Chapter 521: A Strange Person

A crimson mist surged outward with the roars of Great Feys echoing from within, spreading furiously across the northeastern region of the Imperial Dominion.

The dense, blood-like mist tightly enshrouded a mountain that was hundreds of zhang tall.

The Great Feys and Fey Kings within the crimson mist crept through mountain caves, tracking down rogue cultivators hiding in the shadows and picking them off one by one.

Standing within the bloody mist was a demon-like figure with wild hair that thrashed like tendrils of red lightning.

The surging crimson mist poured from his body, clearly marking him as the orchestrator of this massacre.

The Great Feys and Fey Kings refined from his blood essence were unusual, possessing flesh, vitality, and vague intelligence. They could even wield some of the bloodline techniques they had mastered in life.

This was the reason he dared to target this mountain, where several rogue cultivators in the Nirvana Realm lay in hiding despite only being in the Soul Wandering Realm.

Several dozen li away, atop a thousand-zhang-tall barren peak, an old man with a hooked nose gazed at Dong Tianze with satisfaction.

"He will undoubtedly ascend to the Nirvana Realm after this bloodbath," he remarked. "Lu Qinghe, what do you think of our Blood Spirit Sec's Holy Son?"

"Can he truly suppress the Celestial Phoenix Imprint within him?" Lu Qinghe asked skeptically.

Many Great Feys had pledged allegiance to the Celestial Phoenix when it still roamed the Abyss. Even the ancient Thunder Dragon had been forced to conceal its power and lie dormant.

In Lu Qinghe's opinion, the Celestial Phoenix had even been strong enough to hunt Outer Gods alone in the starry skies.

The Celestial Phoenix Imprint had embedded itself deep within Dong Tianze, transforming him into a Divine Guard.

As Dong Tianze grew stronger, so too would the Celestial Phoenix Imprint's influence over him.

Naturally, he doubted Dong Tianze's ability to overcome this hurdle.

"When I first met him, the power of the Celestial Phoenix Imprint had already diminished significantly," the hooked-nose old man explained. "In other words, he would've eventually broken free of the Celestial Phoenix Imprint's constraints even if I hadn't interfered.

"I even have a feeling..."

"What feeling?" Lu Qinghe asked curiously.

The old man chuckled darkly. "I have a feeling he's one of the heirs of the Celestial Phoenix's legacy.

"If that's the case, we stand a strong chance of producing a True God once he ascends to the peak of the Immortal Realm."

He glanced toward Imperial Dominion City, then eastward.

"The birth of a True God is never a certainty. Even someone as formidable as Li Zhaotian can fail. Do you really think those two will succeed?"

"It would be enough if even one succeeds," Lu Qinghe replied.

"Dong Tianze is still mastering the Blood God Technique. If a divine seat becomes available when he's at the peak of the Immortal Realm, his chances of ascending will undoubtedly surpass those of the two now striving for godhood. Don't you agree?" the old man asked.

Lu Qinghe could not deny the truth in the old man's words.

Dong Tianze lacked nothing in terms of cultivation talent. He also harbored traces of divine consciousness in his divine soul and had inherited secret techniques from the Celestial Phoenix Imprint.

Not to mention, he now had the Blood God Technique under his belt as well.

If Dong Tianze reached the peak of the Immortal Realm, he would undeniably have a far greater chance of ascending to godhood than any other heretical cultivator.

***

In Imperial Dominion City, Pang Jian quietly studied those around him as the crowd furiously argued with City Lord Shang Xiuchun.

However, he could not identify the heretical cultivator hidden among the nearly thousand rogue cultivators gathered within the city.

Even if you find him, it'll be difficult to kill him,

the Abyssal Demon said.

But I think I have a way to disrupt his path to godhood.

Heretical cultivators have turned the fragmented land into a bloodbath, casting the city into hopelessness. The oppressive situation only fuels the cultivators' feelings of helplessness.

Fear, despair, and anxiety continue to grow unchecked, and that energy only nourishes him further.

If you can inspire confidence in these rogue cultivators and fill them with hope for the future, this negative energy will dwindle, and the heretical cultivator's progress toward godhood will be halted.

In short, hope could snuff out the flames of their ascension.

Pang Jian gripped the Abyssal Demon Sword, which was wrapped in blue cloth, and quietly searched the shadowy corners of the city.

"Hey, young man," a frail old man called, waving Pang Jian over to an alleyway.

His lifeless eyes, though fixed on Pang Jian, seemed unfocused.

The aged man was clad in coarse gray cloth and wore straw sandals so worn that his toes peeked through. His toenails were thick with grime, giving him the appearance of a beggar.

Pang Jian had actually used his divine sense and blood essence to check the old man for abnormalities earlier, but nothing had seemed out of the ordinary, so he dismissed the old man without a second thought.

Interest piqued by the old man's sudden call, Pang Jian approached the stranger.

"Elder, what do you need?" Pang Jian asked, stopping in front of him.

The old man casually pointed to an empty spot nearby, lifeless eyes faintly gleaming. "Sit."

Pang Jian was surprised but obediently sat down.

"Everyone in this city is drowning in fear and despair, yet you seem untouched by it. Young man, are you not afraid of death?" the old man asked. "Do you not realize that you, too, could die here?"

Internally, Pang Jian asked the Abyssal Demon,

Do you know if this man holds bad intentions? Can you read his thoughts?

Let me try,

the Abyssal Demon replied.

A faint, undetectable ripple spread from the blue cloth-wrapped sword, sweeping across the man before abruptly retracting.

I can't tell,

the Abyssal Demon admitted, a rare trace of astonishment in his voice.

His thoughts are as empty as his gaze and aura. And his soul...

Wait!

His soul doesn't seem to be in his body!

the Abyssal Demon exclaimed.

The old man's empty gaze shifted to the Abyssal Demon Sword wrapped in blue cloth.

"That thing you're holding is quite interesting." A faint smile tugged at the corners of the old man's lips. "Young man, are you searching for something?"

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

A chill crept down Pang Jian's spine, his skin prickling with unease.

He strongly suspected that this soulless figure was, in fact, the peak Immortal Realm heretical cultivator hidden within the city.

Fixing his gaze on the man's empty gaze, Pang Jian squared himself, feeling as if he faced a mortal threat.

"I'm searching for the heretical cultivator trying to ascend to godhood."

Whoosh!

The old man's hollow eyes pulled Pang Jian's divine sense into a vast, empty space.

There was no sky or ground in this realm, only an endless void.

Unlike the eternal darkness of the Heaven-Earth Cosmos Chest, this place was neither shrouded in shadow nor cold and sinister.

"I'm searching for him as well." The old man's voice echoed through the void. "The sword you hold is the Abyssal Demon Sword, and you are Pang Jian of the Sword Pavilion.

"You cannot stop the catastrophe in the Imperial Dominion.

"I heard that you can slip into the earth. Keep yourself hidden underground, and don't resurface.

"Don't meddle in the affairs of this fragmented land. Just focus on staying alive."