Chapter 100

The Supreme Master of the Nine Heavens Sect, Lang Tianhe, a super expert at the intermediate stage of the Nine Hearts, was almost invincible even among those at the Great Ascension stage. When he wielded the Yin-Yang Creation Sword, almost no one in this world could stand against him. However, at this moment, Lang Tianhe was unusually furious. Glory and victory had always been like a covenant he made with the world from birth.

Since the time he sought the Dao, Lang Tianhe had been the top-ranked outer sect disciple. A few years later, during the inner sect disciple test, he single-handedly defeated ten outer sect disciples of the same level, standing out among hundreds of thousands of outer sect disciples and becoming one of the rare inner sect disciples.

After joining the inner sect, Lang Tianhe was immediately recognized by the previous Supreme Master of the Nine Heavens Sect and groomed as the next Supreme Master. Lang Tianhe did not disappoint, using his superhuman talent to master the Nine Heavens Sect's supreme technique, the Nine Heavens Void-Breaking Dao Canon, and cultivate it to the eighth level. With the sect's treasure, the Yin-Yang Creation Sword, Lang Tianhe could be said to be the top expert of his time.

However, the always smooth-sailing Lang Tianhe now faced a series of setbacks. First, news came from other sects about a monstrous being with strength comparable to the peak of the Great Ascension stage, against which neither he nor the Nine Heavens Sect could do anything. This was still manageable, as it was just a monster and could not cause too much damage for the time being.

But another matter was continuously slapping the face of the Nine Heavens Sect and himself. A masked black-clothed man had somehow breached multiple layers of defense and infiltrated the Nine Heavens Sect's scripture hall, injuring several elders. When Lang Tianhe gathered a large number of disciples to pursue him, the man killed nearly a thousand inner sect disciples, as well as many elders and core disciples. These were the backbone of the Nine Heavens Sect, and they had died in vain under the black-clothed man's blade.

What drove Lang Tianhe to the brink of madness was that in a recent ambush he thought was a sure thing, not only did he fail to kill the black-clothed man, but the Taiyin Sword of the Yin-Yang Creation Sword, passed down through generations of Supreme Masters, was almost destroyed. This was the first time in the Nine Heavens Sect's ten-thousand-year history. Enraged, Lang Tianhe pursued the black-clothed man with the remaining disciples after he escaped. The black-clothed man, unaware of the spiritual energy traces left on his body, should have suspected that he had been marked by his enemies. (In fact, Jue Qianqing had noticed, but having only been in this world for two days and being relentlessly pursued, he had no time to check.)

As they approached their target, the space around them suddenly stretched out, a feat that could not be achieved by a Great Ascension stage cultivator. Considering he might face an Immortal-level opponent, Lang Tianhe was unsure of his chances. Immortals were not supposed to exist in this world; after reaching the Ten Hearts stage, one would be forcibly transported to a higher cultivation realm, known to the people of this world as the Immortal Realm.

From the information in the Infinite Heart, this was a composite world. The outer layer was the Intermediate Cultivation Realm, where people like Xunxin resided, while the inner layer, closer to the world's center, was the Advanced Cultivation Realm, known as the Immortal Realm. The spiritual energy concentration in the Immortal Realm was at least ten times that of the Intermediate Cultivation Realm, making the Immortals much stronger. However, for the sake of the sect's dignity, Lang Tianhe had no choice but to ignore the warning of a possible Immortal and have his disciples set up a teleportation array to transport everyone to Songyang City, where the black-clothed man was.

A large number of Nine Heavens Sect members teleported above Songyang City, and the sect's distinctive attire, which served as a universal pass in this world, caused panic among the civilians and independent cultivators in the city. Although the Nine Heavens Sect was the first sect in this world, the iron-fisted rule since Lang Tianhe took office had left other cultivators angry but powerless to speak out.

Just the millions of secular disciples outside the sect had caused significant losses to other sects. The Nine Heavens Sect controlled most of the businesses in the secular world, pushing out the enterprises of other sects. In terms of strength, other sects were far from a match for the Nine Heavens Sect and could only endure the oppression. Large tracts of spiritual land were requisitioned by the Nine Heavens Sect, and many small and medium-sized sects, already resource-starved, dared not challenge the first sect of the cultivation world and had to pay a large amount of spirit stones annually to maintain the balance of the cultivation world.

What if they refused? The Nine Heavens Sect could easily wipe out a small or medium-sized sect. If the annual "fee" was insufficient or not paid, the sect would face the same fate. Over the years, the Nine Heavens Sect had exterminated no fewer than three thousand sects. Thus, even though the Nine Heavens Sect was a transcendent sect that protected humans from the evil ways and strange beasts, maintaining the world's balance, cultivators viewed it as a flood and a beast, fearing it and avoiding it at all costs. Xunxin saw the actions and expressions of the cultivators, and the spiritual energy fluctuations from the sky that made the entire city tremble made him sigh helplessly.

"Friends of the heavens, please do not use large-scale spells in the city. The independent cultivators and civilians are innocent and should not die under the spells of their fellow humans."

"Enough talk. You will all turn to ashes along with the murderer who dared to defy the authority of the Nine Heavens Sect and killed countless of our elders and disciples. The Nine Heavens Sect will remember your sacrifices." The shameless words indicated that Lang Tianhe's mental state had been severely affected.

"Hmph, as expected..." Although Xunxin could not see Jue Qianqing's expression under the mask, he could guess the disdain, contempt, and helplessness. "This is the privilege of the strong, who can treat human lives as grass and kill everyone in a city for their own purposes without a second thought."

"Indeed, the strong do have privileges, in any world. But if someone with great power abuses it, they are no different from a nouveau riche. I was once weak, so even after becoming a powerful enough to control the lives of several worlds, I still give the weak a chance to reason and repent. Because, as a former weakling, I also yearned for the chance to reason with the strong. But when the weak ignore the grace given by the strong and even point fingers or attack, I will not easily forgive them just because they are weak. Weakness is not a sin, but weakness combined with abuse of power will be punished."

The Four Symbols to Two Instruments Formation emitted a light that could dispel the darkness and illuminate the world. But this time, the formation that had protected humanity for ten thousand years turned the light of hope into destruction, casting a shadow over the people of Songyang City. The Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise transformed into the Two Instruments, and the Yin-Yang Taiji Fish ultimately condensed into a grayish-white light column descending from the sky. In the next second, everyone in the city would turn to dust, but...

"Space—Rift in the Sky." The Nine Heavens Sect cultivators were stunned. Breaking through the void and ascending to the Immortal Realm was the dream of all cultivators. To reach the Immortal Realm, one had to break through to the Immortal stage and use spiritual energy to open the path to the Immortal Realm under the guidance of the world's rules. The spatial rift that completely enveloped Songyang City easily swallowed the full force of the Four Symbols to Two Instruments Formation, which was not surprising. What shocked the cultivators was the pure spiritual energy far surpassing that of this world, spreading from the gray-black spatial rift. From the end of the spatial channel, one could even see the other side of the world, where countless precious herbs grew like weeds in a field filled with immortal energy. The Immortal Realm, all cultivators concluded that the world on the other side was the Immortal Realm. But no one flew into the Immortal Realm, as the only possibility for someone to open the path to the Immortal Realm was that they were an existence above the Immortal stage.

"Nine Heavens Sect cultivators, I have given you a chance, but you did not cherish it and wasted it. So, I will not let you off easily."

The voice was soft, but everyone's face changed. The voice echoed in the minds of the cultivators, and Lang Tianhe, the Supreme Master of the Nine Heavens Sect, was even more affected. The Yin-Yang Creation Sword in his hand trembled. The spatial rift slowly disappeared, and the blue robe fluttered in the wind (there was no wind). The light of the world seemed to concentrate on this man (it was not an illusion). Xunxin's eyes were like lightning judging evil, and no one from the Nine Heavens Sect dared to meet his gaze.

"Are you prepared to pay the price for your actions? Cultivators blinded by power and desire?"

The moonlight glinted on the sword as it was drawn...

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