small domain of Three Mountains and Nine Waters, where Qing Peak Valley only occupies one gorge and half the waters, how could it possibly compare to a hundred Immortal Crystals?!

Unaware of Xun Tiange's thoughts, Xun Zhenbei gestured, "For such an error you have made, there's no hope of re-cultivation. Take this talisman, enter the cycle of Reincarnation, and be reborn swiftly!"

He spoke.

With a wave of his large sleeve, he cast a Golden Light Talisman that fell upon Xun Tiange's Primordial Spirit. The golden radiance flickered, maintaining his three souls and seven spirits from dispersing. Then, as the gale picked up, it whisked Xun Tiange away to an unknown destination.

"Thank you, Ancestor Master."

With a mournful heart, Xun Tiange held tight to the Golden Light Talisman and entered the cycle of Reincarnation.

Upon his return,

Who knows when that will be—

Or if there is even a set time for return.

"Dutian!"

Upon the fall of a younger Primordial Spirit Practitioner in the mortal realm, Xun Zhenbei remained impassive. To a True Immortal like him, attracting and gathering seventeen or eighteen Primordial Spirit True Ones with but a single call was commonplace.

It was simply the lack of a direct and loyal lineage.

Confronted with a formidable person like Lu Qingfeng, he felt truly helpless.

Xun Zhenbei muttered to himself, glancing toward the direction of Seven Extremes Mountain to the south, a heavy weight pressing on his chest, he let out a sullen hum, and eventually settled into calmness.

...

Ten Thousand Beasts Immortal Mountain.

White Dog Gorge.

Bing Yi Daoist strode forward hurriedly, his face showing alarm. Before even entering White Dog Gorge, he sent a loud message inward, "The sky has turned! Uncle-Master, the sky has turned!"

Inside the White Dog Gorge dwelling, Ancestor Master Guyue opened his eyes and looked toward the rushing Bing Yi Daoist, his brow furrowing slightly.

"What's the panic?"

Ancestor Master Guyue asked with a grave voice.

Gulp!

Bing Yi Daoist stopped inside, swallowed, and said with a dry mouth, "Green Wood Valley is gone!"

"Hm?"

Upon hearing this, Ancestor Master Guyue's eyes widened instantly, "How can that be?!"

Green Wood Valley, among the Nine Waters and Seven Gorges, was one of the exceedingly powerful Immortal Sects, with only Yufu Gorge Six Dust Temple barely on par with it. How could their nine Primordial Spirits be wiped out overnight?

"Bing Yi personally went to Yellow Maple Gorge to investigate. The disciples of Green Wood Valley were long gone. Their Star Hall was overturned; the place is both chaotic and deserted!"

Bing Yi Daoist shook his head.

He too found it hard to believe.

But that was indeed the reality.

"Who did it?"

Listening, Ancestor Master Guyue asked, a sudden thought striking him as he looked at Bing Yi Daoist and asked with furrowed brows, "Is it that person?"

"Indeed!"

Bing Yi Daoist understood whom Ancestor Master Guyue referred to and nodded with a bitter expression, "That individual sent a clone to Green Wood Valley, performing unknown methods inside Star Hall, killing Xun Tiange, Xi Yunzi, Kuang Tianqi, and Xun Bai. Then turning into the Green Wood King Ding, filled with Demon Flame, he burned the severely injured Yue Zhong, scattering his soul to the winds."

Recalling the information he'd gathered, Bing Yi Daoist added, "After killing Yue Zhong, that person declared above Green Wood Valley that Xun Tiange and the others had been plotting with curse magic against him, which backfired and led to their deaths. He further proclaimed that if the other cultivators of Green Wood Valley didn't disperse immediately, he would unleash a massacre!"

This explanation of a curse backfiring was plausible and more readily accepted.

Otherwise, it'd be too alarming to believe that just a single clone, one after another, killed Four Primordial Spirits, including Xun Tiange, a top-tier powerhouse of the mortal realm.

"Such a violent killer!"

Ancestor Master Guyue's eyes were solemn.

Bing Yi Daoist shook his head, "Though this person is formidable and murderous, his heart has its convictions. It was Green Wood Valley's repeated provocations at Jinshan and their despicable use of curse magic that enraged him, resulting in their doom."

He had brief contact with the so-called 'Dutian Demon Path.'

Though cunning and calculating, the man had a decent nature. He could have escaped without leaving the Bai Geng Ring behind when his identity was discovered by Green Wood Valley.

But he wasn't greedy.

It was only because Green Wood Valley went too far that they met this fate.

He thought this to himself but dared not voice it.

Beside him,

Ancestor Master Guyue listened, pondering unknown thoughts.

After a long while,

He seemed to think of something and hesitantly asked, "In Green Wood Valley, Xun Tiange, Xi Yunzi, Kuang Tianqi, Xun Bai, and Yue Zhong are dead, Huo Shanzi and Feng Hanzi were suppressed in Jinshan, but where are the other two now?"

The other two,

Referring, of course, to Miao Yi Dao Po and Su Muzhe.

"The two were in the East Sea monitoring Jinshan, and it's said that they were slain along with Ghost Immortal Zhu Yang and Demon King Golden Eyes by the Dutian Daoist on the East Sea Coast."

"Oh, right!"

"In that battle, the Dutian Daoist wielded the Star Sand Sword in one hand, and apparently, the Yuan Gui Divine Sword in the other, with Miao Yi Dao Po and Su Muzhe having no power to fight back!"

Bing Yi Daoist expressed admiration for Lu Qingfeng's strength as he spoke.

Such a powerhouse.

If only he could have stayed in Xiling Gorge, even after five hundred years when Uncle-Master Guyue ascended to the Spirit Domain, Ten Thousand Beasts Immortal Mountain would still be a top-tier sect in the mortal realm.

"However,"

"With his strength, he likely won't stay long in the Three Mountains and Nine Waters."

Bing Yi Daoist shook his head to himself, casting aside these impractical thoughts.

"Yuan Gui Divine Sword!"

"Could it be even the North Sea Turtle Mountain Old Mother isn't this person's match?!"

Listening, Ancestor Master Guyue fell silent for a long while before finally sighing deeply and said, "Let's ignore this matter. For the next few years, let's restrain our disciples, instructing them not to go to the East Sea, especially where Jinshan is."

They were clearly choosing to retreat!

"Yes!"

Bing Yi Daoist opened his mouth as if to say something more but thought better of it, eventually holding back his words.

...

News of the 'Dutian Demon Path' from East Sea Jinshan obliterating Green Wood Valley spread like a typhoon throughout the Three Mountains and Nine Waters.

Suddenly,

Some were shocked.

Some were outraged.

Some were fearful.

But no one dared to go to the East Sea.

The place where Lu Qingfeng cultivated, Jinshan, became forbidden territory for cultivators of both the Righteous and Evil paths, and the 'Dutian Demon Path' turned into a taboo.

...