Word that the Luotian Sect was holding a Core Formation Grand Ceremony for Qu Lingjun did not circulate within the Luotian Domain alone.
Many factions keeping tabs on the Luotian Sect’s movements caught wind of it one after another.
After all, in order to recall the Luotian Sect cultivators scattered far and wide, Luo Chen had deliberately delayed the ceremony by half a year.
With the communication speeds of high-tier cultivators in the cultivation world, half a year was more than enough time to uncover the relevant details.
In the Piaomiao Domain neighboring the Luotian Domain, Gu Hong was engaged in a hushed, secret discussion.
"Senior Brother Yonghua, is our sect truly gone?"
Lin Yonghua looked bleak, his face etched with utter despair.
"It is truly gone. I personally traveled to the edge of the Ming Abyss. All that met my eyes were flashing lightning, raging fire, and roiling Ming Water.
"Not a single senior brother in Shangyou Immortal City survived."
Gu Hong swallowed hard. "What about the Dongyang Sect? Didn’t you go ask about their situation?"
Lin Yonghua shook his head. "How could I dare? Don’t you know the Tianyuan Dao Sect has already begun meddling in the Eastern Desolation? That Dongyang Sect was the very first to bend the knee and yield to them."
"How dare they!"
Gu Hong cursed vehemently, leaping to his feet and pacing restlessly within the secret chamber.
"Think back to the sheer volume of favors the Dongyang Sect received from our Mingyuan Sect in past years! Every year, they were granted disciple quotas to come study and exchange knowledge in our Mingyuan Sect! Even their First Elder only broke through to the late Nascent Soul stage thanks to the guidance of Ancestor Tianyuan! And now, they surrender without a fight, welcoming our enemy, the Tianyuan Dao Sect, straight into the Eastern Desolation!"
Lin Yonghua's expression was hollow as he murmured, "When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. It's only natural."
"Natural?"
Gu Hong whipped his head around, his face furious.
"If everyone acts like that, our Mingyuan Sect truly is finished!"
Lin Yonghua looked up blankly, gazing at this hot-tempered junior brother.
"What do you want to do?"
"What do I want to do?" Gu Hong countered. "Don’t tell me you don’t want to rebuild the Mingyuan Sect and revive the sacred land's former glory?"
Lin Yonghua pointed at him. "Relying on you?"
Then he pointed at himself. "Relying on me?"
He shook his head. "We are both merely early Nascent Soul cultivators. What capability do we have to recreate the Mingyuan Sacred Land's grandeur when a hundred sects came to pay homage?!"
Rather than being dampened by his defeatist words, the fury on Gu Hong’s face flared even hotter, spittle flying as he spoke.
"Our Mingyuan Sect has deep roots and vast assets! Even if the sacred land is gone and Shangyou City is destroyed, are there no living members left?
"There is you, there is me, and there are the Mingyuan disciples scattered across various places handling worldly affairs!
"Not only that, the Eastern Desolation is full of Nascent Soul sects that have received favors from our sect. As long as we raise our banner, people will surely rally to us!"
Listening to these words, the emptiness on Lin Yonghua's face slowly faded.
Yet in the end, he remained disheartened.
"They are all mediocre mediocrities!"
Yes, in his eyes, all the people and factions Junior Brother Gu Hong mentioned were merely of common stock.
If they possessed extraordinary talent, why would the sect have sent them away to manage mundane affairs, squandering their cultivation time?
Not everyone was like Senior Brother Ye Lingtian, who could depart the mountain gates and immediately take charge of momentous affairs like a clash between two races.
Relying on such people to accomplish great things was almost certainly wishful thinking.
Gu Hong barked angrily, "Senior Brother, how can you give up on yourself like this? Do you intend to imitate the Dongyang Sect and establish your own independent sect?"
Lin Yonghua wavered, tempted by the thought.
Yet before he could voice it, Gu Hong uttered a name.
"Zhongming!"
"Do not forget, Junior Brother Zhongming is still alive!
"He is Ancestor Heize’s personal disciple, and he received the Alchemy Saint’s bestowal in the Central Plains. Having already grasped the true essence of laws, he is wandering the realm. In the future, he may very well attain the Soul Formation stage and rebuild Mingyuan!"
Lin Yonghua was visibly shaken, remembering that young junior brother.
His aptitude was indeed extraordinary.
Lin Yonghua moved his lips, muttering, "But where is he right now? We don’t even know."
Seeing his senior brother relent, Gu Hong’s fury softened a fraction.
He said composedly, "That is precisely why we must raise a great banner, rally our old forces, and show the world that our Mingyuan Sect has not entirely collapsed. At the same time, it will draw Junior Brother Zhongming’s attention."
Lin Yonghua looked up and asked, "What do you plan to do?"
Gu Hong’s mouth split into a sinister grin.
"You haven’t been around recently, Senior Brother, so perhaps you don’t know that our neighbor is about to hold a Core Formation Grand Ceremony for that disciple of the Alchemy Grandmaster.
"When our sacred land has fallen and the Alchemy Grandmaster has perished, the entire realm ought to be clad in mourning. Yet instead of honoring their predecessors, they put on this farce to dispel ill fortune.
"Tell me, are their intentions not utterly contemptible?"
Lin Yonghua frowned. "You want to slaughter the chicken to warn the monkeys—deal with the Luotian Sect to raise the Mingyuan banner anew?"
"Precisely!" Gu Hong nodded without hesitation, shifting the topic. "Back then, the ancestor had us leave the Mingyuan Sacred Land to establish our clans here not merely to spread our bloodlines, but to keep watch on the Luotian Sect. The moment the Alchemy Grandmaster made any strange move in the sacred land, we were to seize the Luotian Sect instantly to keep him in check.
"Now that the Alchemy Grandmaster has been buried alongside the Mingyuan Sect, I see no reason for the Luotian Sect to continue existing either!"
Lin Yonghua nodded. "Indeed, there is no need for it to exist."
The two senior and junior brothers exchanged glances, finally reaching a tacit understanding.
From beginning to end, they never cared about how the Luotian Sect might react, nor did they question whether they could take it.
Even though the Luotian Sect's demonstrated strength was not weak in the slightest, they never doubted their own power.
Such was the pride of disciples from a sacred land!
Action followed decision. The two immediately assembled their clan members and disciples, marching their forces north, intending to deliver a lavish 'gift' to Qu Lingjun’s Core Formation Grand Ceremony!
……
In the Five Elements Domain.
The mountain peak cloaked day and night in thick clouds and mist had long since become a restricted area.
Every disciple of the Five Elements Divine Sect had been sternly ordered by Sect Master True Person Shenhuo never to approach Shenyuan Peak.
Everyone assumed the sect master was simply afraid they might disturb the Supreme Elder’s secluded cultivation.
Only True Person Shenhuo knew that this was not what he feared.
Even he himself rarely set foot on this mountain.
Yet this time, he had no choice but to make the trip in person.
Amidst an agonizing wait, the formation on the mountain slowly opened. Steeling his courage, he walked inside.
"What is it?"
A raspy voice, tinged with a sinister chill, sent shivers down one's spine.
True Person Shenhuo kept his head bowed, not daring to look at his senior brother.
He recounted everything that had transpired over these years one by one, especially the monumental fall of the Mingyuan Sacred Land.
Upon hearing this, Shenyuan’s mind was violently shaken, and a complex, contradictory aura abruptly surged forth.
At that moment, Shenhuo’s expression changed drastically. Within that aura, he sensed many familiar presences.
There was Senior Brother Linmu’s, Junior Sister Qingchi’s... and even that of Old Ghost Motian.
*What in the world is Senior Brother doing?*
After a long while, a sinister laugh echoed from within the cave abode.
"Gone? Good!"
"It’s good that it's gone!"
"If Heize hadn't ordered us to ascend Mount Cangwu a second time back then, why would this seat have been reduced to such a state?!"
"A mere remnant trick left behind by Sovereign Qixia was enough to leave us dead and maimed. They should have long expected she would seek revenge.
"The Mingyuan Sect stood high above the Eastern Desolation for too long, clinging obstinately to their pride, believing no one dared provoke them.
"A pity I didn't reach the Soul Formation stage before it happened. Otherwise, it should have been me settling the score with them for how they humiliated me all these years!"
Shenhuo kept his head bowed, not daring to interject a single word.
He knew what deep resentment his senior brother had harbored beneath his superficial submission to the Mingyuan Sect over the years.
Long ago, the Mingyuan Sect had promised to accept him into the mountains, permitting him to cultivate on Mount Yanfu and make an attempt at the Soul Formation stage.
After all, with his Five Spiritual Roots constitution, ordinary spiritual veins could never support his ascent to higher realms.
Only Mount Yanfu could!
Yet over all these years, despite doing so much for the Mingyuan Sect to the point where his own cultivation was damaged, the Mingyuan Sect had never extended an olive branch.
In the end, they had casually brushed him off and sent him back to his homeland.
No Nascent Soul True Person could ever endure such disdain and mockery.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The hearty laughter abruptly devolved into a fit of coughing.
Shenhuo hurriedly said, "Senior Brother, take care of your body."
Shenyuan narrowed his eyes with a faint, half-mocking smile. "You still know how to show concern for me?"
Shenhuo stiffened and quickly changed the subject. "I heard that the Luotian Sect is about to hold a Core Formation Grand Ceremony for Luo Chen’s disciple in the near future. Should we..."
Yet unlike his past hostility toward the Luotian Sect, Senior Brother Shenyuan seemed thoroughly disinterested this time.
"Forget it. Luo Chen is dead. Crushing the parasites that clung to him holds no meaning."
Shenhuo acknowledged the words with a low grunt, then offered a respectful bow and prepared to take his leave.
Yet just as he reached the entrance of the cave abode, a somber voice came from behind.
"It has been nearly nine years. Why has not a single one among that batch of disciples attained the Nascent Soul stage?"
Shenhuo shuddered all over, opening his mouth to explain, but his senior brother seemed disinclined to listen, uttering only a faint remark.
"Do not disappoint me!"
……
News of the Core Formation Grand Ceremony for Luo Chen’s sole personal disciple traveled far and wide.
Friendly sects like the Divine Talisman Sect and the Nine Spirits Sect received word as well.
Yet they could not pull themselves away.
They were currently under immense pressure from the demon beast armies massed outside the Six Far Eastern Domains; how could they possibly visit in person?
Moreover, while it was distasteful to speak of warm relations cooling once someone was gone, the news that the Mingyuan Sect had fallen and that Alchemy Grandmaster Luo Chen had perished alongside it was known to all.
Under such circumstances, Old Fu and Sovereign Jiuling could only dispatch a disciple or two with generous gifts to convey their sentiments.
The diverse reactions of the various factions laid bare the treacherous depths of the human heart and the myriad faces of the world.
Yet high in the firmament, a lone figure chased the wind and outpaced the moon, radiating fierce baleful qi and enveloped in a terrifying demonic gale.
"Luo Chen!"
"Even if you are dead, this seat has not forgotten the grudge of that day.
"The day of the Luotian Sect’s grand celebration shall be the day I slaughter your disciples and grand-disciples, severing your legacy forever!"
……
"Why is it so deserted?"
Gu Hong and Lin Yonghua arrived before the mountain gates of the Luotian Sect.
Behind them stood over ten thousand cultivators amassed by the Gu and Lin clans.
Among them, Core Formation clansmen and disciples numbered well over ten, supplemented by foreign retainers recruited over the years.
Coupled with the boundless ranks of Foundation Establishment True Cultivators, it offered a glimpse of what the Mingyuan Sect had been at the height of its power.
Mere splinter clans possessed such an immense foundation!
Perhaps it was precisely because of this that the fall of the Mingyuan Sect had sent such shockwaves through the Eastern Desolation.
Gu Hong explained, "Senior Brother Lin might not know, but over these years, the Luotian Sect hasn't recruited new disciples en masse like ordinary Nascent Soul sects. They only added a few hands onto their original foundation. To this day, they have a mere five or six hundred members."
"Five or six hundred disciples? That hardly looks like the conduct of a Nascent Soul upper sect commanding the resources of an entire domain!" Lin Yonghua frowned, sweeping his divine sense outward to search for enemies.
Gu Hong raised his hand and pointed straight toward Motian Cliff.
"For this Core Formation Grand Ceremony, the Luotian Sect invited no outside guests to attend, treating it purely as an internal celebration.
"And the venue for the ceremony is none other than Motian Cliff, where Luo Chen once resided.
"We need only strike straight at the heart!"
Lin Yonghua’s expression turned solemn. "In that case, let us go!"
Over ten thousand cultivators surged majestically toward Motian Cliff, which soared into the clouds.
From the mountain gates to Motian Cliff was a distance of barely a thousand li.
At the flight speed of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, it would have taken some time.
Yet Gu Hong and Lin Yonghua were somewhat impatient. Breaking away from the main host, they arrived at Motian Cliff a step ahead.
They intended to seize control of the situation and prepare for the very first step in reviving the Mingyuan Sect: slaughtering the chicken to warn the monkeys, slaying foes to raise their banner!
And yet!
Upon arriving at Motian Cliff, it remained completely deserted.
Only the Coiling Dragon Pillar stood suspended in the air, azure draperies cascading like waterfalls.
The banner embroidered with talismans flapped loudly in the wind, producing a lonely echo across the empty spiritual mountain.
The two landed on the plaza, looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Where is everyone?"
"How should I know!"
Right then, a voice trickled down from above, ringing clear like pearls dropping onto a jade plate.
"Those who come uninvited are unwelcome guests! Fellow Daoists of Mingyuan, may I ask your names?"
Gu Hong and Lin Yonghua both snapped their heads up toward the hundred-zhang-tall dais.
A graceful figure sat cross-legged atop it, looking down at them with curiosity.
She was beautiful yet unfamiliar, powerful and dangerous.
In particular, the striking black-and-white go stone sect emblem embroidered on her moon-white, cloud-patterned silk dress caused their expressions to change drastically.
"Tianyuan Dao Sect!"
"A Nascent Soul true disciple!"
Could she be a helper summoned by the Luotian Sect?
Of course!
Luo Chen had once been a guest retainer of the Tianyuan Dao Sect. After his demise, it was only natural for the Luotian Sect to seek refuge with them.
The two exchanged a knowing glance and, without hesitation, unleashed their magic treasures toward the woman on the dais.
Seeing this, Fu Qinglan merely shook her head lightly, sighing with a lowered gaze.
"Unwelcome guests indeed!"
Her right fingertips shifted, weaving a hand seal before pushing it forward—an action that appeared slow yet struck with astonishing speed.
A colossal azure palm print materialized gradually from the horizon, then crashed down with thunderous force!
How strikingly similar this palm print was to Luo Chen's famous technique of yesteryear, the Qingyang Great Handprint.
Yet its power was ten or a hundred times greater, an immense disparity like that between a firefly and the luminous moon.
It was none other than the divine ability personally imparted to Fu Qinglan by a Soul Formation grandmaster on Zuowang Peak of Mount Lanke—the Great Creation Seal!
At this moment, the exceedingly pure spiritual qi across Motian Cliff surged toward Fu Qinglan.
Not only that, but vast amounts of worldly primal qi were drawn in, merging directly into that colossal palm print.
The instant the palm print appeared, despair welled up in the hearts of both Gu and Lin.
It was a divine ability!
Yet the two reacted differently. One wore a ferocious expression, preparing to stake his life in a desperate gamble, while the other pulled back, intending to flee.
*Boom!*
The palm print descended. The white jade plaza shattered and collapsed, leaving only the azure jade dais beneath Fu Qinglan intact.
Amidst the crumbling rocks, Gu Hong let out an unwilling roar that ultimately faded into nothingness.
A streak of spiritual light tore free from a physical body, rocketing into the distance.
Fu Qinglan glanced at the miniature Nascent Soul but made no move to pursue it. She merely gazed into the distance, deep disappointment lingering in her eyes.
"You are still alive, aren't you? I can feel your aura.
"Not only alive, but you even returned to take away your disciples and old friends.
"Yet why would you not meet with me? Why would you not tell me of your experiences over these years, or tell me if my grandfather left any final words before he perished?"
Her murmured whispers drifted through the air, swallowed by the noise of tumbling debris, unnoticed by anyone.
High in the heavens, violent sounds of impact echoed.
A deluge of fireballs rained down like falling meteors.
Suddenly.
*Bang!*
A figure dropped down from the firmament, looking thoroughly ruthless.
He was about to charge back up, but Fu Qinglan called him to a halt.
"Don't bother pursuing. That Great Demon Emperor has already departed."
Shi Ju whipped around, snarling in a low voice, "Vile woman, why didn't you come help me? Are you that obsessed with the Desolate Hermit?"
Fu Qinglan frowned, having no desire to argue with him. She simply turned a deaf ear to his foul words.
Drifting to her feet, she walked toward the crest of Motian Cliff.
"Remnants of the Mingyuan Sect are attempting a resurgence. Compared to the grudge between you and the Desolate Hermit, this is likely what the ancestors care about more."
Shi Ju froze, then cast a venomous glare at the high sky. Turning around, he charged straight in the direction from which the Gu and Lin clansmen were advancing.
Since they were remnants, they belonged in the trash heap. Why keep them alive!
Unable to find the Desolate Hermit's disciples and grand-disciples, and unable to best that Great Demon Emperor, venting his rage on these fools was a fine alternative.
Meanwhile, high in the heavens.
Bi Zheng looked on with uncertainty and utter bewilderment.
"Since when does the human race have so many powerhouses who grasped the true essence of laws in advance during the Nascent Soul stage?
"Every single one of them even wields divine abilities!
"In this war between humans and demons, can we truly achieve victory?"
Chapter 918