Chapter 943: Night Parade (II)

"The Divine Ruins Monastery exists for one reason—to transcend the mortal world and safeguard a part of the world." The monastery overseer looked at Chu Liang expressionlessly. "You could command the greatest force in this realm, but starting from the moment you obtain it, you will stand alone, isolated from the world."

"What exactly is this force?" Chu Liang asked in confusion. "It's powerful enough to defeat a Hallowed One... Could it be the corporeal body that Hallowed Li left behind?"

"Hallowed Li did not leave behind his corporeal body," the monastery overseer replied. "He condensed all of his Great Dao into his sword and left that sword behind in the mortal realm. That is why the Endless Sword Sect now holds the most complete Dao essence of Severing the Void. Only by observing that sword can a cultivator truly grasp his Great Dao."

"I see." Chu Liang nodded and gave up trying to guess what the force was.

"I cannot tell you what that force is right now," said the monastery overseer. "But that doesn't mean I can never tell you in the future."

Chu Liang felt a chill run down his spine and quickly asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"I brought you here and took the time to explain all this for a reason. The Divine Ruins Monastery only recruits once every hundred years, and the time has come again for us to select a new batch of monastery guardians. We do not nurture cultivation prodigies. We only select those who have reached the pinnacle of the seventh realm and above. And you are the most promising prodigy I've seen this time around."

Chu Liang could understand why they didn't nurture cultivation prodigies. After all, no one could predict the true potential of a cultivation prodigy until they became an adult. For a top-tier immortal sect, as long as the disciples it had raised could attain the seventh realm, they would be considered to have done their sect proud. If just one eighth-realm cultivator were to emerge every few generations, it would be enough to preserve the sect's legacy.

The Divine Ruins Monastery could recruit the cream of the crop and put in all of its resources into nurturing the young prodigies. Nonetheless, it would still struggle to ensure they could attain the seventh realm, let alone the eighth-realm cultivators the monastery required.

That was why the monastery only recruited cultivators at the pinnacle of the seventh realm. By tempering them in the Cauldron of the Great Dao, the monastery could quickly determine the limit of their candidates' potential.

If the monastery did not need eighth-realm cultivators specifically, they would rather gather young cultivation prodigies with no ties to immortal sects. That would surely be less troublesome than dealing with people like Lu Cang or Yang Buwei.

However, because the success rates of attaining the eighth realm couldn't be guaranteed, the monastery had no choice but to recruit its members from immortal sects.

Chu Liang understood the reasoning behind that, but he couldn't understand why he had been chosen.

There is still so much in the world I have yet to see and experience.

Most importantly, I haven't even gotten married!

"I'm truly honored," Chu Liang said with an awkward smile, "but—"

The Monastery Overseer raised a hand to stop him. "There's no need to reject my offer so urgently. The Divine Ruins Monastery never forces anyone to join, nor do we interfere with the daily workings of the mortal realm. So, if you do not wish to join us, I won't force you to do so."

"That's a relief," Chu Liang replied, wiping the sweat from his brow.

The monastery overseer continued, "However, if you're willing to become a monastery guardian, the Divine Ruins Monastery will grant you a wish or at least give you a chance to fulfill one. This is a completely fair exchange."

"Like giving the Penglai Supreme Sect a devil embryo?" Chu Liang asked with a hint of sarcasm.

He had heard from Yang Shenlong about how the Penglai Supreme Sect had obtained Qi Lin'er from the Divine Ruins Monastery. To him, it sounded like the monastery was just handing out empty promises.

"Their wish went against the Laws of Ascension," the monastery overseer stated. "Despite that, we still gave them the hope of fulfilling it. The chance of success was extremely slim, but the fact that it existed at all was enough for them."

Hearing the monastery overseer's explanation, Chu Liang had to admit it did make some sense.

"But I don't have any pressing wishes at the moment." Chu Liang smiled again. "If I ever do, we can work together then."

"Very well." The monastery overseer nodded, dropping the matter. "If fulfilling a wish of yours isn't enough to persuade you to join, then perhaps we can make a different trade. There's an item of yours that I want."

Chu Liang raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

He was carrying many valuable items after all.

"Deity Pan's Bone."

Chu Liang let out a small sigh of relief.

At least he's not asking for the White Pagoda, which means my biggest secret is still safe.

"You mean I can have the Divine Ruins Monastery fulfill a wish of mine in exchange for this treasure?" Chu Liang asked.

"That's right."

"To be honest, I don't actually know what this treasure is," Chu Liang admitted a little sheepishly.

The monastery overseer replied, "It's no surprise that you don't. The Mount Shu Sect controlled the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda for many years, but they never fully understood its origins. I won't hide the truth from you. Deity Pan's Bone was the key material used in making the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda."

"I see," Chu Liang muttered. He had suspected as much, and now that was finally confirmed.

"Back then, Hallowed Li cleaved several legendary artifacts from the higher realm, letting them fall to the mortal realm. Among them was a divine pagoda with the ability to seal beings. However, its foundation was damaged, rendering the tower unusable. Hallowed Li later found one of the rarest materials in existence—a chunk of vertebra from Deity Pan's skeleton. He fused it with the divine pagoda to create what later became the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.

"The bone contained the essence of the Great Dao of Creation. Once fused with the divine pagoda, it produced extraordinary effects. Each prison cell within the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda could generate boundless space, ensuring that any being sealed within could never escape for eternity.

"Unfortunately, the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda was later breached and fell into the Divine Ruins. We searched for it extensively and even looked through the Thousand Pavilion Valley several times, but in the end, we only found the Demon-Restraining Rope. In hindsight, perhaps the fated time simply hadn't arrived yet.

"I know all about how you obtained Deity Pan's Bone in the Thousand Pavilion Valley and slew the ancient devil embryo. Now, Deity Pan's Bone has finally been found. In your hands, it may just be a powerful weapon. But if you hand it over to me, the Divine Ruins Monastery may be able to forge a new legendary artifact on par with the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda."

As Chu Liang listened, he found there was something odd about what the monastery overseer said.

The Thousand Pavilion Valley is vast, but considering the power of the Divine Ruins Monastery, searching through it wouldn't have been a difficult task for its members. If they failed to find Deity Pan's Bone even after several attempts, does that mean the pit had yet to appear at the time?

Could it be that the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda had been waiting for me all along?

This time, Chu Liang didn't reject the monastery overseer's offer immediately.

"This is a very serious matter. I'll need some time to think it over."

Sensing the discussion was over, the monastery overseer stood up and spoke magnanimously. "There's no rush. It's all up to you."

...

Late at night, outside the capital of Yu.

The night had begun with a sparse scattering of stars and a bright moon, but the moonlight suddenly dimmed at this moment. There were no clouds in the sky, and no one could tell what had happened.

Upon noticing the dimmed moonlight, one of the burly guards on the city wall looked up and saw a shadowy black blur in front of the moon. As he squinted to get a better look, countless ghostly figures suddenly flickered into view.

"

RAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!

"

High in the sky was a massive black hole. The very gates of the netherworld had been flung open!

An endless stream of ghosts surged out, fleeing for their lives. They flew through the air with howling winds and bone-chilling wails, bringing a boundless tide of terror!

"Ah... ah... ah..." the guard stammered as his pupils dilated in horror. After several trembling gasps, he finally managed to shout, "Light the fire beacon now! It's a night parade of a hundred... thousand ghosts!"

"

Aaaaaaah!!!

"