Chapter 156.1: The Yin Spirits Are Too Powerful. I Need to Devour Some Stars

Three days later...

Qi Yuan stared at the dazzling array of cultivation manuals inside his storage pouch, grinning from ear to ear.

"So this is what it feels like to have subordinates," he muttered with satisfaction. "It is way better than running around on my own. If only the manuals from Flowing Wind World were useful to me as well..."

He sifted through the manuals, thoughtful. "With this many, it should be enough to push the Nascent Soul Chapter forward, and maybe even advance my Golden Core to the mid stage."

The Golden Core Path, as Qi Yuan understood it, was a bottomless abyss. After all, how many planets and stars were there in the universe?

Qi Yuan had no answer for that, but swallowing them all would certainly be an absurdly long undertaking.

"At least, the Golden Core method I've deduced should allow my True Sun Fire to devour a few planets," he mused.

Focusing his awareness inward, he saw his core projection. It was a blazing miniature sun, roaring with frightening intensity.

A day on earth was a century in the heavens. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he could start "snacking" on a few planets.

Qi Yuan stopped overthinking and immersed himself completely in the new cultivation methods.

***

Great Shang Kingdom, Divine Radiance Sect.

Elder Xuanchong of the Divine Medicine Peak seemed livid, while Lord Withered Tree wore an equally grim expression. Standing before them was a young man in white robes, Mu Kong.

"Lord Withered Tree, you and I come from the same clan, why would I deceive you?" Mu Kong said calmly. "And Elder Xuanchong as well, we share the same bloodline. Shouldn't we be acting in the Wood Clan's best interests?"

When Hong Lian exterminated the Wood Clan, Mu Kong happened to be away and narrowly escaped death.

Lord Withered Tree furiously glowered at him. "The Wood Clan's interests, or yours?"

"True Lord, with your talent, how long would it take you to reach the Violet Palace realm?" Mu Kong asked casually, a smirk plastered on his face. "My master—the Supreme Elder of the Red Sword Sect—is already a Violet Palace cultivator. If you hand over the Wood-Origin Canon and make Great Shang pledges allegiance to the Red Sword Sect, my master can recover from his injuries and avenge the Wood Clan."

His words sounded noble and righteous, almost inspiring even. Yet Lord Withered Tree's face darkened. The Red Sword Sect had coveted the Great Shang for a long time. The previous emperor's rise had even been backed by them. Since that scheme had failed, they sent Mu Kong as a negotiator.

"Give me an answer in three days," Mu Kong said indifferently. "Otherwise, my master will have to visit. He won't be so reasonable then."

Then, he glanced around lazily. "I'll be staying at Seven-Colored Peak. I hear its peak master is peerlessly beautiful. Perhaps I'll be fortunate enough to catch a glimpse?"

Lord Withered Tree's face turned ashen. "The Seven-Colored Peak Master is in secluded cultivation and is not receiving visitors."

He didn't know that the peak had long since been abandoned.

"What a pity." Mu Kong sighed.

As a mere Core Formation cultivator, Mu Kong didn't dare provoke Ruan Yixi. Of course, once his master arrived, it would be a different story.

𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Think carefully," Mu Kong said as he turned to leave. "Make your decision based on the greater good. If my master receives no word from me in three days, he will personally visit Divine Radiance Sect."

With a faint smile, Mu Kong headed toward Seven-Colored Peak.

Left behind in the hall, Lord Withered Tree and Elder Xuanchong seemed as though thunderclouds had settled over them.

"This is outrageous!" Lord Withered Tree snarled, wishing he could obliterate Mu Kong on the spot.

If the shadow of the Red Sword Sect's Supreme Elder wasn't so massive, he'd have obliterated Mu Kong on the spot. One wrong move could drag the entire sect into annihilation.

Elder Xuanchong said quietly, "Is it just me, or is the feng shui [1]here cursed?"

Despite having cultivated at Divine Radiance Sect for centuries, he always kept to himself, never meddling in sect affairs. Yet over the years, he'd discovered something disturbing: this small Nascent Soul sect was riddled with problems!

He himself had uncovered over a hundred spies. As if that wasn't enough, there were the strange disciples, stewards, and elders. He initially thought they'd joined with ulterior motives, but oddly enough, they never caused trouble. A sect filled with suspicious people that somehow functioned normally.

First the Hundred Nations Blood War, now the Red Sword Sect looming overhead!

Elder Xuanchong couldn't shake the feeling that this place was cursed.

Lord Withered Tree appeared exhausted, but his gaze remained firm.

"Fate may have an end," he said slowly, "but human will does not."

He didn't believe in destiny. Everything had to be seized with one's own hands.

"Enough philosophy!" Elder Xuanchong snapped. "Are we handing over the Wood-Origin Canon or not?"

Lord Withered Tree sighed deeply. "The Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle should have begun by now... I wonder how Fulu and Qi Yuan are doing?"

Elder Xuanchong's eyes softened with regret. "It's a shame Qi Yuan didn't have more time. If he'd managed to form a Golden Core, he might truly have broken into the top hundred and brought back the Violet-Gold Gourd. With it, the Wood Clan might have had a chance to rise again."

Lord Withered Tree gave a bitter laugh. "Rise again? With Hong Lian still alive?"

Even without Hong Lian, the Red Sword Sect’s Violet Palace elder remained. Wounded as he was, the two were utterly incapable of dealing with him. All they could do was sigh.

After some time, a frantic voice rang out. "It's an emergency, Sect Master!"

A steward rushed in, panic written all over his face.

Elder Xuanchong rubbed his forehead.

I knew it, it really is the feng shui!

"What happened?" Lord Withered Tree asked calmly, as though Mount Tai were collapsing before him.

"Mu Kong is dead. He was killed halfway up Seven-Colored Peak!"

Lord Withered Tree's face shifted dramatically. "We must go!"

With a sweep of his sleeve, he and Elder Xuanchong shot toward Seven-Colored Peak. Halfway up the mountain, Lord Withered Tree saw a towering tree he recognized all too well.

Long ago, he and the former empress—now Empress Dowager Mu You—had a tryst there. Mu Kong's corpse lay beneath that tree, severed in two. He was cleanly severed at the waist by a single sword strike.

Jiang Lingsu stood nearby, dressed in an orange-yellow gown. She seemed almost like a bright, fragile bee.

"What happened?" Lord Withered Tree demanded.

Jiang Lingsu thought for a moment. "I was cultivating in my room when I sensed an overwhelming sword intent. I came outside and saw a blade of grass cut him in half."

Jiang Lingsu glanced around at the grass-covered ground. She had no idea which one had done it.

"A single blade of grass killed a Core Formation cultivator?" Lord Withered Tree frowned, suspecting Ruan Yixi's involvement. "Where is your master?"

"I was told by Senior Brother that Master has already left Seven-Colored Peak," Jiang Lingsu replied.

Lord Withered Tree's expression grew even heavier. Mu Kong was dead. Handing over the Wood-Origin Canon was impossible. There was no turning back now. The feud with the Red Sword Sect was set in stone.

"Activate the sect array immediately!" Lord Withered Tree ordered.

Although the Red Sword Sect's Supreme Elder was gravely injured, he was still a Violet Palace realm cultivator. All they could do now was hope the Divine Radiance Sect survived this storm.

Just then, Jiang Lingsu said again, "Sect Master. Senior Brother said that his subordinates will arrive at Divine Radiance Sect in two days, bearing you a gift."

"Subordinates? A gift?" Lord Withered Tree blinked in confusion. "Isn't he participating in the Eastern Lands Prodigy Battle?"

Jiang Lingsu shook her head. "I have no idea."

She didn't really care whether her Senior Brother participated or not.

Lord Withered Tree said nothing more. After all, compared to the looming threat of the Red Sword Sect, it was a trivial matter.

1. Feng shui is a traditional Chinese system that studies how the arrangement of space, buildings, and natural elements affects the flow of energy (qi) and, in turn, people's fortune, health, and harmony. In everyday usage, saying a place has "bad feng shui" often just means it feels unlucky, ominous, or prone to trouble. ☜