Chapter 120: Divine Punishment
Chapter 120: Divine Punishment
“It actually requires True-Soul Dual Cultivation!”
Li Si was quite surprised. If that was the case, didn’t it mean there was no need for the Soul Cultivators and True Cultivators to be enemies and despise each other? They just needed more effort and time. Even if the cultivation speed was slower, True-Soul Dual Cultivation was possible.
After all, this made sense. Li Si refused to believe this cultivation world lacked concepts similar to cultivating both life essence and spiritual essence, achieving harmony of form and spirit.
Why did it have to be split into Soul Cultivators and True Cultivators?
It felt like there was a huge conspiracy here.
“The key to this probably lies with those Spirit Cultivation Sects that vanished one by one three thousand years ago. If they all went to the Land of Infinitesimal, there was no need to take every new initiate and servant along with them. Not even ascending to immortality with everything left behind required that.”
Li Si decided he would ask the Old Madam or the Mysterious Bride Xia Xiaowan for answers once he got back.
This wasn’t him being bored out of his mind. The disappearance of the Spirit Cultivation Sects just had too many similarities to the vanishing of that small city yesterday.
Next, Li Si ordered the Mountain Guardian Deity to protect him. He himself ducked directly into the Temple, taking the Divine Idol’s place, and began cultivating the third layer of the Lanshan Sect’s Lamp-Lighting Void-Crossing Scripture.
This was necessary. Otherwise, he couldn’t gather the hundred thousand points of Soul Power needed to unleash the Primal Divine Ability: Clear Heart Spell.
Once he began cultivating, the eight Fallen Mountain Deities outside started making trouble again. They tried all sorts of tests and provocations. But Li Si was inside the Temple, not giving them a chance to look directly at him. Without that, these eight Fallen Mountain Deities couldn’t disturb him.
Unless, of course, they were willing to charge into his hundred-mile domain. That would suit Li Si just fine.
In the end, after much commotion, they finally quieted down.
As for Li Si, his progress in cultivating the third layer of the Lamp-Lighting Void-Crossing Scripture wasn’t slow. Half a day yielded roughly 4% progress. In a full day and night, he could definitely gather up around 10%.
That meant in only ten days, he could reach the Spirit Journey realm, equivalent to the Golden Core Realm.
“No choice now. I’ll have to skip duties at Kaoshan City.”
Li Si felt helpless too. His Statue Avatar could handle many troubles for him, but this one was beyond it.
Luckily, he could still remotely fine-tune everything in Kaoshan City.
He could ensure no major trouble occurred.
Three days flashed by. Nothing significant happened in Kaoshan City or the Floating Cloud Sect’s base.
Except one Fallen Mountain Deity lost control and tried to charge inside. It was instantly crippled by the Yunhua Law Seal. Li Si then finished it off entirely, reaping the harvest.
Gained 1500 bundles of White Fortune kindling…
Everything became quiet again after that.
——
“It’s already the seventh day. That Kaoshan Patriarch still hasn’t launched a sneak attack. Did he sense something?”
“That shouldn’t be! Reliable sources say this Kaoshan Patriarch acts bizarrely and excels at ambushes. No reason he’d ignore Blackstone Town.”
One hundred and fifty miles south of Kaoshan City, along the Blackwater River, within Blackstone Town, several shadowy figures whispered to each other.
They were truly shadows, like paper cut-out figures made purely of darkness.
Their voices were extremely low. A normal person hearing them would only hear noise.
“We cannot wait any longer. News came from the north. The Plain City’s tens of thousands of troops vanished into ash instantly. Not even their civilians survived.”
“Was a Divine Sacrifice activated?”
“No. If our Lord’s Divine Sacrifice was activated, traces would be left on the Divine Network. This was clearly some other, far more powerful force intervening instantly. Our Lord’s Divine Network didn’t even have time to react.”
The shadowy figures kept whispering.
“Regardless, these leftover cultivator remnants must be eradicated quickly. Otherwise, the longer we delay, the more power the Kaoshan Patriarch and the Floating Cloud Sect remnants will build up.”
“Should we use Divine Punishment?” one shadow suddenly proposed.
The other shadows froze. Divine Punishment… yes, that was possible. The simplest, most efficient, most brutal method.
Except the last time the Sacred Raven Kingdom used Divine Punishment was a hundred years ago. That time, the Kingdom sacrificed a million civilians and successfully destroyed the city held by the Jiuxuan Spirit Sword Sect. Also, from that battle, the Jiuxuan Spirit Sword Sect never recovered. Only its leader, Jiuxuanzi, escaped. But the sect’s main force—including two Divine Transformation experts, twelve Nascent Soul experts, and dozens of Golden Core experts—were all slaughtered.
It was a glorious victory.
A chapter of significant historical weight, a triumph for the Sacred Raven Kingdom. One battle shattered the spines of the cultivator remnants.
“It’s only been a hundred years. The number of Vegetable People hasn’t recovered enough to meet Divine Punishment conditions,” one shadow countered.
“Correct. Kaoshan City isn’t the Spirit Sword City of old. Besides the Kaoshan Patriarch, they don’t even have one Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.”
“Hmph! If we don’t use Divine Punishment, how do you propose we attack Kaoshan City? Want to experience the power of the Land Deed Seal firsthand? So far, we’ve lost seven Bloodline Divine Emissaries. Our Lord only allocated one hundred Bloodline Divine Emissaries to the entire Sacred Raven Kingdom. Without their help suppressing them, will those nobles in the Kingdom, or even the temple priests, stay obedient?”
“They wouldn’t dare rebel! Our Lord’s gaze is upon them!”
“They wouldn’t dare rebel, true. But they’d dare to drag their feet, making excuses. Those nobles all come from surrendering cultivation families and sects. They are cunning. They watch for opportunities constantly. And right now, we still need them to pacify and manage the Vegetable People.”
“Vegetable People are our Lord’s wealth, the best leverage against those cultivator remnants. If they die out, we’ll meet a bad end.”
“In short, now is not the time for Divine Punishment. Think of another way.”
“Perhaps it’s time to recruit those near-human creatures.”
“The Demon Tribe?”
“Part of it, yes. Those among the Demon Tribe thirsty for power. Also, the Evil Spirits, and the fallen ones. Remember those nine Fallen Mountain Deities in the Western Wild Mountains? Grant them power.”
——
“Still no word from Li Si?”
At the Floating Cloud Sect camp in Kaoshan City, the Old Madam had unexpectedly logged off. Her first question was about this.
“It’s been eight days. I went daily to the Kaoshan City Temple asking that Wang Wu. But he was evasive, never giving a straight answer. I requested an audience with the Kaoshan Patriarch, but he never permitted it. That fool Li Si! When he gets back, I swear I’ll hang him up and thrash him thoroughly with a water-soaked whip. Only then will I calm down.”
Jiang Ying was seething with anger, mixed with unbearable worry.
The Old Madam lifted her eyelids slightly. “This… Kaoshan Patriarch. Have Divine Decrees descended recently?”
“Yes, daily. Occasionally there was Divine Grace too. But I always felt that crafty old man was playing tricks!”
The Old Madam glanced at Jiang Ying. “Li Si is probably not in mortal danger. But the Evil God Cult’s Ghost Shadows have arrived. Five of them. Do you know what that signifies?”
“Divine Punishment!”
Jiang Ying shuddered, terror flashing in her eyes, mixed with deep sorrow. A hundred years ago, the Floating Cloud Sect and the Jiuxuan Spirit Sword Sect were merged. Together, they occupied Spirit Sword City. The situation was bright. They already had two Divine Transformation realm experts, one of whom was her father. But when the Evil God Cult failed to take the city through repeated strong assaults, they despicably performed a Divine Punishment by sacrificing a million innocent civilians.
That battle was a sea of blood. Jiang Ying remembered the scenes until now.
Later, they learned those behind this Divine Punishment were these very Ghost Shadows – utterly mysterious beings. They arrived in this world alongside the Bloodline Divine Emissaries, sent by the Evil God. They were also the ones who built the Evil God Cult from scratch.
“Master, what do we do?”
Jiang Ying trembled uncontrollably. Was this hard-won dawn about to be destroyed again?
The Old Madam remained silent. This news about the Ghost Shadows came from the Mysterious Bride Xia Xiaowan’s intelligence. Otherwise, she’d be unaware. But against that kind of Divine Punishment fueled by a million sacrifices… unless she brought her true form into the Mortal Realm, she couldn’t intervene at all.
But now, the front line of the war between the Mortal Realm and the Illusory Realm grew tenser by the day. Countless Void Evil Entities and Evil Spirits were birthed daily, their power spiraling out of control due to the Devil Mushrooms. They rapidly devoured everything, becoming powerful Void Evil Spirits.
A single one of these powerful Void Evil Spirits entering the Mortal Realm would surely unleash a sea of blood.
Worse, they’d gradually cause pockets of the Mortal Realm to exhibit traits of the Illusory Void.
It was like slowly nibbling away at the Mortal Realm.
The Mortal Realm was the foundation of everything. Without it, the only path to the Land of Infinite Vastness would be severed.
The Old Madam thought long and hard. Inside, she heaved a weary sigh. She had endured a millennium. How much longer must she endure?
If not for the monstrously talented disciple Li Si appearing recently, she wouldn’t have held out until now. Otherwise, maybe this time, it wouldn’t be Muan assassinated; it would be her. This wasn’t a joke. Before, she holed up daily in the Hall of Fate, gambling all. She had foreseen it – some unknown mastermind behind the scenes had their gaze on her, waiting for a chance to create some ‘perfect’ opportunity for her to fall to demonic cultivation.
“Such a shame. If Divine Punishment comes, even a prodigy as monstrous as Li Si would be useless.”
Though thinking this, she comforted Jiang Ying: “Ghost Shadows appearing doesn’t necessarily mean Divine Punishment will follow. Today’s Kaoshan City is no match for ancient Spirit Sword City. And if those Ghost Shadows truly dare unleash Divine Punishment… well, then this master won’t need to struggle any longer. Even if I must fall into demonic cultivation, I will protect you all.”
“Master, no!” Jiang Ying burst into tears.
The Old Madam smiled faintly and logged back in.
Time to seek reinforcements. Or arrange an escape route. How about the desert? To keep Jiuxuanzi company? Instantly, Zhao Qingxie’s spirit returned to her True Immortal form at the border between the Illusory Realm and the Mortal Realm. Here, the Mysterious Bride Xia Xiaowan smoothly dispatched countless Phantasmal Aberrations attempting to cross the boundary. Weaker Evil Entities and Evil Spirits she simply let pass.
“Where is Li Si?”
Zhao Qingxie asked bluntly. Simultaneously, she unleashed a vast storm of lightning, covering hundreds of miles, clearing the area utterly. Her coordination with Xia Xiaowan grew ever more seamless: one handled the monstrously powerful targets, while the other swept the entire battlefield with overwhelming force. Effortlessly, two people handled the workload of four.
Had it not been for the Ghost Shadows, Zhao Qingxie would have been in excellent spirits right now.
“I don’t know. I don’t interfere with his actions in the Mortal Realm. Frankly, that’s your concern,” replied Xia Xiaowan, still veiled by her large red bridal headpiece. Behind her, thirty-six Soul Lamps hovered, illuminating a radius of three thousand miles. They flowed outward endlessly, delivering one-hit kills even to Evil Immortal Level Phantasmal Aberrations.
“He’s been missing for eight days.”
“Impossible. He visited the Qi Luck Hall this very morning.”
“What trick is he playing?” A flicker of killing intent surfaced on Zhao Qingxie’s beautiful face. That little brat! Was he deliberately avoiding her? Truly deserved a thorough thrashing while hanging upside-down.
“Fairy Qingxie, calm yourself. You fixate too much on this disciple. Do you still hope he’ll give you a pleasant surprise? Stop dreaming. With his talent? You’re better off contacting Jiuxuanzi instead. If those Ghost Shadows are planning Divine Punishment on the Mortal Realm, we must intervene. I arrived too late when Spirit Sword City faced Divine Punishment last time. I would have intervened no matter the cost. This time, I won’t make that mistake again. I’m sick of placing hopes in you lot, only to get ashes in return.”
“This time, I shall personally save the Mortal Realm.”
Zhao Qingxie gave a cold sneer, deeming it pointless to argue with this ghost woman. Who didn’t understand the principles? But she had unspoken difficulties. A thousand years ago, she barely advanced to True Immortal before her realm even stabilized, the world underwent massive changes.
Over this passing millennium, the original seven Dao Hearts she gained diminished to five. Several days ago, another shattered.
So, barring unforeseen events, the next one targeted for falling into demonic cultivation was most likely her.