Chapitre 96: Ch.9
When the human like demon beast mentioned the Void Illusionary Divine Palace, I paid close attention. And finally when they mentioned the demon blood sacrifice I grinned. When the demon beast gave some of it's blood freely, I moved and decapitated it in a swing of my scythe as I drained it of heavenly energy.
Both Nie Li and Xiao Yu we're instantly on guard until I appeared. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you. I used a secret technique and ended up several leagues away from the battlefield. Whose the demon beast I killed?"
Nie Li smirked. "His name was Wu Yazi. Here, he gave us something really good. Let's do the demon blood sacrifice then go see this Void Illusionary Divine Palace."
I chuckled and agreed. When we finished doing the sacrifice, I felt my body physically growing stronger. Humming I led the way as we looked like rabbit demon beasts mixed with human features.
I didn't have a real problem with it until we arrived, then I concealed the effects of the demon blood sacrifice and had Nie Li and Xiao Yu do the same. I'd much rather go as a human. When we found the Void Illusionary Divine Palace, an array surrounded the place.
I told Nie Li. "You deal with the array and get us in, I'll deal with any idiots that try something."
While I waited a group of humans came over and tried to shoo us away, I responded by draining them all and sending them back to the soul temple as newbies, or the ones that didn't suicide when they realized who I was anyway. They were all Long Tianming's men from the symbols they wore so I didn't care.
I collected their armor and space rings just as Nie Li said. "Got it!"
We stepped through the array unharmed just as another group came over led by Long Tianming himself and another cloaked expert. The power radiating from them gave them away as dao of the dragon realm experts.
Long Tianming was just a beginning dao of the dragon realm at the first stage but his friend was at least a sixth stage from the feel of it. I told Nie Li what I felt and mentioned. "His soul feels like ours do now as well. He's gone through the demon blood sacrifice."
Nie Li's face darkened at my words and he waved us on. We explored and emptied out several rooms of items, finding a few hundred gold spirit stone essence and a few items like the Grade 7 Artifacts, Divine Scarlet Bloodstones, and various other rare and valuable materials.
One of the few rare ones, the Evil Warding Jade Strip, Nie Li had asked that I pass on as he desperately needed it to ensure his demon spirits obeyed. I waved him off saying. "Keep it. While my green phoenix is a bit stubborn and arrogant, it's not about to disobey me now."
We looted over seventy percent of the palace before I decided. "Let's head to the center. The others should be breaking through soon."
Nie Li agreed and we headed through a stone door and down the dark hallway full of poisonous spiders. Nie Li uses a green venom pearl to absorb their venom before killing most of them while I squashed the rest.
My body had reached the point of being immune to most heavenly axis realm experts attacks by the time we entered the main chamber. Demon god sect disciples and human sat facing the walls, studying the murals and the inscription array that lay hidden beneath it.
Many were peak heavenly axis and even a dozen dao of the dragon realm experts. I took the talismans Hierarch Crimsonblood gave me out of my ring and slid them in my robe pocket before putting my ring inside my painting with a thought.
If I'm attacked now I'd loose nothing and only be forced to raise some lost heavenly energy to revive my axis soul. I felt more my body becoming stronger and stronger after a while and sat down in meditation. After twenty minutes or so Nie Li asked if I'd like to go in and see what's inside.
I told him. "I'll pass. I'm focusing on my own cultivation right now. Take Xiao Yu with you."
He agreed and they went to the pedestal where a crystal array foci was lodged. In a flash of light they were gone. The others now disturbed that two had gone in as none had figured it out before were disturbed. I had no interest in going in but another clever human did. Yan Yang, the leader of the Skyblaze sect group that had just arrived, followed by Long Tianming and several demon sect groups.
They flooded the chambers disturbing the peace. I integrated with my shadow king demon spirit and disappeared from their view. When everyone settled down, Yan Yang spoke up. To his subordinate not far away from where I sat. "Tell the men to stop exploring, let the others do so and die if they wish. I'll stay here for now and practice."
I moved next to him and hit him with a memory thought beam of heavenly energy. He grunted as I'd shown him the way inside and left him there to decide what he wanted to do. I headed to explore the palace some more as I heard the screams of the dying coming from the rooms we'd been in before.
As amusing as that was, I swept their rings and amors up as I went and searched the rest of the palace. A barrier deep inside, passed the meditation room, stopped me from going much further. Snickering I stole all the randomly hidden treasures laying about before looking at the barrier once more.
It's clearly been placed by a peak existence of this world and meant to keep something in. I knew it was the palace spirit, a sort of artifact spirit that had taken on a life of it's own. It would be freed when the one that placed the barrier finally passed on, not that I cared one bit.
I waited in meditation just outside the barrier now. I'd taken nearly half of the treasure available to those searching for it. Not that I needed it but I did enjoy having a grade seven artifact armor set and weapons to boot.
While I meditated, my body got stronger and stronger as it was being pushed to the boundary that separates a dao of the dragon expert from a heavenly axis one. When the barrier fell, I woke up and moved. I activated my void form once more and shadow traveled passed the barrier a peak martial ancestor had put up eons ago.
I came out of the shadows right into the vault. With a wave of my hand, I stored everything in my painting. An entire vaults worth of treasures ranging from gold essence to rank seven artifacts and hundreds of odds and ends in between.
The artifact spirit saw it's treasury being emptied and couldn't find the one doing so and it went into a rage. It shook the whole treasury for a moment as the artifact it was linked to, a small shrunken temple artifact, sent waves of power outwards.
Smirking I stayed there and waited. When it gave up and chose to act against those outside, I slipped into a meditation stance and let my void form keep me hidden. I grimaced when my body reached the peak of heavenly axis realm and my heavenly energy began surging, trying to break through to the dao of the dragon realm because of the demon blood sacrifice.
I suppressed it as best I could as now wasn't the time to break through. There was at least one martial ancestor realm expert outside from the demon god sect and I wasn't looking to be permanently killed. Dao of the dragon realm experts could no longer be revived by the soul temple as their nine fate souls condense to become one.
Any death I'd experience would be of the permanent variety. When I finally managed to put a lid on it, Nie Li showed up. I revealed myself as the entire palace shook. "I've taken all but the artifact temple there-"
I indicated to it saying. "The artifact spirit controlling this place now is apart of it and I really don't want the headache. There's a martial ancestor realm attacking the array outside and it should fall soon enough. Where's Xiao Yu?"
He smiled. "I'm my scroll."
I sighed as he turned to the artifact temple with a frown. "Hundreds of people are dying outside. It looks like I've no choice but to take it."
He activated his scroll painting and fought to put the artifact temple inside it. I gave him an amused look as the spirit fought and resisted but was ultimately taken in as another vibration shook the temple and a loud crack was heard.
Sighing I told him. "The martial ancestor is of the demon god sect."
I took off my rank seven artifact armor and swords before storing them in my scroll and taking out a ring I'd taken from one of the many dead. It had a couple gold spirit stone essence and some grade five armor inside and out it on. I told him as I grabbed his shoulder. "Don't come out until I let you out or things will get difficult."
He nodded knowing I had a plan to get us out without problems. I put him in my scroll as I turned back into my void form and headed passed the barrier. I heard shaking and a scream as the martial ancestor realm had attacked thinner barrier next and shook the palace before a backlash happened.
Black flames covered half his essence as it burned away, causing a serious drop in cultivation for him. I chuckled at his stupidity and watched as he went outside to wait for those coming out. When I saw the exit and no one around I revealed myself as I headed outside.
When I reached the door, dozens of dao of the dragon realm experts from the demon sect were there. I grunted as they demanded. "Hand over all your space rings and items and you'll be let go. If you try to conceal anything you'll be killed instantly, no exceptions!"
When I growled an tossed the ring at him he looked me over and found the talismans. He went to grab them and I spoke. "Those are connected to my master, Hierarch Crimsonblood. I won't stop you if you take them, but when he squashes you like a bug for touching them it's on you."
He stilled and turned to the martial ancestor from the demon god sect. The martial ancestor frowned before saying. "Let him pass. They're just protective and locating talismans from Crimsonblood. I can feel the old bastards aura on them right this moment."
I turned to the martial ancestor and cupped my hands saying. "Thank you for being so understanding senior."
I moved passed the dao of the dragon realm expert and almost got away before the martial ancestor spoke up. "Wait kid, why am I finding it hard to sense your presence?"
I shrugged. "It's apart of my demon spirit senior. I've taken on the shadow king demon spirit."
That instantly pissed him off. Such a demon was rare and powerful. The fact that humans used their kind for strength disgusted them, but when it came to something like a shadow king, a creature thought nearly extinct as it's young, the shadow devils were, it had the martial ancestors sending a wave of power to squash me.
Almost instantly one of the dozen talismans activates in my defense and I felt the aura of my master appear as the sky's darkened. "Hierarch Blacknether, how dare you strike out at my only disciple!"
Blacknether sneered. "What are you going to do about it? You're not even here!"
A rumbling in the sky showed his annoyance until he spoke again. "Are you sure you wish to pick this fight when you're clearly injured? Because if you kill my only disciple, I swear to you I'll kill yours as well as everyone else you've brought to this place."
Hierarch Blacknether squinted and he felt out before saying. "You've grown stronger. The fifth stage of martial ancestor realm if I'm not mistaken."
He didn't really care if his disciple died as he would be revived in their own soul temple. But the hundreds of dao of the dragon realm experts would be a major loss to the demon god sect. Finally he conceded. "Fine, take the brat then."
Almost as instantly as I was freed from his aura, I went into the void as I summoned my demon spirit and disappeared from his senses. The martial ancestor grunted in annoyance as I fled at top speed headed for the sect.
I heard Hierarch Crimsonblood in my ear saying. "You've grown with this venture outside. Soon you'll be a dao of the dragon expert and when that happens you'll need to stay in the sect to avoid such dangers as dying as a dao of the dragon realm expert means permanent death."
I grunted in acknowledgement and sped up even further. I didn't stop until I was near the sect again and I summonses my ring. I then stored the talismans and disappeared once more to make sure my 'master' wasn't watching.
I then brought Nie Li our who was smiling. I sighed. "What did you take?"
He gave me a hurtful look before admitting. "Only half the treasure."
I shrugged. "It wasn't that interesting anyway. Did you find anything useful?"
He nodded. "Another page like the one you gave me."
I nodded. "Well, assuming there's only eight missing, I know where the last are. The sage emperor has three, you have three. Xiao Yu has one-"
He gave me a look and I shrugged. "The bases for the mark on her body is one of them sealed inside. As for the last, it's sealed inside Xiao Ning'er. I can feel it from her each time I meet her. I haven't a clue who did it or how, but that's the last of them."
He was stunned now as he looked both happy and dreadful about the fight ahead. Sighing I told him. "We're not in a rush. We've hundreds of years before he's ready to be freed. In that time we can build our forces and prepare for the worst."
His agitation was heightened until I mentioned. "You can share the array I gave you, you know. I've no problem with you using it to keep you friends and master safe. She is after all, a heaven divination technique user. So long as she's tattooed or it's carved on her ribs like mine is, nothing can sense her."
He seemed to get where I was leading to and spoke finally. "I've got some things to do now. I'll talk to you later."
I nodded as he took off. I decided to make use of this time to take a few deity lakes from Li Yufeng's men. Some whole sale slaughter later and seven small deity lakes joined the rest of mine.
I then made my way back to the sect t make my breakthrough. When I entered my painting and sat down, I brought out a thousand gold spirit essence and once I felt ready, I activated the time barrier before crushing all one thousand gold spirit essence.
I kicked the demon blood sacrifice into full throttle as I activated my cultivation technique and began my breakthrough. The process itself didn't take long as all my fate, star and axis souls fused into one. The real trouble came after I stepped into dao of the dragon realm as my body needed tons of heavenly energy to advance further.
Add to that the heavenly god technique required even more and my willow tree vines own thirst for it and I was damn lucky I had so much gold essence to spend. It acted like a lure for the heavenly energy in the painting as it pulled more and more to my location in an unending tide.
A tornado of heavenly energy appeared above me as I funneled all it gathered into my cultivation. One day, two, three, soon enough days turned into weeks and finally the storm died down once more.
I'd pushed myself farther than I probably should have as I entered the third stage of dao of the dragon. When I exited my scroll, I put it away with a thought and headed outside.
The power my body contained now was equal to at least a seventh stage dao of the dragon expert. If I pushed it and used various techniques including draining, I've no doubt I could kill an eight stage dao of the dragon expert. I'd used up nearly ten thousand gold essence to get to where I am now.
Going any farther would've been a wast of resources for now. I needed to wait until my body catches up to do more. Each rank in dao of the dragon realm required the body to be sufficiently powerful enough to withstand the next rank. Even with the demon blood sacrifice, I was a little behind.
I'd barely met the requirements when I pushed it to my current level. Sighing I watched as Gu Bei was indicted almost two weeks later by his family. Gu Heng had fun crying and making back room deals to get Gu Bei stripped of his title as first successor.
When it was turned around on him and Gu Heng was sentenced to thirty years of house arrest, Gu Bei was forced to pay one and a half million spirit stones. Five hundred thousand to the sect and one million to his clan.
I appeared as the charges were finished to their surprise and tossed a ring to the Gu clan patriarch. "There's two million to pay for Gu Bei's charges, no need to wait three years."
Gu Tianlong, the patriarch, asked. "Who are you to interrupt a clan meeting?"
I chuckled. "An ally I hope, but if I must be an enemy, at least let me kill Gu Heng for good. Trash that poisons his own blood is less than deserving to live after all."
The guards moved and I released my aura causing them and the elders to be startled. Sighing, Gu Bei told the patriarch. "He is Lu Fènghuáng, I'm sure patriarch has heard of him by now. He's also a member of my demon league."
Gu Heng shouted. "He's the reason my people were all forced back to legend rank trash!"
I chuckled as the patriarch looked me over and the elders became nervous. He finally spoke up. "Such a rare talent you've gathered to your side Gu Bei, I hope to see more such talented people in the future."
I chuckled and cupped my hand saying. "This one thanks you for the compliment though while I've joined the demon league, as I'm sure you're aware, I avoid internal sect strife. Politics aren't meant for the strong in my opinion. If one has true absolute strength, petty squabbles mean nothing."
He nodded slowly. "And if you e reached the peak?"
I shook my head and laughed. "That's the beauty of cultivating. There is no peak, only another layer or stage to overcome."
My words had him thinking while he sighed. "Perhaps you'll visit me and discuss this absolute strength another time."
I have a light bow. "As you wish."
I then turned to Gu Bei and we left together while Gu Heng was dragged out and locked up in his house as decreed by the patriarch. After we left I told Gu Bei. "Call all demon league members and our allies back to the sect. No one is to step foot out now. Gu Heng was just one of Long Tianming's pawns. Now that he's come back and is hiring dao of the dragon realm experts in secret, it won't be long before our people are targeted. Call everyone back and warn our allies to do the same, no exceptions!"
He nodded and moved swiftly to act. A day later Nie Li came out of meditation at the peak of heavenly star realm and pushing heavenly axis realm soon enough. The demon league had returned and I'd taken the deity lakes they occupied while doing the same for Li Xingyun and Long Yuyin's forces.
We held a meeting as soon as Nie Li arrived and it went rather dishearteningly. I'd told them the problem and while Long Yuyin wasn't afraid I'd growled at her. "If a dao of the dragon realm expert dies, they stay dead. From what I've been able to gather, Long Tianming is secretly gathering dozens if not hundreds of dao of the dragon experts and from what I can tell, only a handful are actually from this sect."
Nie Li frowned and asked. "How?"
I sighed. "I can only speculate, but the demon god sect robbed everyone from the Void Illusionary Divine Palace. This is a fact. Fact two, Long Tianming was there, I saw him and killed some of his forces with my own hands. Fact three, he came back to the sect with thousands of golden spirit essence, armor and tons of treasure. Now, I might or might not be an idiot, but one plus one plus one equals he's a traitor working with the demon god sect."
Long Yuyin was enraged but Nie Li calmed her down saying. "These dao of the dragon realm experts-"
I held up my hand saying. "Some are from his clan, but I know for a fact the one with him before was a nether demon shark. The mask may hide his features, but my senses of the soul are far more keen than any eyes. Odds are he was assigned by Blacknether to make sure Long Tianming survives long enough to make contact. As for their goals, it's rather obvious if you know what resides in the ancestral god lands."
Nie Li cursed and I nodded in understanding while he calmed himself down and told them all about the sage emperor. When he finished, he gave them their orders while asking me. "Can you pick off the dao of the dragon realm experts? I know you shouldn't have too much of a problem with them now but the amount-"
I sighed. "It'd be better if we had the Sky origin clan members on our side. I'm planning to take a trip to get some and I was hoping you be interested."
He nodded. "Definitely. The cost shouldn't be a problem either."
I agreed and he told Long Yuyin. "Stay in the sect, if Long Tianming really is working with the demon god sect than you'll be a target as well."
She pouted. "But-"
He grunted. "If you've ever been serious about considering me your master before, now is when I need you to listen the most. Dao of the dragon experts can do worse to those below them than you can imagine. And ending up in the soul hall would be a blessing if they caught up to you. Rape, torture and even eating pieces of you while your awake and alive aren't beyond demon god sect members capabilities."
She blanched and nodded. "I'll stay. Just be careful master!"
Nie Li and I left the three days later, early in the morning as we snuck out of the sect. Unfortunately Long Yuyin didn't in fact follow Nie Li's words as she simply brought two dao of the dragon experts of her own with her thinking she was safe that way. I said nothing as she followed us and two dao of the dragon demon beasts followed her.
When they gave up for a moment I told Nie Li. "You've been tagged with tracking essence there's someone following us."
He squinted and sighed before going into his shadow devil form and disappearing. I told him as I tossed a ring up in the air. "Take this and go buy as many as you can. Empty the wilderness forest if there's enough. I'll see whose following and slow them down or kill them if I can."
The ring disappeared and I went into my own void form before waiting a few yards away. When Long Yuyin arrived with the two dao of the dragon realm experts I revealed myself. "You silly girl! You have two dao of the dragon realm experts with you, but there's two dao of the dragon realm experts tracking you as well!"
Both the older female experts frowned at me for calling their young mistress a silly girl but Long Yuyin paled by my words. "I've led them to master?"
I shook my head. "When I sensed the tracking powder you put on him, I sent him ahead to deal with the business have outside the sect. Now for the three of you-"
I raised a hand and told them. "Don't resist, I need to hid your presence from those pursuing us now."
Long Yuyin nodded. "Aunties don't resist."
The two older female experts didn't move as I etched the sigils into their rib cages with heavenly energy. They each grunted and spewed a bit of blood but once it was done, I grabbed them and dug up a pit as I sent the dirt into my ring and tossed them inside before outing a boulder over top.
I went back into my void form and not five minutes later two demon beasts disguised as humans came running. They lost the trail there and when they left in a different direction, I made sure they stayed gone before unearthing the troublesome trio.
They came out of the hole a bit dirty but angrier than anything else. I appeared next to them saying. "They're gone for now but we need to move. One of you carry her and follow me."
They did as I asked and we moved at speeds only those at the dao of the dragon realm could keep up with. By the time we nearly caught up with Nie Li, he'd already purchased and took in all the sky origin clan members he felt like buying.
I felt the urge to slap the taste out of his mouth when I saw him and realized he'd only taken those with passable talent. Growling I told him what the trio had done and told them. "Wait for me here, I've some business as well since Nie Li here is a stingy dick."
Nie Li scowled at me and I grunted. "I told you to buy all of them, not just the ones that are of use to you dumbass!"
I disappeared and reappeared at the trading post. I then spent the next hour or so buying up every single sky origin clan member they had, not just the good ones but all of them. I spent tens of millions in that hour and made the fat bastards taking advantage of them very rich men.
After that I had Nie Li and the rest go on without me while I headed into the endless wilderness led by those that I'd explained my plans to. They didn't believe me of course, not completely anyway, but they had hope and that was enough.
They lead me to something I'd akin to the Native American tribes. There they showed me their elders and I made the deals, showing them my scroll paining and taking those I'd already bought inside.
The elders gathered the tribes and agreed to my proposal as I offered them more than just a place to live and grow outside the endless wilderness, I offered them their clans inheritance. Cultivation techniques and array techniques they'd had but long forgotten.
I made copies of said cultivation techniques and everything I offered into thousands of books. I even told them how to discern who was suited to what. They signed over their entire people to me for one spirit stone. With the contract valid, the array keeping them all here went dim as I moved them all into my scroll where they could live and grow, and prepare for the coming battles.
I headed back only to find the two experts holding off the dao of the dragon demon god sect experts. I summoned twenty dao of the dragon experts from my own scroll and we surrounded them. Nie Li has already taken Long Yuyin and fled when we acted, overwhelming and killing the two demon beasts.
A infernal ape and a scarlet fox from the demon sect. I took their bodies as their blood could be used for more demon blood sacrifices. I told the two barely surviving members of the Dragonseal family. "Heal yourselves and return to the sect. I'll find the two idiots that ran off."
They saw the twenty warriors with me all wearing masks of their own and nodded. We left them there as we pursued Nie Li. When we were far enough away, I took them inside the scroll once more. It wasn't much longer that I found the two coming out of a cloud I sensed as one beyond help now.
Once a peak expert of the deity realm but now nothing more than the intent and will of the dead. Nie Li was grinning when he saw me and I sighed. "Pass me some divine phaseless fruits would you? I've a hankering for training and I'll to reach the martial ancestor realm with them."
He frowned. "How?"
I snorted. "I've your memories and I can sense the will of emperor Tian Yuan all about you."
He sighed and tossed me a ring of ten. I wasn't greedy as these would definitely be enough to see me through a very long session of cultivating. We headed back to the sect as I told him and Long Yuyin about saving her aunts.
When we got back to the sect, I went into closed door cultivation while Nie Li made his moves to take over the sect. He began training those that had withstood the taunts of the other leagues just outside the sect boarders.
They'd been called cowards and many other names but none of that mattered now. Inside my scroll I'd had the time barrier going while I used the demon beast blood to do a demon blood sacrifice on the entire tribe of the sky origin clan.
I then set up bunch of massive Sky Dragon Nine-Blaze Secret Technique Arrays. After that I went a step further and spent a month diluting and refining a scrape of divine phaseless fruit down to where it was safe enough for each of us to take in and shared the concoction with the entire tribe.
I set it up so that once you finished digesting one all the way you'd be allowed to go up and take another from the sealed formation I made to keep their effects in. Even I only took one at a time as this shit was dangerous.
In the first day hundreds made massive consecutive breakthroughs. I myself went up three stages before I'd finished digesting it all. It took a bit of time but every three days I took one until I was at the peak of dao of the dragon realm.
Ready to break through again, I took another and felt the changes inside myself. I instantly understood everything about why martial ancestors were so world weary. They were the equivalent of the ascended I'd met before.
I myself felt my body turn into pure energy once more and Lucifer of all people appeared before me. "You've at least made things entertaining to say the least. Don't expect your full powers back so easily though. That can wait until you've figured out the second reason you're here."
I grunted and made a soul body of my essence and intent to finish my change. I was essentially an ascended in human form now. No real body like I'd spent a thousand years as just before I ascended to godhood.
Sighing I finished consolidating my realm before taking another fruit cocktail. Luckily the array I set up prevents others from grabbing one if they've not finished digesting them or several of the sky origin clan would've waisted some.
When I took another and meditated on my sword intent, my rank went up three times before stopping. When I opened my eyes, I stood up and sighed. I was now a stage four martial ancestor and in the outside, it'd only been ten and a half days.
I took another and sat down once more, ready to make another push. I closed my eyes and focused solely on my sword intent, of one with the sword then sword as one and finally I felt the barrier and my intent sharpened, cutting through it as I entered becoming the sword.
My mind cleared as I felt as if my thought would dull my intent and will. I became void and discarded all distractions before a single focus, I am a sword! My cultivation realm skyrocketed even further as I hit the peak of ninth stage martial ancestor realm!
I felt the edge of the realm above, the deity realm, before pulling back as I exited my intent and woke up from meditation. I stood abruptly and a gust of wind hit. Sighing I regained control and exited my scroll. I no longer needed it for any reason in particular but it was nice to have if nothing else.
I put it away before heading out to see what had changed in the near two weeks I'd been in meditation. With a thought I had tattoos form on my 'body' with the enochian sigils in place to hide my presence.
I summoned twenty peak dao of the dragon realm sky origin clan members and gave them a ring with a thousand bottles of the refined elixir inside as well as a letter I made to Duan Jian. I sent them to the Skyblaze sect with the orders to stay there and help him wherever necessary while continuing their own cultivation when they could.
I gave them each a ring with twenty elixirs apiece in them and told them to deliver the personal ring to Duan Jian and await his orders. They left in blurs to complete their orders while I searched out for Nie Li and the others.
Sighing when I saw that they'd all retreated to cultivate their forces, I headed to greet Hierarch Crimsonblood. I concealed my cultivation and pretended to be a stage five dao of the dragon expert. When I arrived he told me about an interesting meeting he'd had with Skycloud and the rest.
He himself had risen to stage seven martial ancestor realm. When he offered me one precious elixir I turned it back saying. "Do not worry about my cultivation master, not everything is as it appears to be."
I revealed a spark of my true self and his eyes brightened. "Was it these elixers?"
I nodded. "Amongst other things yes. You should know that I intend to back Nie Li for becoming the sect master. He, while dumb and greedy at times, I'd far better than the current candidates. I will stand and if either candidates are dumb enough, fight to make him sect master of this sect."
He sighed. "Is he really that worthy? I mean, other than the elixirs, what else can he offer the sect?"
I smirked. "A near limitless supply of resources including hundreds of millions of spirit stones, god growth rate dragon bloodline demon spirits and with less than a years time, he could potentially turn everyone in this sect into martial ancestors."
Hierarch Crimsonblood froze by my words and gulped before saying. "Is this true?"
I nodded. "Where as I've reason to believe Long Tianming is a spy for the demon god sect."
I sent a beam of memories to his head as I showed him all that happened in the Void Illusionary Divine Palace and the results of it all. When I finished he was not a happy camper. "You've presented evidence of his involvement with the demon god sect but the others, particularly Hierarch Linglong, will want something concrete."
I nodded and smiled as I remembered something and stood up. "Follow me."
He did just that as we both turned into streaks of light and flew to where Long Tianming's residence where he was dealing with his preparations for the soon to be fight for the sect master's seat.
When we arrived, I touched Crimsonblood's shoulder using my Shadow King's ability and bringing us both into the void. It wasn't anything special as martial ancestors could use their demon spirit's abilities without changing forms. It took a bit of effort to bring him with me though as that skill was usually reserved for the deity rank experts.
We passed through the walls and entered the residence unnoticed until we were right there in Long Tianming's private quarters. We waited a few hours and when Long Tianming's subordinate came in I sent a mental thought to Crimsonblood. (Watch and listen.)
"What did you say? Why is Situ Beiyan still alive right now?" Long Tianming's face was dark.
Several black-clothed people knelt before Long Tianming.
"Report to Young Master, we're also unsure of the root cause. Every attempt at poisoning has been discovered by someone. We also tried to set up an ambush for Situ Beiyan, but we ended up surrounded by his men, instead!"
Long Tianming knitted his brows.
Long Tianming snorted, "Situ Beiyan is the son of the current Sect Master. He still has a vast number of supporters and is a huge threat. However, eighty percent of the elders are now on my side. Ninety percent of the grand elders at the pinnacle of the Dao of Dragon Realm are also behind me. Aside from them, I have at least two or three of the Big Five. Since the Sect Master is preparing for retirement, he won't openly side with Situ Beiyan. I refuse to believe that Situ Beiyan can still win against me! Let him live, then!"
"You're all dismissed!" Long Tianming ordered.
"Yes!" The group of black-clothed people quickly retreated.
After those black-clothed people removed themselves, Long Tianming sat down on his chair and began fiddling with a black medal engraved with a sinister demon beast.
The corner of his mouth raised into a cold smile. "Situ Beiyan, I refuse to believe that you can win against me. Me who has the help of the Demon God's Sect!"
Crimsonblood's face darkened and I pulled him away while dragging him back to his pavilion. There I told him coldly. "That should be enough proof for anyone, including Hierarch Linglong. Either way I ask that you wait for Nie Li to become acting sect master before you do whatever you plan to, to Long Tianming. He deserves to see his hopes and dreams crushed before he dies."
Crimsonblood stilled before nodding. "I must share this with the others though so that we can prepare to cut the problems at the roots of the matter."
I nodded. "There are others I'm sure of that but for now I've only my suspicions and a list I've made of those at least being used to complete his goals. How complicit or knowledgeable they are, I have yet to find out. Perhaps a memory search will answer that in more detail but for now I ask that you take no direct action against them to show our hand."
He mulled it over before asking. "What stage have you achieved?"
I smirked. "I'm at the very peak of martial ancestor realm. As for how powerful that is, I've yet to test it. I have however felt the barrier into deity rank, the level above martial ancestor."
His eyebrows disappeared and I chuckled. "This too I'd like to keep secret for now. I will only reveal myself when it's time, until then I ask that you don't tell the others about me yet."
He furrowed his brows. "Why?"
I shrugged and gave him a smile. "I want to see the shock on their faces when they see me for the first time during the selections."
He nodded before sighing. "You've given me much to think about."
I chuckled. "Indeed I have. Now, I've things to do before now and then so I'll be taking my leave."
I left in a blur like any stage five dao of the dragon realm expert would. As soon as I was at the walls of the sect, I fused with my shadow king demon spirit and left. For the next week I fused with my bloody dragonwolf and slaughtered dragon bloodline demon beasts for leagues in every direction.
I enjoyed the thrill of them fleeing and the crunch and snap of their spines as they died. Their dying screams drawing more and more demon beasts in as I killed them all. Millions were slaughtered by my hands and none were spared or escaped.
When I returned to the sect I saw a brief glimpse of Lucifer smiling. Ignoring it I headed to the courtyard Nie Li bought and went into my scroll. There I refilled the arrays that needed spirit stones and began refining demon spirits.
Another week passed in the outside world as two and a half months went by inside my scroll. I'd finished refining the demon spirits into god growth rate dragon bloodlines before I turned to refining more elixirs.
Outside another two and a half months passed as I defined more and more elixers inside and cultivated. Two years had passed inside my scroll at that point and I'd broken through only five times. It truly became a lot harder even with the elixirs fueling me. The heavenly god cultivation technique simply required too much divine energy, a step above heavenly energy, to break through.
I'd ended up refining a whole divine phaseless fruit into elixirs in that time. When I came out I found Nie Li and a moment later he passed out. I touched him and found what was wrong. His master had been found out as she'd purposefully removed her tattoos to hide the changes in the sect.
I locked into her location as the deity rank beast found her. I spread my consciousness out and teleported repeatedly until I arrived at her side. The beast stilled and I smirked as I tethered to it smiling. "Become my food!"
I drained it with thousands of tethers from my world tree inside me. It and my soul realm has mutated into a boundless world full of heavenly energy when I'd broken through to deity rank. The beast screamed as I'd wanted it to while I sent Ying Yueru into my scroll and turned to the Asura looking beast as I grew in size.
I smiled and told it. "Scream for me, draw in others so that I might feast. I will bathe in the blood of your allies."
We clashed several thousand times in a fraction of a second, until finally I took it's head. I tossed it's body into my ring and turned to the presences watching me. "Come our come out wherever you are. I'll make a meal of everyone for I am the end."
I kept catching glimpses of Lucifer smiling proudly as I spoke. A dozen deity servants of the sage emperor appeared as millions of tethers reached them all. They tried to resist but under emperor rank, I reigned supreme.
I beat them like I was tenderizing their flesh and bones or what passed for it anyway. Their essence and divine energy was being drained away at a rapid pace now as finally they too simply faded away. For humans who reached our level, we had no bodies to behead and keep. We were essentially energy held together by our will and intent and powered by our divinity.
Feeling slightly full, I looked around for any more takers and found none. They all shied away while the others had died. With a thought I returned to the sect and woke up Nie Li. He was confused saying his master was about to die until something happened.
I patted his shoulders and told him what I'd done. He was shocked to say the least as he hadn't expected me to have advanced so fast until I reminded him of the fruit and my time ability. Then he smacked his own forehead and asked if I'd do the same for him and his people.
I took everyone he selected into my scroll and tossed went inside to explain everything to them. Ying Yueru was there to greet him and was shocked herself at all the martial ancestors roaming about. Every member of the sky origin clan I'd taken in had achieved this realm in the last two and a half years.
They were a bit slow as they weren't exactly the cream of the crop, but the weakest was stage five martial ancestor while the strongest were beginner deity ranks.
Four days later we exited my scroll and headed to the sect master selection.
Center of the Divine Feathers Sect
Various experts of the sect rose into the air.
The sky above the Divine Feathers Sect was filled with hundreds of bobbing heads.
After all, the Divine Feathers Sect was one of the supreme major sects. Therefore, they still held rather amazing strength. Aside from the inner sector, there were also more than three hundred sixty outer sectors who'd sent members to take part in the sacred ceremony.
At the peak of the sky, five massive figures appeared. The five Martial Ancestor Realms of the Divine Feathers Sect; three men, and two women with seven-coloured lights circulating their bodies. You couldn't clearly see their faces, but you could tell that they were dignified beings.
These were the five Hierarchs of the Divine Feathers Sect.
Their leader was the current Sect Master, Hierarch Martialsky. The others were Hierarch Linglong, Skycloud, Crimsonblood, and Dragonblaze.
These five Hierarchs held the majestic status as the pillars of the Divine Feathers Sect. Even though there were many grand elders within the sect, those experts usually didn't leave their seclusion. Therefore, most of the decisions were usually left to the five Hierarchs.
Hierarch Martialsky's voice resounded throughout the Divine Feathers Sect. "I believe everyone knows why we've gathered the disciples of the sect here, today. In the past few days, my cultivation reached the 7-stage of Martial Ancestor Realm. I'm required to go into seclusion to aim for a higher cultivation. Matters in the sect will be left to the Acting Sect Master. Today, we choose this Acting Sect Master!"
"Sect Master, please reveal!"
The voices in Divine Feathers Sect were standardised.
"The Acting Sect Master must be chosen from the members of the sect. Who do you think is fitting?" Hierarch Martialsky's burning gaze swept over the crowd.
Over the month inside my scroll he'd broken through to dao of the dragon and had advanced to the fifth rank. We stood amongst the crowd now watching the proceedings. I sent a telepathic message to Crimsonblood, letting him know we were here.
He spoke to a few elders amongst the crowd in secret and once all was ready, Hierarch Martialsky, the sect master spoke up.
"The selection for the Acting Sect Master begins. The elders will state their nominations. Those who've been named by at least ten elders qualify to compete for the Acting Sect Master's position," Hierarch Martialsky declared.
There were a little over two hundred elders in the entirety of the Divine Feathers Sect. Therefore, earning those qualifications was actually rather simple.
But what surprised everyone was the fact that the only ones who'd actually earned the qualifications were Long Tianming, Situ Beiyan and Nie Li. Sixty-one elders had nominated Long Tianming, while another fifty-three nominated Situ Beiyan. Finally Nie Li only received the qualifying ten, barely enough to take part.
Hierarch Martialsky declared. "So we have three individuals chosen. Very well, all three of you will battle it out with your forces for all to see."
"Now, it's time to examine your forces and leadership qualities. The three of you may begin!" Hierarch Martialsky smiled and waved his hand.
The various experts of the Divine Feathers Sect backed off to make space in the center.
Long Tianming and Situ Beiyan brought their men and lined up on two sides. Each side had at least tens of thousands of experts. While Nie Li stood beside a cloaked me in the center, between both sides.
Fighting intent soared up there in the sky. A huge battle will soon unfold.
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone