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Chapter 574: Did Qinghua Ascend to Immortality?
Chapter 574: Did Qinghua Ascend to Immortality?
The immortal carriage of the Seven Sons of Nan Hong shone like a dazzling sun, suspended between heaven and earth, above the sacred grounds of the Seven Sects.
Numerous cultivators rose into the clouds, their gazes fixed on the faintly visible figures within the radiant aurora.
The sect leaders gathered, heading towards the Dragon Palace for the feast.
In just half a night, as the dawn broke, they returned, and it seemed that the feast they had imagined was somewhat different. The night before, the sky over Nan Hong had subtly shifted, and the very breath of heaven and earth suddenly became turbulent, signaling the fall of a mighty being.
The auras of the seven sect leaders were thick and robust, indicating they had emerged unscathed. The fallen being was likely a noble existence within the Dragon Palace.
But at this moment, the entire Nan Hong waters were eerily silent.
They didn't even dare to come out and make a fuss!
As this thought crossed their minds, the cultivators swallowed hard, suddenly feeling an indescribable excitement welling up from within, even as they bowed beneath the immortal carriage. They inexplicably felt their spines straighten.
The Seven Sons had left their seclusion, and Nan Hong was once again under their protection!
"We respectfully welcome the return of the sect leader!"
The synchronized, prolonged voices reverberated through the mountains, piercing the clouds, as if to part the dense fog and let the radiant Nanyang shine brighter.
"These youngsters seem quite delighted."
Master Ling Yun shook his head, expressing his approval of Shen Yi's earlier response.
As cultivators, they were all too aware that the road ahead was often filled with unexpected twists and turns. Even the Western Dragon Palace had lost a Celestial Realm dragon son, making the turbulent situation evident.
Perhaps he had been too timid.
Seeking to protect the lives of the Seven Sects by staying in seclusion required others to give them that chance.
Shen Yi's actions seemed somewhat risky, but they had seized the initiative.
It was time to recall the courage he had once possessed, the courage to stake his life in a desperate gamble.
"..."
Ye Jiu, rarely silent, was ignored by the others. Those who knew the Heaven Sword Sect Master understood that his concern wasn't for the future of the Seven Sons.
It was simply that he had just exchanged moves with the South Dragon King, and his itching palms were eager for a life-or-death battle with the old dragon.
At that moment, Ye Jiu suddenly lifted his head, gazing in a particular direction.
A look of confusion appeared on his face.
At least for now, the immortal carriage of the Seven Sons was the most dazzling object in all of Nan Hong. But in the direction Ye Jiu was looking, a golden light suddenly soared into the sky, crossing Nan Hong at a speed invisible to the naked eye. It was like a golden curtain or a colossal carpet that blotted out the sun, extending all the way to the West Flood Domain.
Its appearance seemed to pierce through the entire Hong Ze.
Under this golden light, the immortal carriage instantly paled in comparison.
The sect leaders fixed their gazes on the source of the golden light, and the previously tranquil waters suddenly churned with waves, subtly revealing the emotions of the South Dragon King.
Ye Jiu slowly rose from his throne, his eyes sweeping over his fellow sect members. Slightly taken aback, he asked as if seeking confirmation: "Ascension through virtue?"
Ji Jing Xi's red lips parted slightly, and Qi Yansheng's expression was wooden.
Even these three Celestial Realm experts displayed such expressions, let alone the other sect leaders.
Only Shen Yi, seated on his throne, raised his eyebrows in a peculiar manner: "What do you mean by 'Ascension through virtue'?"
Ji Jing Xi exhaled softly, gazing at the broad golden light and murmured: "This guiding golden light leads directly to the Immortal Court."
"There's an old immortal hiding right under our noses?"
Ye Jiu hissed, but before he could finish, Qi Yansheng glared at him. The Spirit Mountain Sect Leader, who had remained silent in the Dragon Palace, now spoke sternly: "Mind your manners."
The immortal who could elicit such a response from the Immortal Court must have endured countless hardships.
Nan Hong didn't have enough suffering to accumulate such supreme virtue for this golden light of virtue. After much thought, they realized it must be the countless souls left behind by the ten-thousand-year tribulation.
Among these souls were even those of their former Nanyang Sect members.
In other words, they were the saviors of the Seven Sons.
"..."
Ye Jiu also came to this realization, suppressing his discontent. He sighed, bowed respectfully towards the source of the golden light, and said earnestly: "Your magnanimity is beyond my words. Please forgive my rudeness."
For cultivators, becoming an immortal ancestor was even more prestigious than becoming an immortal.
After cultivating for so many years, seeing someone achieve this feat before them, it was understandable to have mixed feelings.
"So, Hong Ze now has two immortals?"
Shen Yi asked again, and everyone noticed that he was still leaning back in his seat. Ji Jing Xi pursed her lips and subtly pulled him up.
He didn't want to bow, but basic respect was still necessary.
Seeing this, Ye Jiu opened his mouth and smiled silently. He genuinely liked this young Shen Yi. If this future immortal wasn't the savior of the Seven Sons, he wouldn't have bothered with politeness.
Ever since the destruction of Nanyang, each of them had harbored the thought of killing an immortal with their own hands. However, their strength was too weak, and they could only think about it.
All cultivators, what’s there to respect?
"That’s not entirely true. Actually, we’re just repeating what we’ve heard." Ye Jiu picked up the conversation, with a slight sigh: "It’s said that after Fusion Realm, one gains the qualifications to enter the Immortal Court and receive Immortal Benefits, but that’s just talk."
"Either one has astonishing talent, like you. If not for being in Hongze, after your Fusion, a highly influential senior would have introduced you to Immortal Officials, taking you to ascend to the heavens."
"Or one has a deep background. After all, these influential seniors also have their own nephews and younger relatives. Once they cultivate to the required level, they can be sent upwards."
"As for us commoners—"
At this point, Ye Jiu cast a resentful glance towards the Northern Flood: "Some people deliberately suppress us, so we can only wander in the mortal world, trying to make a name for ourselves, improve our cultivation, and hope for a chance to enter the Immortal Court one day. If our luck isn’t good, at least we can stay below and be called Earth Immortals by people."
Ye Jiu pointed to the golden light in the sky: "As for this path, it’s extremely difficult. They don’t even really cultivate; they’re not on the same path as us. They rely on some strange methods to attract the attention of the Immortal Court."
"But even then, only after he follows this golden light and ascends to the Immortal Court will he be assigned a specific Immortal position. Right now, in terms of strength, he might not even be as strong as any random disciple under your command."
"I can understand where the hardship comes from. The Hongze region really hasn’t been peaceful for these ten thousand years. I’m just puzzled, how did he manage to resolve all these grudges in such a short time?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Yi looked silently at the source of the golden light.
Ten thousand years? It didn’t take that long.
When I chose between Dao Infant and Yin Spirit, I seem to have taken the wrong path.
Qinghua, you really deserve to die.
...
"Hmm?"
In the secret realm at the back of Peach Source Manor, an affiliate of the Nanyang Sect.
A massive figure with a dark golden hue sat against a mountain, its dark golden cloak gently swaying, exuding an overwhelming aura of authority.
But the next moment, it opened its eyes, and in those eyes that should have been terrifying, there was a hint of innocent confusion.
Qinghua, the consort, said fearfully, "Master, what did Qinghua do wrong? Qinghua will never do it again!"
"It’s nothing."
A sigh echoed in her mind.
Shen Yi remained silent for a long time, suddenly feeling the way others often looked at him: "How did you do it?"
He was genuinely curious how the other person managed to attract the Immortal Court's attention in such a short time.
Hearing this, Qinghua pondered for a moment, her confusion deepening: "Didn’t Master teach me? The Golden Body Prison Law Form..."
Then she began to recount the recent events to Shen Yi in detail.
Initially, Shen Yi left her at Peach Source Manor to help resolve the innocent souls of mortals who had died unjustly.
For Qinghua, who had digested countless miscellaneous thoughts in the Nanyang Sacred Ground, this task was really simple.
The problem arose from the method they discussed at the time.
That method involved using the souls of demons as prisons to forcibly suppress these miscellaneous thoughts.
Qinghua habitually used the same method and soon noticed something odd.
When she condensed the souls of the wronged mortals in Peach Source Manor into something similar to "demon souls," they began to wander out on their own, absorbing the souls of those who had died in the Southern Flood and even further regions, buried in the waters.
One became ten, ten became a hundred... things quickly spiraled out of control.
Instead of resolving grievances, she was actually cultivating a swarm of insects. The entire process had nothing to do with her; it was the dead cultivators, in the form of vengeful souls, fighting again in an invisible realm for a second time.
Only the victors could merge into the Golden Body, transforming into the purest soul essence.
The hardest thing in the world is to reverse time.
Qinghua gave these souls a chance to resolve their grievances. The victors could take revenge, and the losers... well, they lost and even their vengeful souls were gone, thus resolving the grudges.
This was true great virtue.
Even if others wanted to take this path, they would have to guide each soul individually.
With the peculiar method of the Golden Body Prison Law Form, which had a demonic aura, the ten thousand years of killing in Hongze became a single person’s elixir in a short time.
"..."
Shen Yi’s silence was deafening.
This should have been his opportunity.
After all, that method was one of the few things he had come up with on his own.
What bullshit Immortal Art, this is the true method to ascend to immortality! He, Shen Yi, should have the qualifications to become an immortal for creating this method!
"Forget it, you can go now."
Shen Yi sighed with a sense of loss. Some things, once missed, are gone forever. Often, the choice is more important than effort, even more important than the panel.
Well, at least he would have someone up there in the future.
Might as well think positively... damn, it’s hard to be positive.
"Master—"
Qinghua felt that her master was acting strangely today, but the situation was urgent, so she said softly, "Qinghua can’t leave, I’m being watched."
The golden light in the sky gradually dimmed, and although this path was deeply etched in her mind, the slowly recovering sky seemed to be announcing something.
Even the named cultivators of the Four Floods showed confusion, and until now, they still couldn't see the figure of the Virtue Immortal within the golden light curtain.
"Hmm?"
On the Immortal Carriage, Shen Yi frowned, not caring about the presence of several sect leaders beside him, and directly questioned Qinghua's body.
When he opened his eyes again, the view in front of him was much clearer, revealing the Peach Source Manor. He slowly stood up, as it had been too long since he had made such a move, and this height of over ten zhang still felt a little unfamiliar to Shen Yi. Moreover, this body was also excessively weak.
At the moment he entered the Golden Body Prison Law Form.
Shen Yi felt the terror that Qinghua had described as being "targeted."
It was as if his body was covered in bone-chilling frost, or as if sharp steel blades were pressing against his lower back, and if he took another step, he would be completely sliced into pieces.
"Huff."
Shen Yi adjusted his breathing, as if he had guessed something, and forcefully looked up at the sky.
The next moment, even with his current knowledge and experience, he couldn't help but tense up.
In the vast expanse of the sky, the terrifying white rhinoceros had fully awakened, standing on the land of the Four Floods, with its wide skull lowered. Its enormous eyes seemed to encompass the entire world.
At this moment, the distance between those eyes and Shen Yi was less than a thousand zhang.
Within the eyes, there was only this ten-zhang-tall dark golden body.
The white rhinoceros was as silent as a dead object, without even a hint of breathing. It slowly lowered its head, as if the waters of the Four Floods were pouring down on Shen Yi, forcing him to sit back down.
The expression on the Golden Body Prison Law Form became increasingly indifferent, just like the white-robed, snow-like elegant young man within it, clenching his teeth, with a pair of eyes filled with indescribable ferocity, yet without any means to resist.
Virtue Immortal, Virtue Immortal, only when you ascend to the Immortal Court can you truly be an immortal.
Before that, sit down!
The white rhinoceros didn't speak, but Shen Yi inexplicably felt this in his heart.
He stared directly into those enormous eyes, took a deep breath, and finally closed his eyes.
After all, he had once been a minor official in Baiyun County, and such a simple truth was actually quite easy to understand.
Hong Ze was the domain of that immortal, a fiefdom entrusted to him by the Immortal Court.
So, in this situation, what did it mean for Nan Hong to produce a Virtue Immortal by dissipating grudges and killing intent?
Under your watch, where did this slaughter apocalyptic and numerous grudges come from?!
It was as if an official's city had a great philanthropist who opened a soup kitchen, saving countless starving people and preventing corpses from littering the streets, earning a virtuous reputation that spread all the way to the court.
And this county was originally a prosperous place.
When the court learned of this virtuous reputation, would they praise this official for his good management?
For the first time, Shen Yi saw a hint of fear in the eyes of the white rhinoceros. Although a treasure couldn't have emotions, this fear must have come from its master behind it.
He, with his Perfect Earth Realm cultivation, had made a true immortal feel fear.
It seemed like something worth boasting about.
A rare hint of helplessness flashed across Shen Yi's lips. Recognizing the reality that the Golden Body was trapped here, he knew that struggling was futile.
But even if he wasn't familiar with the Immortal Court, he couldn't believe that the Great Immortal Hong Ze would dare to act against a Virtue Immortal who had already caught the attention of the higher-ups.
The situation indeed unfolded as Shen Yi had expected.
After seeing the Golden Body sit back down, the white rhinoceros stopped lowering its head and returned to the sky, falling back asleep... Even in its sleep, it kept one eye open, staring at the Peach Source Manor.
Perhaps the immortal hadn't decided how to deal with this future "colleague" yet.
In the Immortal Carriage above the Seven Sects of Nan Hong.
Ye Jiu rubbed his neck and withdrew his gaze. "Could it be that dog thing causing trouble again? What's this Virtue Immortal waiting for? If he doesn't hurry and ascend while the golden light hasn't dissipated, is he waiting for the Immortal Court to forget about him? How strange!"
Hong Ze wasn't a big place, and even if the Virtue Immortal was formed from a hundred thousand years of slaughter, it wasn't a major event for the Immortal Court.
To enjoy a good immortal benefit, one must strike while the iron is hot.
The other sect leaders also slowly furrowed their brows, "It is a bit strange."
In front of the crowd, Shen Yi's eyes regained their divine light. He quietly stared at the sky as the golden light completely dissipated, and in a steady voice, he muttered, "Strange?"
"It does seem a little strange."
Shen Yi took a deep breath, concealing the turmoil in his deep eyes.
To sever a person's wealth is like killing their parents, let alone severing their immortal path. Although they hadn't met, this grudge was already deeply rooted.
"Hmm?"
Ye Jiu looked over with some confusion, not understanding why the usually calm and collected Shen Yi now had a hint of chilling killing intent in his voice.
(End of Chapter)
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