Chapter 163: My Friends Are All So Righteous and Noble

Li Si was sleeping— oh wait, cultivating.

Suddenly, his mind shook violently. It felt like something huge was happening, but before he could check, the Yunhua Law Seal blazed with light, manifesting in the physical world for the very first time.

Within this endless radiance, he could clearly see towering mountains thousands of feet high, mighty flowing rivers, vast fertile plains, mysterious forests, a surging ocean, and scattered stars— it was as if an entire world had been brought here.

Li Si suddenly felt suffocated. He clearly sensed that this very land, this world, was about to crash down upon him. Not with malice, but the problem was, could his little frame withstand it?

Crack! Crack! The ground beneath him instantly gave way. He was driven into the earth like a nail, with only his head left above ground.

And then… there was no ‘then’.

Li Si watched helplessly as exactly 500 portions of Purple Qi Luck were absorbed into the Fate Forge without even a ripple.

But he had no time to ponder what this meant anymore, because for some unknown reason, the Yunhua Law Seal had just been infused with 5000 portions of Purple Qi Luck— the Fortune of Heaven and Earth.

What the… was this? Inflation?

In an incredibly short time, the Yunhua Law Seal leveled up three times consecutively. The area it covered and suppressed, previously extending three thousand li in all directions, rapidly expanded to ten thousand li. It could have kept expanding, easily reaching thirty thousand li.

But Li Si slammed on the brakes and stopped it.

The reason was simple: blind expansion was a bad idea. The strength and health of an economic entity had nothing to do with the size of its territory. Healthy internal and external circulation was what mattered.

Would it be healthy to truly encompass an area thirty thousand li across?

Head three thousand li south, and you’d find the ruins of the Floating Cloud Sect’s gate. An earth-shattering bloodbath had happened there. Tens of thousands of Floating Cloud Sect disciples, tens of thousands of Jiuxuan Spirit Sword Sect disciples, and billions of mortals perished there. Li Si always took a detour around that place. If the Yunhua Law Seal dared to extend its reach there, it would just turn the area into a nasty tumor for the kingdom!

Stretching three thousand li west could encompass the Lingjing Sect. But that was fine only if Lingjingzi willingly sacrificed his Dao Foundation Immortal Body; otherwise, it was just an unstable element.

That wasn’t even the worst of it. There was that Demonic Dragon who had been hiding for ten million years… heh.

And that was just north and west. The areas east and north hadn’t even been scouted properly yet.

In short: expansion? No way.

Of course, the price for doing this was that Li Si’s Calamity Progress Bar jumped right back— no, leapt— from 18% to -100%. The calamities had increased. The Mortal Realm was safer. It was just Brother Li shouldering all the burden.

But -100%? What kind of nonsense was that?

Climbing out of the pit, Li Si stretched his body and specifically checked his information screen. He found it very strange. Now, there were 500 more portions of Purple Qi Luck in the Fate Forge. Was the Demonic Dragon Pendant an idiot? Why hadn’t it taken one-third?

Bro, not cool! Why didn’t you stab me in the back? Bro? Say something!

So, Li Si decided to try an experiment. He withdrew one portion of Purple Qi Luck from the Fate Forge. Before he could even enjoy it properly, the Demonic Dragon Pendant gleamed with a mysterious, unknown light. It seemed to plunder something, making Li Si feel slightly lighter instantly.

“Warning: The Demonic Dragon has plundered 0.3 portions of Purple Qi Luck belonging to you. It has also cruelly and heartlessly plundered 10% of your Calamity Qi. Your current Calamity Progress Bar is -90%.”

Cruelly and heartlessly? My foot! That’s the epitome of righteousness and nobility!

Li Si promptly shoved the remaining 0.7 portions of Purple Qi Luck back into the Fate Forge, then immediately pulled out another single portion.

Whoosh!

The Demonic Dragon Pendant lit up with a mysterious, unknown, and utterly overbearing light. It plundered another 0.3 portions of Purple Qi Luck and 10% Calamity Qi.

Tears welled up in Li Si’s eyes. Eldest brother! I’ve always wanted an elder brother! Let’s swear brotherhood! Ancient times had the Three Oath-Brothers of the Peach Garden; today, we have the Two Brothers of the Forge!

Stabbed in the back! Aid in times of need! Brotherhood sworn with mutual trust!

Talking about you!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Demonic Dragon Pendant continuously flashed with its inscrutable, fiercely cool, awesomely dramatic, and unknowable light, resolutely shouldering everything for Li Si.

Within thirty short seconds, Li Si sacrificed three portions of Purple Qi Luck. He successfully dragged the Calamity Progress Bar from -100% back to its starting value. Turns out all that hard work over the past few days was wasted! The love Xia Xiaowan gifted me went down the drain. Sorry! I’m trash!

Hmm. Again!

Crack!

The Demonic Dragon Pendant suddenly cracked. It shattered!

Li Si’s eyes bulged. His whole heart bled. His entire body trembled. His face turned ashen. His lips trembled. Large, fat tears rolled down his cheeks, splashing onto the ground and turning into… pearls. Ugh! Find a different word!

Why?!

This symbolized our brotherly bond! Eldest brother! Eldest brother! Are you there?

Are you okay, Eldest brother?

If you’re still alive, squeak something!

The Demonic Dragon Pendant crumbled into dust, existing no more. It really was a sad story.

What could Li Si say? Life was destined to experience wind, frost, rain, snow, and betrayal too. An elder brother like this? Better off gone.

Wait… Li Si suddenly widened his eyes, staring at the star-marked friend on his friend list— the Demonic Dragon was still there! It hadn’t blocked him! Hey! That was a brother sharing both hardship and joy.

Then, Li Si went back to cultivating. Nonsense! Nothing big happened anyway! Just that the Yunhua Law Seal’s coverage got a bit bigger, but I’d already curbed the inflation.

Currently, all parties were emotionally stable. If not cultivating, what else was there to do?

Speaking of which, hadn’t seen Big Fly for a long time. Oh wait, it had only been half a month? Time had really slowed down.

He raised his head and looked at the starry sky. So pure.

Wait? After the Yunhua Law Seal leveled up again, it granted three divine ascension slots?

Kinda troublesome. Li Si casually allocated one of them to Ji Yuan of the Heaven-Mending Sect, instantly boosting him from the Divine Transformation Realm straight into the Void Refinement Realm.

He gave the second slot to Mi Zhou’er, instantly boosting her from the Nascent Soul Realm into the Divine Transformation Realm.

As for the third one, Li Si thought of the Lingjing Sect. If they had agreed to relocate here earlier, this divine position absolutely would have been reserved for them. Guaranteed, it would have gone to Cao Yu.

But now? Beyond my reach.

Whatever. Trash recycling then.

Li Si directly sent a Divine Decree to the leader of the Northern Alliance, the City Lord of Southern Crossing City, Bai Chu. He instructed him to be diligent, obedient, and caring towards the people, blah blah blah.

Only after that did he bestow the divine position upon this lucky guy. Instantly, it upgraded Bai Chu from the Nascent Soul Realm to the Divine Transformation Realm.

Thus, Li Si’s territory now had six deities working shifts for him. Hey, don’t phrase it so harshly! Anyway, preliminary suppression and control had finally been established in all four cardinal directions.

Additionally: one new Void Refinement Realm cultivator added; two new Divine Transformation Realm cultivators added. Current totals: One Void Refiner, Five Divine Transformers, Forty-two Nascent Souls, Six Hundred Forty-one Golden Cores, Two Hundred Thousand Foundation Building cultivators. Hmph. A bit weak.

Li Si went off to cultivate with a mind as calm as water.

At the same time, under the ink-black night, Blood Clouds churned, transforming the entire Mortal Realm.

At least one-third of the Blood Clouds liquefied and crashed down. Anyone unlucky enough to be hit immediately turned into a terrifying monster. They wreaked havoc in the cities. Meanwhile, all the Evil God Idols had transformed into images of Muan, bearing gentle, kind smiles, slowly, ever so slowly turning their heads to gaze towards a certain direction.

Initially, this direction pointed towards the Yunhua Sect territory. But quickly, the idols’ gazes shifted to the location where the Demonic Dragon hid.

Whoosh!

Blood-colored lightning struck down violently— in vain. The Demonic Dragon was no pushover. Its hiding spot wasn’t easily found.

Or, even if found, its shell wasn’t easily cracked. Understood? Turtle shell?

ROOOOAAAAARR!

A deafening dragon’s roar thundered through the sky. The illusion of the Demonic Dragon, thousands of li long, became visible, its roar filled with resentment and grievance.

But that was unimportant!

Within the Mortal Realm, all the Evil God Idols within the six Puppet Kingdoms began to slowly adjust their orientation, uniformly fixing their gaze upon the Demonic Dragon.

These countless idols formed a massive net. The Blood Clouds in the sky boiled and coalesced into gigantic streaks of crimson lightning, turning their furious bombardment onto the Demonic Dragon. The blasts stretched tens of thousands of miles.

Yet in the east, whenever blood-colored lightning approached, a flash of light radiated by the Yunhua Law Seal would intercept and neutralize it. For now, it handled things with effortless ease. That is, if the Demonic Dragon hadn’t been functioning as the main tank.

As for the Lingjing Sect territory in the west…

…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

When all the Evil God Idols in the Mortal Realm formed into a giant net, completely locking onto the Demonic Dragon, the blood-colored lightning in the sky became densely packed, unleashing a hundred thousand strikes per second. From afar, it looked like a hundred thousand whips— barbed ones, glowing with electric light— lashing furiously at the several-thousand-mile-long illusory form of the dragon.

CRACKLE and SIZZLE!

It was spectacularly impressive.

Yet even under this assault, the Demonic Dragon proved its spirit. It gritted its teeth and toughed it out without a sound. What choice did it have? Its escape prep package was already packed. But then this happened.

Finally, the blood-colored lightning ceased its bombardment.

But was that the end?

Under the dark sky, countless streams of molten Blood Cloud rolled and wailed upon the ground. Within the earth, the void, the Illusory Void, and within the Mist, they converged into six enormous blood-red coffins, each as large as a mountain.

Attached to one end of each coffin were numerous chains, firmly closing around the Demonic Dragon’s neck.

The Demonic Dragon, which had just gasped for breath and hadn’t yet fled, THUMPED down. It had intended to fly… instead, it became the star performer in the “Six Dragons Pulling a Coffin” show…

The Demonic Dragon wailed mournfully, its heart filled with rage. It flew desperately, flapping its wings with all its might. Its innumerable scales detached, transforming into a hundred and eight wings. Every flap stirred turbulence in the Mortal Realm and the Illusory Void. If those six massive blood-red coffins weren’t locking it firmly in place from different directions, it could have long escaped deep into the Mist of the Illusory Void.

This time, however, it became the Tribulation-Bearing Dragon!

It clung to this land with deep devotion. It cherished this sky with fervent passion.

Its gaze was sorrowful yet benevolent. Its cries were tragic yet powerful.

Ah! For the beloved land! For my brothers and friends!

I… must stay.

I, am the World-Suppressing Dragon!

Dawn broke.

At the Lingjing Sect encampment, Lingjingzi gazed gloomily at their completely destroyed, corrupted, and utterly defiled home.

The wealth accumulated over three hundred years of his life was wiped out overnight. The sheer volume of molten Blood Cloud was overwhelming, and the soul-attacking blood-colored lightning frequently strayed off course.

Even with his personal intervention, he had only managed to barely protect his disciples and followers.

“Last night, someone took the calamity upon themselves,” Lingjingzi mused grimly. “Took one hell of a blow. But those left alive have gained fortunes.”

Suddenly, a smile cracked on his face. Wasn’t it true? At least he could still rebuild. At least his disciples and followers survived unscathed. After weathering this calamity, this Mortal Realm would likely remain peaceful for at least fifty years. Because all the calamity from last night should have been borne solely by that Calamity-Bearing Human King… Xu Changsheng.

‘Chang Sheng’… ‘Eternal Life’… Sounded like a name brimming with bad luck.

That guy was probably already dead, body and path extinguished. The Heaven-Mending Sect, the Jiuxuan Sect, the Floating Cloud Sect who sheltered under him— they had likely suffered heavy losses too.

“Lucky break! A truly lucky break!” he thought. “Had I relocated the sect over there before, I’d be devastated now.”

Lingjingzi swept his hand in a grand gesture, motioning his disciples and followers westward. They had to get away from this place of trouble. As for competing to be some Calamity-Bearing Human King? Ha. Only a sucker would believe that nonsense.

Wasn’t staying alive good?

Fifty years was enough for him to rebuild the Lingjing Sect from scratch! And then, once enough travel costs were saved, escaping outright? Wouldn’t that be delightful?

“Alas, Elder Daoist Changsheng!” he called back towards the east. “My thanks!”

He bowed once. Bowed twice. Bowed a third time.