Chapter 704: Was This Your Doing?

Qi Lin'er left the world peacefully.

...

When Qi Lin'er's head flew into the air, the indignation on the faces of the spectators turned into shock and disbelief. If there was a freeze frame of this moment, it would show how vivid and varied their expressions were.

Qi Lin'er was indeed a menace to society—loathed by humans and disliked even by dogs. He rarely appeared in the world of immortality cultivators, yet he had managed to attract a great deal of animosity. Nevertheless, he was a disciple of the Penglai Supreme Sect. Even a chicken from Penglai would strut around arrogantly when it ventured outside Penglai—let alone someone like Qi Lin'er, who had the support and protection of Daoist Cangsheng.

The spectators had thoughts like these.

Despite that, Chu Liang actually dared to kill him?

And he had to do it like that...

After Chu Liang won the battle, Yang Shenlong stepped in and saved Qi Lin'er. Then Chu Liang broke through two realms, went after them, and decapitated Qi Lin'er in public. That was excessively vicious...

Hang on.

Isn't there something weird about what happened?

Who leaps straight from the fifth realm to the seventh? Wouldn't they feel as though something was missing in their cultivation journey?

Do they just not like the number six?

Skipping stages was a rare phenomenon, especially in the earlier realms of cultivation. This was because the first five realms required steady, step-by-step progress, with no shortcuts.

The only exception was the sixth realm. There were quite a few cultivators who had developed a transcendent form in the fifth realm and advanced straight to the middle or later stages of the sixth realm upon breaking through. There had even been historical precedents of cultivators advancing straight to the pinnacle of the sixth realm.

However, jumping from the fifth to the seventh realm was a phenomenon that had never even been heard of.

This was because fully developing a transcendent form was far more difficult than achieving Major Perfection when circulating the foundational qi of the five elements at the fifth realm. With the time needed to fully develop a transcendent form, they would have already advanced to the sixth realm by cultivating normally.

What kind of strange fifth-realm cultivator would intensely learn and practice techniques for sixth-realm cultivators before the ones for fifth-realm cultivators? Even if they were talented, progressing from one realm to the next one up in a consecutive manner would surely be faster than trying to skip a realm.

To advance straight to the pinnacle of the sixth realm, they would need the perfect combination of the right timing, location, and people. It was exceedingly rare that anyone could achieve such a feat.

Furthermore, to advance to the seventh realm, they would also need to have a complete understanding of a Great Dao...

Fifth-cultivators were usually not even part of the conversation at this point. This was something that sixth-realm and seventh-realm cultivators had to deal with. Completely comprehending a Great Dao was as difficult as ascending to the heavens for seventh-realm cultivators, let alone the numerous cultivators stuck at the pinnacle of the sixth realm, the threshold of the Heavenly Gate.

There were quite a few cultivators at the pinnacle of the sixth realm present among the spectators.

In their minds, it was like they had been stuck in front of a city's gates for years, desperately seeking entry without success. Hearing footsteps behind them, they were just about to turn around and jokingly tell the young man approaching them to queue up.

However, that young man then leaped high into the air, stepped on their heads, and jumped onto the city wall... That was when they saw the young man even had dog poop stuck to the sole of his shoes.

If they knew the truth about Chu Liang’s cultivation journey, they would crush them even more.

Chu Liang had completely comprehended a Great Dao at the level of the seventh realm a little before he fully developed his transcendent form. If his comprehension of that Great Dao were split into a hundred parts, each part would still be enough for him to reach the seventh realm.

During the Assembly of Immortal Sects, Chu Liang had used the Sword Strike of Severing the Void, displaying excessive might. Nevertheless, few would imagine that the truth was actually this insane... especially not the cultivators stuck at the pinnacle of the sixth realm. It would be best if they never found out for the rest of their lives.

There was something that would devastate them further—Chu Liang was actually unsatisfied with his sudden progress.

For a seventh-realm cultivator, the main Great Dao that they cultivated was of utmost importance.

Many seventh-realm cultivators comprehended multiple Great Daos, and this was an important measure of strength among the seventh-realm cultivators. There were rare monsters who could be overwhelmingly powerful with just one Great Dao, but generally, the more Great Daos a seventh-realm cultivator comprehended, the stronger they became.

However, the main Great Dao that they relied on to ascend to the seventh realm was usually their strongest. If they wanted to break through to the eighth realm, it was almost certain that relying on their main Great Dao would give them the highest odds of success.

For example, Daoist Yan could easily comprehend other Great Daos. Yet, she insisted on walking the arduous path of contending for a Great Dao from the Sword Emperor, which spoke volumes about her determination.

There were others who were content just to reach the seventh realm and didn't think too far ahead, as advancing to the eighth realm required much more than just hard work. On the other hand, young geniuses at the sixth realm would already be selecting their Great Dao.

Thus, the challenging Great Dao of Severing the Void had not been Chu Liang's first choice. He had originally planned to slowly comprehend a new Great Dao, leaving the Great Dao of Severing the Void for after he reached the pinnacle of the sixth realm.

However, Chu Liang had reached a boiling point at the end of the battle to the death. If he didn't kill Qi Lin'er right there and then, he would have emotional and financial issues. It would be difficult for him to calm his rage, and Red Cotton Peak's future development would be hindered. No matter what, Qi Lin'er had to die today.

Everyone had thought that Chu Liang was simply venting his anger and wouldn't truly dare to kill Qi Lin'er.

Chu Liang was the only one who knew the truth.

He had gone there with the sole intent to kill!

And if he didn't kill Qi Lin'er, he absolutely wouldn't leave!

...

Swish.

To Chu Liang's surprise, a golden phantom visible only to him floated out from Qi Lin'er's corpse.

This... is an imprint—the kind that the White Pagoda collects?

So, this kid wasn't even human!

No wonder he was born with such an extraordinary physique like that of a demon. His origins must be far from ordinary.

Chu Liang had also noticed Yang Shenlong's pupils dilate when Qi Lin'er died. That was when he realized that Qi Lin'er's might be even more important than he thought. If Qi Lin'er were merely the illegitimate child of someone like Daoist Cangsheng, it wouldn't warrant such concern from someone like Yang Shenlong.

Before Yang Shenlong could respond, thunderclaps suddenly ripped through the air. Azure clouds surged across the sky, blocking out the sun. Above the clouds, there was a figure exuding divine might.

This man had thick eyebrows and narrow phoenix-like eyes, a pale complexion framed by long hair. He wore a stern, solemn expression that radiated authority.

At this moment, his eyes burned with rage, and the turbulent clouds around him reflected his roiling emotions.

He was Daoist Cangsheng!

Daoist Changsheng was the sect leader of the Penglai Supreme Sect. It was rare for someone at his level to get emotionally involved, let alone lose his composure like this. The onlookers quickly realized that Chu Liang had caused a monumental disaster.

The seventh-realm elders on Mirage Mountain might occasionally take an interest in the matters of their juniors, but those at the eighth realm typically wouldn't bother with such minor conflicts.

Daoist Cangsheng had been comprehending the Dao in closed-door cultivation when Qi Lin'er activated the protective divine power Daoist Cangsheng had implanted in him. That was when Daoist Cangsheng finally sensed something and opened his eyes.

Afterward, Qi Lin'er had the upper hand over Chu Liang, only to be severely injured by him. Then Yang Shenlong intervened to save him, but Chu Liang launched a sudden and ruthless attack. Everything happened so quickly. By the time Daoist Cangsheng sensed Qi Lin'er's impending death, it was already too late.

When he arrived, his first action wasn't to look at Chu Liang. Instead, he raised his hand and retrieved Qi Lin'er's remains, including his head and spilled blood.

Simultaneously, the azure clouds above his head dispersed, revealing what seemed to be half of a massive dark bronze wheel. The other half remained hidden beyond the horizon.

"The East Sea Chrono Wheel!" the crowd exclaimed in shock.

"He wouldn't be thinking of..." someone muttered. He had figured out Daoist Cangsheng's intentions but found it hard to believe.

The power of the East Sea Chrono Wheel lay in its ability to manipulate time. It could even reverse past events for short periods of time. However, using the East Sea Chrono Wheel consumed immense spiritual qi. There had rarely been any matter important enough that warranted using this precious legendary artifact. Even when prodigious disciples of the Penglai Supreme Sect fell in the past, none of them had ever justified using this legendary artifact.

Was Daoist Cangsheng really willing to pay such a heavy price for Qi Lin'er?

Boom, boom, boom!

There was no pointless exchange of words. An enormous amount of spiritual qi was being consumed with every passing moment. Daoist Cangsheng wasted no time in activating the East Sea Chrono Wheel. Amidst the billowing azure clouds, the mountain-sized wheel rotated with a thunderous roar, and Qi Lin'er's body began to undergo a mystical transformation.

First, an azure radiance enveloped him, countless rays of light converging on his form. The light flowed down as the wheel turned, reattaching Qi Lin'er's head and sticking broken bones back together.

When the azure light faded, Qi Lin'er's broken form was made anew again, without any trace of injury. In the blink of an eye, Qi Lin'er's appearance had been restored before the battle.

But his eyes remained closed.

Despite looking like he was alive, Qi Lin'er exuded an unparalleled sense of peace.

After a brief pause, Daoist Cangsheng let out a soft murmur of surprise. He placed his hand on Qi Lin'er's body and narrowed his gaze, finally turning his attention to Chu Liang.

Daoist Cangsheng spoke without a note of anger in his voice. "His life essence has been taken. Even the East Sea Chrono Wheel cannot bring it back... Was this your doing?"