Chapter 911: I Am Completely Invincible in the Mortal World (4)

In truth, someone had said something similar in the past. But back then, no one had not listened at all. They had even laughed and called it nonsense. Yet now, those same words rang like a great bell in their ears, each syllable reverberating deeply within their hearts.

“To sacrifice living people in blood rituals is to betray your sect and dishonor your ancestors. If one day, there are no mortals left in this world, then the immortal Dao will cease to exist.

“An immortal is nothing more than a mortal who has gained great power. Some so-called immortals, in their blind pursuit of strength, have twisted their hearts and committed heinous deeds. Their character and virtue fall short even of ordinary mortals.

“The difference between immortal and mortal lies in the heart. It does not lie in strength. You have strayed from the true path for far too long. This world's cultivation path must be reformed.”

There was a certainty in Li Xiaofei’s voice that allowed no doubt. He had already made an important decision and said, “But before everything begins anew, it is time for you to see the true face of this world.”

To ordinary mortals, the truth that this land was merely an experimental ground, might be too cruel to bear. But cultivators who held power and authority in this land deserved to know the truth of the world. They needed to understand what they were truly cultivating for.

It should not be just endless power struggles and the pursuit of dominance within a confined domain. This aligned with the cultivation path promoted by the Five Immortal Emperors, the path of intent and will.

Wisdom and power came with grand intent. A small mind will forever remain like a frog at the bottom of a well. Li Xiaofei slowly raised his finger and pointed toward the sky. Just as all eyes followed the direction of his finger and turned upward...

Boom.

A streak of light pierced through the air and struck the ground directly in front of Li Xiaofei. The terrifying explosion caught several of the remaining sect leaders completely off guard. They were sent flying and seriously injured in an instant.

A purple-bearded elder appeared, holding a strange metal object. To the other cultivators present, the item appeared extremely peculiar. It was about one and a half meters long and shaped like a barrel. It was roughly the width of a bowl at its opening, and had several unfamiliar mechanisms attached at the handle.

What kind of magical treasure is this? Its power is shockingly immense.

The same question emerged in the minds of everyone watching.

At the same time, Li Xiaofei pressed his hands together. He gathered all the explosive energy in front of him into his palms, forming it into a glowing sphere.

“This energy...” A faint smile appeared on Li Xiaofei’s face.

This was not the Immortal Force of this world. It was energy from the Reaper beyond the heavens. The object in the hand of the purple-bearded elder was not some magical treasure. It was a piece of high-tech weaponry. A high-grade weapon used by the Wisdom Faction of the Reaper.

On the Star Battlefield, this kind of energy cannon was powerful enough to pose a threat to cultivators at the Four Extremes Realm.

“You are not one of the sixteen sect masters. Who are you?” Li Xiaofei asked.

Earlier, he had assumed the purple-bearded elder was a member of one of the sixteen great sects due to his impressive strength. But now it was clear that he was not.

In the distance, the old monster shouted loudly, “This man is an envoy from the forbidden grounds of the immortal sects. His surname is Zou. Many people call him Envoy Zou.”

Li Xiaofei frowned. “Forbidden grounds of the immortal sects?”

The old monster continued to speak in a loud voice. “Each of the sixteen great sects has its own forbidden ground, which also serves as a burial site. Many powerful seniors, when approaching the end of their lifespan, choose to enter the forbidden grounds and rest alongside their sect's founding ancestors. Some say the founders of the sixteen sects have never truly died but entered a deep slumber instead. There are secret treasures within those grounds that resist the passage of time. As long as one enters, one can temporarily escape death. For thousands of years, countless elders from the sects have entered those places to avoid death.”

“Silence, you trait—” A furious shout rang out in the dueling arena. The speaker was Meng Chenzhou, the sect master of the Breaking Realm Immortal Gate.

At that moment, he looked utterly disheveled. He was already shaken to the core after being defeated by Li Xiaofei. On top of that, he had just been caught in the blast of Envoy Zou’s energy cannon, and his body was covered in burns and soot.

When he heard the old monster openly revealing one of the sects’ greatest secrets, he was instantly enraged. But just as he was about to shout traitor, he suddenly remembered that this old monster was actually his elder martial brother by seniority. So he forcibly swallowed the rest of his words.

In truth, within the Breaking Realm Immortal Gate, everyone held deep respect for that eccentric elder with the surname Gou. This was precisely why, even though it was widely known that the old monster had chosen to follow Li Xiaofei, a move that amounted to betraying the sect, not a single person from the Breaking Realm Immortal Gate had gone to cause him trouble.

Everyone turned a blind eye. They simply acted as if nothing had happened. But now, in front of all the disciples from the various immortal sects, the old monster had exposed the secret the sects had kept for thousands of years. That was when Meng Chenzhou, the sect master of the Breaking Realm Immortal Gate, finally lost control and bellowed. And even then, he had only managed to shout half a sentence.

Heaven Drum Mountain had already erupted into an uproar of gasps, exclamations, and heated discussions. The matter of the forbidden grounds was something that every sect disciple knew about. Their elders made it abundantly clear from the moment they joined the sect that there were forbidden areas within the sect that must never be entered.

Entering them was considered betrayal. Thus, the forbidden grounds remained shrouded in mystery for most disciples. Some had witnessed senior brothers or sisters who, unable to resist their curiosity, had snuck in, only for their remains to vanish without a trace.

Even those lucky enough to escape were hunted down by their sect and ultimately perished. Many sect disciples carried a deep and lingering question in their hearts.

What was truly hidden within the forbidden grounds? Now, the answer was revealed. The sixteen ancestors who founded the great sects were each resting in the forbidden grounds of their respective sects. But this resting was not death. It was actual slumber, a desperate resistance against the arrival of death itself.

The words ‘Within the forbidden grounds, one can avoid death struck like thunder,’ making every disciple of the immortal sects feel their hearts pound wildly in their chests.

What was the purpose of cultivation? It was the pursuit of eternal life. If entering the forbidden grounds could allow one to resist the erosion of time and the footsteps of death, then why go through the endless hardships of cultivation at all?

“Envoy Zou?” Li Xiaofei looked at the purple-bearded elder and asked, “Which forbidden ground do you serve as envoy for?”

“Master, the sixteen forbidden grounds differ only in location. In truth, they are all part of the same entity. That is why there are shared envoys between them. They rotate their duty every ten years. He is the current shared envoy of the forbidden grounds,” the old monster answered loudly.

The purple-bearded elder, Envoy Zou, turned to look at the old monster and asked, “Why do you know so much about the forbidden grounds?”

He was clearly surprised. The existence of the forbidden grounds might be known to a few high-ranking elders across the sixteen great sects, but the true secrets of those grounds were entrusted only to the sect masters.

The old monster was just an eccentric elder from the Breaking Realm Immortal Gate who never fit in. His authority should have been far too low to know anything of substance. So how could he understand the forbidden grounds in such detail?

The old monster grinned smugly and said, “Heh heh, take a guess.”

A flicker of murderous intent flashed in the eyes of Envoy Zou, but he chose to ignore the old monster. He turned instead to Li Xiaofei and said, “This world does not welcome a demon from beyond the chaos. You and your kind must leave.”

Li Xiaofei chuckled with unconcealed mockery. At this point, they were still resorting to labeling.

"You are afraid now," Li Xiaofei said. "You see that you cannot defeat me, so now you ask me to leave? Ha. That is impossible. I already said I will reshape this world and reform the immortal path of humanity."

Envoy Zou spoke in a cold, grim tone, "I simply do not wish to disturb the ancestors who slumber within the forbidden grounds. Do not think this world truly has no way to deal with you."

Li Xiaofei replied, "Perhaps there is, but it is certainly not you, and not that Reaper energy cannon in your hand."

"I do not know what you are talking about," Envoy Zou said coldly. "This is a treasure granted to me by the forbidden grounds. Li Xiaofei, I will give you one final chance. Leave now, or you will die here and take many others down with you."

"The only ones dying here will be you broken-backed dogs." Li Xiaofei no longer bothered to speak further. He suddenly made his move.

Envoy Zou was caught off guard. Before he could fire a second shot from the energy weapon in his hand, a streak of sword qi struck his body.

Boom.

He was sent flying and crashed hard against the rocks.

"Argh..." He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

The same sword qi that had instantly slain a sect master from the sixteen great sects did not kill the purple-bearded elder. At the very moment the sword struck, a layer of glowing energy appeared over his body, blocking the fatal blow. It was a Reaper energy shield.

But the force of the impact still caused Envoy Zou to suffer injuries. Li Xiaofei was not surprised. That sword strike had merely been a test. With a wave of his hand, the energy weapon shaped like a rocket launcher instantly flew into his grasp. Countless greedy eyes followed it into Li Xiaofei’s hands.

To many cultivators present, this was the ultimate treasure. Just moments ago, its explosive power had unleashed a shockwave so violent that even top-tier immortal giants like Granny Bai and Chi Wuji had struggled to withstand it. If they had been struck head-on, who other than this monstrous Li Xiaofei could possibly have survived?

Such an overwhelming weapon, if it’s in my own hands...

Some of the sect experts felt their mouths go dry just thinking about it.

But unfortunately, Li Xiaofei was far too terrifying. The chance of snatching the weapon from his hands was virtually zero. Even the usual tactic of attacking all at once would be useless against him.

Yet, to everyone’s utter shock, Li Xiaofei only glanced casually at the so-called treasure, lost interest almost immediately, and tossed it to the old monster beside him.

“Here, take it and play with it,” he said.

Everyone was stunned.