https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-115-The-Mighty-Demon-s-Aura-Subscription-Requested-/12529916/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-117-The-Devil-and-the-Good-Man-End-of-Chapter-/12529933/
Chapter 116: Fifth Tier (Seeking Subscription)
Chapter 116: Fifth Tier (Seeking Subscription)
In the grand hall, Lin Yuan sat atop the main seat, his gaze sweeping downward, exuding an aura of divine authority.
The nine Heaven-grade Demon Path Grand Formations trembled incessantly, as if they had encountered their master, only calming down after a long while.
Xiahou Yuan was unique and extraordinary. All demons in the world, regardless of their cultivation of demon techniques, would have to bow down before him. It was a suppression that came from the very essence of their beings.
Even those stronger than Xiahou Yuan would be affected to some degree, though the impact might not be as great as to make them bow upon meeting him.
Of course, only Xiahou Yuan himself was aware of this peculiarity.
As for the demon leaders and lords who had followed Xiahou Yuan in the past, they did not understand the mystery behind it; they only knew that when facing Xiahou Yuan, they couldn't bring themselves to rebel.
Mo Yang, the Demon Lord, and the other eight great demon lords thought that with the nine Heaven-grade Demon Formations, they could make Xiahou Yuan retreat or, at the very least, hold him off.
Unfortunately, while the nine-grade demon formations were indeed powerful, they required the manipulation of a demon leader.
And when it came to demon leaders, Xiahou Yuan was invincible.
This was the very reason Lin Yuan dared to enter the underground palace alone.
Even before reaching the underground palace, Lin Yuan had sensed the presence of the nine demon lords.
Moreover, the current Xiahou Yuan was no longer the same as before.
With the myriad of techniques Lin Yuan had mastered, he was now even stronger than the original Xiahou Yuan, ensuring that no accidents would occur.
As Lin Yuan, seated atop the main seat in the grand hall, restrained his aura, the eight demon lords and Mo Yang felt a sense of relief wash over them.
It was as if a weight of ten thousand pounds had been lifted from their shoulders, and they could finally exert a modicum of control over themselves, no longer compelled to kneel and bow involuntarily as they had been moments ago.
However, despite this, the nine individuals did not dare to stand up without permission.
They remained kneeling on the ground, their manners respectful and deferential.
The scene that had unfolded earlier was something they would never forget for the rest of their lives.
Especially Mo Yang, the Demon Lord; he clearly felt a sense of fear emanating from the depths of his soul.
"Why...it's been twenty-five years," Mo Yang's heart trembled. Twenty-five years ago, he had felt the same way standing before Xiahou Yuan.
He had thought that after twenty-five years, with his strength having improved by half a step and reaching the peak of the ninth realm, the situation would be different.
Moreover, Xiahou Yuan had been suppressed for twenty-five years, his physical body sealed with thousand-year-deep-sea essence gold, and even if he managed to get out, he wouldn't have the strength he had in his heyday.
With Xiahou Yuan weakened and himself stronger, Mo Yang had believed that facing Xiahou Yuan again wouldn't be as intimidating as it had been twenty-five years ago.
However, reality had slapped him hard across the face.
Nothing had changed.
Whether it was the nine great demon lords or the activation of the nine Heaven-grade Demon Formations, no matter how strong they were, when they faced Xiahou Yuan, they were like mice before a cat, trembling as they awaited their judgment.
"We welcome Your Excellency and ask that you break the seal on the Great Abyss," Mo Yang said, steeling himself and addressing Lin Yuan, who sat in the main seat, with reverence.
He understood that this was a matter of life and death for him, and if he didn't continue to show his submission, Xiahou Yuan, with his previous personality, would definitely not hesitate to kill him.
It was no joke.
The previous Xiahou Yuan had been decisive in his actions, cold-blooded and ruthless. Before the great battle between righteousness and evil twenty-five years ago, no one would have imagined that Xiahou Yuan would fall head over heels for a woman.
"Your Excellency?"
The remaining eight demon lords took a deep breath and spoke in unison, "We welcome Your Excellency and ask that you break the seal on the Great Abyss."
Lin Yuan, seated in the main position, was not surprised by the demon lords' behavior.
Demon leaders, after all, did not place much value on face or dignity, and the demon lords were no exception. Under the pressure of life and death, it was only natural for them to submit to Xiahou Yuan again.
Perhaps the days after submitting to Xiahou Yuan would not be easy.
But if they didn't submit, there would be no days to speak of at all.
"All of you, rise," Lin Yuan said after a moment's thought.
"For nearly twenty-five years, bring me all the intelligence from the Five Domains, especially that of the Celestial Sword Sect."
Lin Yuan's visit to the underground palace this time was not only to find a suitable place to break through but also to consolidate the scattered demonic forces.
No matter which world he was in, even if he was invincible, it was always a bit inconvenient to go it alone.
He couldn't possibly handle everything personally, could he?
Lin Yuan's subjugation of the nine great demon lords and his absorption of the remnants of the demonic path required no cost at all, nor did he need to start from scratch. With Xiahou Yuan's intimidation, none of the demon leaders dared to harbor any ulterior motives.
It was common knowledge that twenty-five years ago, Xiahou Yuan's physical body and primordial spirit had been sealed, and he had been suppressed in the eighteenth layer of the Great Abyss.
Those demon leaders didn't even dare to get close to join in the attack.
Even powerful ninth-realm demon lords would only observe from outside the Great Abyss for a while, making sure that Xiahou Yuan couldn't get out before leaving quickly.
The fear that the demon leaders of the world felt toward Xiahou Yuan was evident.
"Yes," Mo Yang slowly rose to his feet and replied respectfully, "This subordinate will go and retrieve it for Your Excellency now."
Before long, Mo Yang returned to the grand hall.
Behind him, several subordinates followed, carrying a pile of jade tablets.
"Your Excellency, these are all the intelligence reports on the situation in the Five Domains, with the intelligence on the Celestial Sword Sect and other righteous forces at the forefront." Mo Yang, the Demon Lord, spoke respectfully.
Even without Lin Yuan mentioning it, Mo Yang paid close attention to the movements of the Celestial Sword Sect and other righteous forces.
"Good."
Lin Yuan nodded in satisfaction.
He then picked up the jade tablets, his consciousness delving into them, quickly absorbing the information within.
A moment later.
Lin Yuan set down the tablets, a slight frown creasing his brow.
There were hundreds of jade tablets presented by Mo Yang, meticulously recording all sorts of intelligence from the Five Domains.
And among them was the information Lin Yuan was concerned about.
"Twenty years ago, a auspicious omen appeared at the Celestial Sword Sect's mountain gate, causing a large amount of heaven and earth aura to gather."
"Fifteen years ago, the Celestial Sword Sect's mountain gate once again gathered the heaven and earth aura, and for the next two years, the area within a hundred li of the mountain gate had thin aura."
"Four years ago, the Celestial Sword Sect once more gathered the heaven and earth aura, and all living beings nearby felt as if they were under the weight of Mount Tai."
Numerous pieces of information converged in Lin Yuan's mind.
The Celestial Sword Sect possessed a large-scale heaven-grade aura vortex, with abundant aura within, enough to sustain the daily consumption of a ninth realm cultivator.
Even so, there had been five instances where the aura within a hundred or even several hundred li radius had gathered towards the sect.
What did this signify?
It indicated that the aura emitted by the aura vortex was no longer sufficient for a certain existence's cultivation.
"The Tenth Realm."
Lin Yuan set down the jade tablet, a guess forming in his mind.
Only the legendary Tenth Realm could cause such a large-scale disturbance in the heaven and earth aura.
Of course, this didn't mean that Celestial Swordzi had already broken through to the Tenth Realm, otherwise, Xiahou Yuan wouldn't have survived for twenty-five years.
A Tenth Realm powerhouse would easily capture Xiahou Yuan even if he escaped with his primordial spirit.
If Celestial Swordzi had become a Tenth Realm powerhouse, he would definitely have come to the Great Abyss personally and eradicated Xiahou Yuan, this thorn in his side, as soon as possible.
However, from the changes in the heaven and earth aura, it could be deduced that Celestial Swordzi had been attempting to breakthrough to the Tenth Realm.
And he was on the verge of success, as the last instance of the heaven and earth aura covering an area of nearly a thousand li.
"Quite a fast cultivation speed."
Lin Yuan stroked his chin, recalling that according to Xiahou Yuan's memories, Celestial Swordzi was indeed at the peak of the Ninth Realm twenty-five years ago, but he was still quite a distance away from the Tenth Realm.
"But no matter how fast he is, I'm faster."
Lin Yuan was unconcerned.
Whether it was in the previous three worlds he had traversed or in the vast and boundless main world, in terms of pure cultivation speed, Lin Yuan had never encountered anyone faster than himself.
Perhaps some higher or peak bloodlines of special lifeforms had a starting point far beyond Lin Yuan's, but their subsequent cultivation speed was definitely inferior to his.
"Let me break through to the Fifth Tier first."
Lin Yuan felt no pressure at all.
If it had been the original Xiahou Yuan, the first thing he would have done after escaping his predicament would probably have been to go to the Celestial Sword Sect to take revenge and question 'Bai Qing' for her betrayal.
But
Lin Yuan wasn't that foolish.
With his current strength and means, Even if he truly encountered a Tenth Realm powerhouse,
He could still hold his own for a few exchanges, or even fight on equal footing.
But there was absolutely no need for that.
Lin Yuan's most abhorred evenly matched battles.
With his heaven-defying comprehension, he only needed to cultivate for a few decades to far surpass his opponent by one or even several major realms, sweeping away all opposition with overwhelming power.
Why rush into a battle now?
"Where is the origin of the aura vortex beneath this underground palace?"
Lin Yuan, seated in the main seat, suddenly spoke up.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, I am incompetent and have not been able to locate the origin of the aura vortex all this time." Mo Yang's tone was filled with shame.
The origin of the aura vortex, also known as the Spring of Aura, was the source of the swirling aura.
However, the Spring of Aura was buried deep underground, surrounded by dense heaven and earth aura, making it difficult to pinpoint its exact location.
Mo Yang had discovered this aura vortex long ago but had spent decades searching for the Spring of Aura to no avail. Eventually, he gave up the search and simply built the underground palace to seal off the aura emitted by the vortex.
After all, the Spring of Aura was right there underground, and it wasn't going anywhere, so he could always search for it slowly in the future.
"It doesn't matter."
"I will find it for you today."
Lin Yuan stood up and began walking deeper into the underground palace.
The nine Demon Lords, including Mo Yang, quickly followed suit.
"Wait for me, Your Excellency."
Nuan Shu immediately stuck close to Lin Yuan's side.
After walking for an unknown duration.
"Your Excellency, will you really be able to find it?" Mo Yang and the other Demon Lords exchanged glances, a hint of doubt in their eyes.
Even a Tenth Realm powerhouse would find it challenging to directly pinpoint the location of the Spring of Aura.
This had nothing to do with strength; the dense heaven and earth aura surrounding the Spring of Aura naturally suppressed the perception of cultivators.
Even a Tenth Realm powerhouse, without their perception, would be like a blind man searching for the Spring of Aura underground, not much better off than a Ninth Realm cultivator.
Just at that moment, Lin Yuan, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped.
"Your Excellency," Mo Yang, the Demon Lord, began to speak.
But before he could finish, Lin Yuan raised his hand and gently pressed it towards the right front.
A loud rumbling filled the air as a large patch of soil collapsed, revealing a dimly lit space.
Within, a milky-white spring gushed forth, its waters swirling with an intense concentration of heavenly energy. The spring spanned several meters, its depths shrouded in darkness, and the pressure of the world's heavenly energy was palpable within its waters.
Additionally, several rare and exotic flowers bloomed around the spring.
"A Spring of Aura?" Mo Yang's eyes widened, and he subconsciously swallowed, struck by a longing for the abundant energy.
Whether one practiced the righteous path or the demonic path, cultivating by absorbing and expelling heavenly energy was a viable method.
However, for cultivators of the demonic path, this method was inefficient, and it was much quicker to simply kill and plunder from others.
Yet, this Spring of Aura, brimming with tangible heavenly energy, was a great supplement even for a Ninth Realm Demon Lord.
"It's probably a medium-sized heavenly-grade Spring of Aura. Good, good. With this spring, breaking through to the Fifth Tier will be a breeze," Lin Yuan said with a delighted smile.
The Spring of Aura at the Celestial Sword Sect was at least a large-scale one, a level above the spring before Lin Yuan.
But since Celestial Swordzi was attempting to break through to the Tenth Realm, he surely wouldn't dare to consume the spring fully, as the future disciples of the Celestial Sword Sect would depend on it for their cultivation.
Thus, over the past two decades, each time Celestial Swordzi tried to break through to the Tenth Realm, he would absorb the heavenly energy from the surrounding hundreds of miles instead.
This method was slow, but there was no other choice.
However, Lin Yuan had no such constraints. He felt no burden using this Spring of Aura.
"Moreover, the dozen or so spiritual herbs growing around the spring are treasures as well, no less valuable than four-star or five-star cosmic wonders," Lin Yuan remarked, his eyes gleaming with desire.
"I shall seclude myself and break through right here," Lin Yuan decided, knowing that such an excellent opportunity for a breakthrough should not be wasted.
As Lin Yuan entered seclusion to break through to the Fifth Tier...
The impact of Demon Lord Xiahou Yuan's emergence continued to spread across the Five Domains.
"Now that Xiahou Yuan is out, I doubt the world will know peace anytime soon," a cultivator remarked.
"Indeed. If I were Xiahou Yuan, after being suppressed for decades, I'd definitely seek revenge," another cultivator agreed.
"Ah, when will the conflicts in this world ever cease?" someone sighed.
"Stop? As long as people exist, conflicts will exist. Twenty-five years ago, the righteous factions united under the banner of suppressing Xiahou Yuan to bring peace to the world, and thus the Great Righteous-Demon War began," a knowledgeable cultivator explained.
"But what happened after? Xiahou Yuan was indeed suppressed, but the world did not find peace. Instead, the demonic cultivators acted like they had broken free from their chains and went crazy," the cultivator continued, expressing the concerns of many.
News of Xiahou Yuan's release spread like wildfire across the Five Domains, causing a stir among the major factions and cultivators.
Especially those factions that had participated in Xiahou Yuan's suppression decades ago, they began to panic, worrying that Xiahou Yuan would target them first to settle old scores.
"We must go to the Celestial Sword Sect and discuss our next steps," an elderly cultivator from one of these factions said.
"Yes, if not for Celestial Swordzi, we wouldn't have offended Xiahou Yuan so deeply," another cultivator agreed.
"Let's go find Celestial Swordzi and demand an explanation," they decided, and a group of cultivators, including several Ninth Realm experts, set off for the Celestial Sword Sect.
Meanwhile, at the Celestial Sword Sect...
The mountains were shrouded in mist, creating an ethereal atmosphere akin to a celestial realm.
Suddenly, an overwhelming aura erupted, causing even the most powerful Ninth Realm cultivators to feel unease.
"The Sect Master!"
"Sect Master has emerged from seclusion!"
The elders of the Celestial Sword Sect, upon sensing this aura, were overjoyed and immediately paid their respects to the highest palace on the peak.
Half a month later, the oppressive aura that enveloped the palace gradually dissipated, and a white-haired man slowly walked out.
"Celestial Swordzi!"
"We pay our respects, Sect Master!"
"You've finally emerged, Sect Master!"
The disciples of the Celestial Sword Sect heaved a sigh of relief. Over the past weeks, countless powerful cultivators from the Five Domains had come to seek audience with Celestial Swordzi, all wanting to discuss how to deal with Xiahou Yuan.
One or two visitors would not have been an issue.
After all, the Celestial Sword Sect was the foremost power in the Five Domains, and Celestial Swordzi was the strongest cultivator in the world.
They could easily handle such matters.
But the number of visitors was not limited to one or two.
Hundreds and thousands of cultivators, including the leaders of major factions and Ninth Realm experts, had come knocking on their doors.
This put immense pressure on the Celestial Sword Sect, especially with their core figure, Celestial Swordzi, still in seclusion and unable to address these concerns.
The sect had endured unimaginable stress during this period.
But now...
All that was finally over.
(End of Chapter)
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