"No, something is wrong with the [Rules] here." Yun Zhi frowned. The moment she made her move, she noticed something amiss.
Her palm strike just now ought to have shattered the rules of this place, but in fact, the rules had dispersed in form while remaining intact in intent. Even though she had held back her strength in that strike, this still shouldn't have happened.
"There are two kinds of [Rules] here." Yun Zhi understood what was wrong. The former rules written in clouds were the original rules. Later, an anomaly occurred, and a second set of rules appeared—namely, the [Rules] written in blood.
The conflict between the two sets of rules had thrown the entire grotto-heaven into chaos!
Someone had deliberately thrown the grotto-heaven into chaos so that people could enter, but never leave!
Furthermore, as an external rule, being able to contend against the original rules meant the person who left the second set was even more powerful than the master of the grotto-heaven!
And Perfected Sanli was at the peak of the Body Integration stage.
"Heh heh, who dares disturb this venerable one's slumber?"
The cracking sound of shattering ice crystals rang out, followed by an overbearing aura erupting from the destination, like a king above the nine heavens—callous, merciless, looking down upon the world with disdain.
Light pierced the sky, its aura striking terror into the heart.
The aura grew ever stronger, carrying the momentum to sweep all before it.
"Early Tribulation Transcendence," the Immortal Fairy quickly determined the other's cultivation realm.
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's expressions changed drastically. Early Tribulation Transcendence—this was the strongest enemy they had ever encountered! Why was a Tribulation Transcendence powerhouse sleeping in the grotto-heaven of a Body Integration cultivator?!
The Immortal Fairy was knowledgeable and experienced, quickly deducing the reason.
"It's very simple. A grotto-heaven is an excellent hiding spot. Awakening inside a grotto-heaven allows one to gradually recover their strength. The downside is that one cannot promptly perceive changes in the outside world. For instance, Perfected Sanli sensed the shift in spiritual energy and woke up accordingly, but if it were this Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, he might not have awakened even after the struggle of the Golden Age ended.
"So he came up with a very clever scheme. Perfected Sanli could wake up, and once he did, he would inevitably return to his grotto-heaven. Upon discovering the change in the [Rules], Perfected Sanli would certainly take action, and at that point, the Tribulation Transcendence cultivator would be awakened by his movements.
"This Tribulation Transcendence cultivator set up new rules in the grotto-heaven precisely to kill anyone who strayed here by accident, so his slumber wouldn't be disturbed."
Cold sweat broke out on Lu Yang. He hadn't expected such complex machinations behind it.
"Hey, what are you afraid of? With this celestial here, a mere early Tribulation Transcendence is someone I could kick to death with a single foot," Huang Doudou bragged shamelessly. In any case, with Yun Zhi around, it wouldn't be her turn to make a move.
"This seat is Blood Demon Venerable. Who are you? State your name." Blood Demon Venerable looked coldly at Eldest Senior Sister. Being able to easily break the rules meant she was at least at the early Tribulation Transcendence stage.
But so what? He was confident that even if he faced a mid Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, he would not be at a disadvantage.
"Blood Demon Venerable?!" Meng Jingzhou gasped in a low voice.
"You know him?" Lu Yang asked.
"I do." Cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence stage were few and far between, and every one of them was worthy of prominent mention in history books. Hence, Meng Jingzhou had heard of Blood Demon Venerable's name; when he couldn't fall asleep as a child, his mother often frightened him with stories of Blood Demon Venerable.
"Blood Demon Venerable was a demonic cultivator who slaughtered countless people. Legend has it that he wrote down all the cities under heaven on slips of paper, crumpled them into balls, and whichever one he drew, he would use the people of that entire city for his cultivation. His path of cultivation was paved with dry bones!
"He even supported an Emperor of Yu onto the throne, becoming the Imperial Preceptor himself and calling the wind and summoning the rain in the Great Yu Dynasty. Later, he vanished for unknown reasons. Some said he committed too many atrocities and perished under heavenly tribulations. Now it seems he was hiding right here!"
"Dao Seeking Sect, Yun Zhi."
Seeing that Yun Zhi was completely unmoved, the Blood Demon was puzzled. Had his name not survived into this era?
No matter. He would simply stage a massacre and let the world remember his name once more.
Tribulation Transcendence was different from Body Integration; once awakened, they could rapidly return to their peak state.
A gigantic blood-colored figure stood between heaven and earth, roaring and howling. The blood giant transformed the [Rules] into battleaxes and swung them gently, causing space to shudder as if the entire grotto-heaven could not withstand its might!
Yun Zhi raised a single hand vertically before her chest, radiating immeasurable golden light, resembling a world-saving Buddha stepping out of a fresco—sacred, supreme, inviolable and beyond desecration.
She thrust out a palm, and ten thousand beams of golden light pierced the nether gloom, striking toward the blood giant.
The blood giant blocked with both axes, but the dual axes formed from [Rules] melted away amid the ten thousand golden beams, along with the blood giant's hardened outer shell.
Blood Demon Venerable blanched in shock. "No, you aren't at the early Tribulation Transcendence stage!"
He tore through space and turned to flee. Fighting a mid Tribulation Transcendence cultivator would yield no quick victor, and there was no need to provoke such an enemy out of mere spite—it simply wasn't worth it.
After tearing through space, one would be randomly teleported to anywhere in the world; there was no way she could find him.
Blood Demon Venerable was just about to laugh loudly and leave behind some harsh words when he saw boundless dazzling golden light before him. Amidst the golden radiance, an elegant, slender figure stepped forward leisurely.
The figure appeared to walk unhurriedly, yet was incomparably swift, appearing right in front of Blood Demon Venerable in the blink of an eye.
"No, you aren't mid Tribulation Transcendence at all! Even late Tribulation Transcendence wouldn't possess methods like yours—you're at the peak of Tribulation Transcendence, or even—"
"You know too much," Yun Zhi responded coldly. With a clap and twist of her hands, she squeezed Blood Demon Venerable's soul out of his body.
The physical body of a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator was premier material for artifact forging and could not be lightly destroyed.
Yun Zhi retrieved a pure jade vase, placed Blood Demon Venerable's soul inside, and prepared to torture him slowly after returning to the sect.
The entire process was relaxed and effortless. A gentle breeze and light clouds drifted across the grotto-heaven, as if nothing had ever happened.
A lion and an antelope danced a duet in harmonious rapport, desperately trying to prove they were well-behaved demon beasts, while an elephant lay on the ground with its four legs in the air, playing dead.
"It seems ancient Tribulation Transcendence cultivators might be hiding in grotto-heavens." Yun Zhi was lost in thought. This was something they hadn't considered before; once she left the grotto-heaven, she would need to inform the other four immortal sects and the Great Xia Dynasty.
"Let's go," Yun Zhi left behind a light remark and walked with brisk, light steps toward the destination.
Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou exchanged glances and jogged to keep up.
There was no danger along the way—at least, so it seemed to Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.
Yet in the eyes of the demon beasts, it was an entirely different scene: a terrifying arch-demon radiated a chilling aura that made their hearts tremble, leading her two attendants as she strolled brazenly through the grotto-heaven, utterly perilous.
The three arrived at the destination. At the finish line lay several massive golden treasure chests alongside heaps of spirit stones, with supreme-grade spirit stones even outnumbering high-grade ones—a sight that made one drool with desire.
Here lay not only Perfected Sanli's treasures, but also some of Blood Demon Venerable's belongings.
Yun Zhi opened the golden chests. Inside lay various heavenly treasures and cultivation manual secret scriptures, dazzling Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou. Even with Meng Jingzhou's vast knowledge, he couldn't immediately identify the origins of these heavenly treasures.
Yun Zhi could easily distinguish their names and uses. "Dragon Transforming Grass. If a flood dragon swallows and refines it, the chances of transforming into a true dragon increase by thirty percent."
Transforming into a dragon was the dream of all flood dragons; without even thinking, one knew just how valuable it was.
"Bodhi Fruit. Consuming it enhances one's roots of wisdom, at the cost of losing all hair forever.
"Crimson Sun Vajra Sand, an essential material for refining high-grade fire-attribute magical treasures.
"Glazed Heavenly Pure Water. Applied over the entire body, it can preserve a physical body from decay for a hundred thousand years.
"Body Integration stage demon beast inner core...
"Body Integration stage dragon sinew...
"Hehuan Powder..."
There were quite a few treasures of the "He" generation.
Chapter 149