Chapter 195: Chapter 193: 2 Pieces of Bad News
The Lake Heart Island was arranged just as it had been when Ancestor Yangg was alive.
On one side of the main island was a floating isle, its terrain flat with a slight bulge at the center. It was covered in moss and aquatic plants but had very few trees.
As Bai Zichen’s Sword Light descended, the floating isle swayed, revealing two lantern-sized vertical pupils that stared at him, filled with the weight of ages.
’Old turtle, if you’d just show a little more promise, Feiyue Lake would be as steady as a rock...’
This floating island was, in fact, the thousand-year-old turtle that Ancestor Yangg had taken as his Spirit Beast.
It had already been a Tier Two Peak Demon Beast, and Ancestor Yangg had spent a great sum of Spirit Stones to purchase several types of elixirs from the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect, made specifically for Spirit Beasts.
Some enhanced its Demon Power, some nourished its vitality, and others were meant to awaken its Spiritual Wisdom.
When Bai Zichen had visited the island a few years ago, Ancestor Yangg had mentioned that the old turtle was just a step away from becoming a Tier Three Spirit Beast.
The edges of the thousand-year-old turtle’s carapace were already turning golden, and it had even grown sharp teeth.
The two protrusions on its head were more pronounced, looking as if something was about to burst forth at any moment.
Its Dragon Turtle bloodline was slowly manifesting.
Once it broke through to become a Tier Three Spirit Beast, with a Dragon Turtle’s defensive capabilities, even a typical Core Formation True Man would find it difficult to harm.
For a turtle-type Spirit Beast, however, this final step could take decades, or even centuries.
"Senior Brother Bai, you’ve arrived... You killed another Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivator a few days ago. It was a huge boost to morale, and all the disciples in the Sect are invigorated."
A scholarly-looking young man with a reserved temperament flew over from behind him.
His gaze followed Bai Zichen’s to the old turtle, and he said, "Before the Ancestor left for the Sect, he dissolved the Spirit Beast Contract with it and signed a new, special one in its place... If it doesn’t advance in rank, it will remain the Sect’s Spirit Beast for the rest of its life. But if it becomes a Tier Three Dragon Turtle, it only needs to guard the Sect for five hundred years to earn its freedom."
A Tier Three Demon Beast’s Spiritual Wisdom is already awakened. Some Demon Beasts with special bloodlines can even refine their Transverse Bone and learn to speak human language.
Unless it’s a Lifebound Spiritual Beast raised from birth, or the master’s cultivation is stronger than—or at least not weaker than—the Spirit Beast’s, a situation where the beast is stronger than the human can easily lead to the Spirit Beast resisting its contract and becoming uncontrollable.
If Ancestor Yangg hadn’t dissolved the Spirit Beast Contract, the old turtle would have died with him.
But with the contract dissolved, no one in the Sect other than Ancestor Ge Cang could control the thousand-year-old turtle.
So he established a relatively lenient contract instead, ensuring the old turtle would willingly remain at Feiyue Lake even after a successful advancement.
Perhaps after five hundred years, it will have grown so accustomed to the place that it won’t leave even after regaining its freedom.
Even if that didn’t happen, five hundred years was equivalent to the entire lifespan of a Core Formation True Man.
For a Tier Three Dragon Turtle, however, it was just a small fraction of its long lifespan.
"I see."
Bai Zichen retracted his gaze and turned to the scholarly cultivator before him. "Junior Brother Su, your Divine Light is contained, yet it seems you’ve had a breakthrough?"
"It’s but a minor path, nothing compared to you, Senior Brother Bai... Two months ago, I finally succeeded in creating a Tier Two Top-Grade Mountain Shaking Talisman, but it took five sets of Talisman-Making Materials just to make one. After two months of practice, my success rate has stabilized at over fifty percent. I suppose I can barely be considered a Tier Two Top-Grade Talisman Master now."
For the disciples of the Alchemy, Talisman, and Artifact Refining Halls, the Sect war had become a rare opportunity.
All inventories were opened up, providing an unlimited supply. They were Opening the Furnace and Refining Pills daily, the Earth Fire burned night after night, and precious Talisman Paper, Demon Beast blood, and Vermilion were delivered in a constant stream.
In these few years, many disciples accumulated a wealth of experience, taking their proficiency in the Hundred Skills of Cultivation to the next level.
Compared to Alchemy and Artifact Refining, the consumption of Talismans was far greater, as they had a more direct impact on combat.
Tier Two Talisman Masters like Su Li worked virtually without rest all year, becoming little more than Talisman-Making machines.
The high-intensity work, however, had unlocked his potential for Talisman Making, allowing his performance in the Talisman Dao to surpass even that of his master, Luoo Changkong, in his youth.
Worthy of someone with an innate Talisman Spirit Body who had also inherited the legacy of a Tier Four Talisman Master from the Stele.
"I told you back then, the Dao of Talismans is also a path to comprehend the will of heaven and grasp the Great Dao... It’s by no means a minor path, but a grand and Righteous Dao. You need not be so self-deprecating."
Bai Zichen had noticed that ever since reaching Foundation Establishment, the once-proud genius of the Talisman Dao had vanished, replaced by someone overly humble and low-key.
On the Lake Heart Island, several Foundation Establishment Cultivators had already gathered.
In addition to cultivators from the Qingfeng Sect, there were also several nearby Cultivation Families who, unable to resist the Ghost Spirit Sect’s invasion, had retreated with their clans into the Feiyue Lake Grand Array.
Take the Liu Family of Monkey Mountain, for example. After the pioneering wars of the past, they had paid a great price to obtain Monkey Mountain, a Tier Two Spirit Vein.
The entire clan had toiled and bled to build up Monkey Mountain, intending to pass it down as the Clan’s foundation for a hundred generations.
They never expected the disastrous news of the Ghost Spirit Sect invading Black Mountain, forcing them to abandon Monkey Mountain and move the entire clan to Feiyue Lake.
The Three Thousand Six Hundred Rings Water Smoke Array covered such a vast area that accommodating another ten Liu Families would not have been a problem.
Other Cultivation Families might have considered defecting to the Ghost Spirit Sect.
But the Liu Family of Monkey Mountain had no such inclination; their only choice was to follow the Qingfeng Sect to the very end.
They had originally migrated to Black Mountain County after being caught up in a war between the Righteous and Demon paths, forced to abandon their homeland after offending a Demon Path Sect.
Although they hadn’t heard of any close ties between that Demon Path Sect and the Ghost Spirit Sect, the Liu Family dared not take the risk.
If the two Demon Path Sects happened to be connected and compared notes, they would find the Liu Family right under the Ghost Spirit Sect’s jurisdiction. A single message could get the entire Liu Family offered up as a blood sacrifice.
One could only imagine the frustration of the Liu Family, having been forced to abandon their Spirit Land and relocate twice in just a few decades.
The moment Bai Zichen appeared, everyone from the Sect Elders to the Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the other clans proactively came forward to greet him.
Their attitude was enthusiastic, their tone soft and deferential, treating him as someone a cut above themselves.
Bai Zichen’s battle record was simply too brilliant. Since the war began, nearly half of the Foundation Establishment Cultivators the Ghost Spirit Sect had lost were killed by his hand.
He had single-handedly carved out a hundred-li perimeter around Feiyue Lake, completely free of any trace of Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators.
As long as one didn’t venture too far out, the surrounding area seemed no different than it was before the war.
"Now that everyone’s here, I’ve called you all today for two main reasons."
Zhou Suqing sat in the seat of honor. As the only Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator at Feiyue Lake, she could be considered the Master of this place.
However, despite her high Cultivation, she lacked prestige in the eyes of the others. After all, her past battle record was far too ’impressive’.
But Bai Zichen, the only one who could possibly challenge her position, had no such inclination and was in fact extremely cooperative, leaving those who harbored ulterior motives helpless.
’As if I have nothing better to do than fight Senior Sister Zhou for the Master’s authority over Feiyue Lake. With an enemy at our gates, internal strife would be utterly ridiculous... Besides, without her, who would control the Tier Three Array? Me, a Tier One Mid-Grade Array Master? Or this bunch of useless trash?’
Bai Zichen’s eyes grew cold as he thought of the few who had come to visit him time and time again. Unable to gain an audience, they had left letters, both overtly and covertly trying to instigate him into vying for power.
Things like ’in this time of crisis, only Elder Bai stepping forward can stabilize the situation.’
Or ’Junior Brother Bai’s combat prowess is unparalleled. As the esteemed Supervisor Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, a position on par with a Vice Hall Master, he ought to bear more responsibility.’
’If you are willing, Junior Brother, I would be glad to propose it at the meeting and even rally the other Elders.’
’The great enemy is at our doorstep. Once we’ve repelled the Ghost Spirit Sect, I’ll use my authority as Supervisor Elder to deal with you all properly...’
Zhou Suqing’s hair was already shot with silver, and her face was lined with age. For the past few years, she had single-handedly maintained the Grand Array, constantly keeping the Three Thousand Six Hundred Rings Water Smoke Array at its maximum protective power. The toll on her Heart Power was severe, leaving her utterly exhausted.
There had been an Array Hall Elder at Feiyue Lake, a Tier Two Array Master who could have shared some of the burden.
Unfortunately, he had returned to the main sect mountain right before the Grand Array was activated and was now cut off, unable to get back. This left her to manage the Array’s core all alone.
"The Sect sent a message. A few days ago, Junior Brother Luo Guangwu was leading a team of disciples back from a mission. As they retreated into the Mountain Gate’s Grand Array, he stayed behind to cover their escape and was intercepted by a Ghost Spirit Sect Foundation Establishment Cultivator... He unfortunately fell in battle, but he took his opponent down with him."
Zhou Suqing’s face was filled with sorrow as she first announced the death.
He was the fifth Foundation Establishment Elder the Qingfeng Sect had lost since the war began.
The Tier Three Array allowed for extremely detailed messages to be sent between Feiyue Lake and the main Sect, but each transmission consumed a Top-Grade Spirit Stone.
That was why Zhou Suqing’s side almost exclusively received messages and never initiated sending them.
Bai Zichen was stunned for a moment, and an image connected to the somewhat unfamiliar name surfaced in his memory.
It was that Brother Luo, the one who had called himself Black Mountain’s First Sword Cultivator before Bai Zichen had even reached Foundation Establishment.
The very same Brother Luo who had put on the airs of a senior Sword Cultivator and shamelessly offered to guide and instruct him.
And the same Brother Luo who had fallen silent and known when to back off after hearing Bai Zichen had slain the Golden-Winged Thunder Roc.
’I never thought Brother Luo would die too. I didn’t realize he was so unyielding. He truly lived up to his words from that day: ’We Sword Cultivators are fierce beyond compare; we would rather break than bend’...’
Although the two of them had no friendship and had even had some minor conflicts, Bai Zichen still raised his teacup in the direction of the Sect. Using the tea in place of wine, he poured it onto the ground as a tribute.
"The second matter is that new Core Formation True Men have appeared in Black Mountain... Based on their appearances and methods, they are believed to be the Nine-Child Yin Demon and Jiang Yuhua."
"The Nine-Child Yin Demon?"
The color drained from Patriarch Liu’s face. He had personally experienced the war between the Righteous and Demon paths and was very knowledgeable about high-level Demon Path cultivators.
"That demon abducted dozens of Immortal Seedlings from the Righteous Alliance’s territory and blood-sacrificed them all to increase his own power! He was hunted by the Righteous Alliance until he had nowhere left to run and sought refuge under Blood God True Man. How could he be in Black Mountain?"
"Patriarch Liu, since you know about this demon, please tell us everything."
An impatient Elder, unable to wait for Zhou Suqing to speak, directly questioned Patriarch Liu.
The news was truly appalling. Just when it seemed there might be a turning point in the war, the Ghost Spirit Sect had gained two more Core Formation Cultivators.
This would have a critical impact on the Qingfeng Sect’s morale and the overall course of the war.
"This demon was originally a Loose Cultivator who obtained a Cultivation Technique from a powerful Demon Cultivator who lived several thousand years ago. He and his sworn brother cultivated it together, and both successfully reached Core Formation..."
Patriarch Liu’s voice trembled slightly, revealing the terror in his heart.
The Nine-Child Yin Demon has an Early-Stage Core Formation Cultivation. The Demon Skill he practices creates nine Naked Infants filled with monstrous resentment that specialize in seizing the Divine Souls of cultivators.
He is brutal by nature and massacres towns at the slightest provocation. Even among Demon Cultivators, he is considered utterly depraved, the kind who has committed every evil imaginable.
