Demon Cultivator with Celestial Book

Hearing the Daoist’s words and seeing the True Monarch’s magical talisman cleave Yin and Yang to split the battlefield,

Yuan Xiao dared not disobey. He immediately relaxed his posture, his eyes glinting coldly as he said,

"Once we’re out of Juku Continent, we’ll have another match!"

With that, his body transformed into a rainbow that shot into the sky. After a few flickers, he landed on Five Elders Peak.

"Greetings, Daoist! I have some unsettled personal grievances with that lout. I hope I have not made a fool of myself in your presence."

Jiang Yi smiled faintly.

"True Inheritance Yuan’s Golden Bow and Thunder Arrow are quite formidable. I was truly impressed."

Yuan Xiao looked embarrassed.

"Mere parlor tricks. They can hardly compare to the Daoist’s world-shaking enlightenment."

Jiang Yi waved his hand. He’d heard more than enough of this kind of flattery lately; his ears were about to grow calluses from it.

He performed a simple hand seal and retracted the magical talisman.

"True Inheritance Yuan, rest for now. In another two days, Juku Continent should manifest."

Separated by Jiang Yi’s talisman, Nie Ying seized the chance to stand down. He snorted coldly and said,

"Yuan Xiao! I’ll let you keep that head on your shoulders for now. I will come for it later!"

Yuan Xiao’s expression remained impassive, his heart unperturbed. He couldn’t be bothered to respond to Nie Ying’s clamor.

He only explained to Jiang Yi,

"Reporting to the Daoist, he and I are enemies on the path of cultivation."

"I had just stepped into Foundation Establishment and required a piece of ’Geng Metal Essence’ to nurture my Dao Foundation and comprehend the mysteries of Daoist Techniques."

"After much difficulty, I received guidance from a True Monarch and went to West Mountain. I waited painstakingly for three years and finally obtained it."

"But this lout insisted that the item belonged to him, which made things... rather unpleasant."

"That’s why every time I emerge from seclusion, I seek him out for a battle."

Nie Ying, who had also flown to Five Elders Peak and landed on a slightly lower summit, heard this and retorted sharply,

"You, surnamed Yuan, are utterly shameless! I buried myself in that spot fifty years ago."

"Not only did you appear out of nowhere and disturb my seclusion, but you also tried to forcibly seize that ’Geng Metal Essence’! This is absolutely intolerable!"

Jiang Yi was surprised. ’These two True Inheritances from Ancestral Sects became sworn enemies over a piece of Five Elements Essence?’

’Although the material is precious, it shouldn’t be enough to make two great True Inheritances hold a grudge and swear a life-or-death vendetta, right?’

"The Daoist may not be aware," Feng Yuan whispered, "but several hundred years ago, a star fell from beyond the Nine Heavens. It shattered into seven or eight pieces, each containing Geng Metal. The piece Senior Brother Yuan collected was nearly the size of half of Zhen Peak."

Jiang Yi drew in a sharp breath, instantly dismissing his earlier disdain.

’He had just been thinking that they were, after all, True Inheritances from Ancestral Sects. Why raise such a ruckus over some meager Spiritual Materials and Spiritual Resources?’

’He never imagined the piece of Geng Metal Essence was so enormous!’

’No wonder True Inheritance Yuan isn’t so destitute. Turns out he hit a ’windfall’.’

Jiang Yi had a revelation. ’Metal Virtue Cultivators consume the most Resources and are often dirt poor.’

’Their True Qi, Magical Power, and the mysteries of their Dao Foundation all need to be irrigated with the True Essence of the Five Elements to grow their Five Virtues Life Qi.’

’They could exhaust mountains of gold and silver or ten thousand ore veins.’

’A piece of Geng Metal Essence the size of half of Zhen Peak was enough for Yuan Xiao to "escape poverty."’

’If it were him, he’d fight to the death for it too!’

"As the saying goes, the wondrous treasures of Heaven and Earth belong to the virtuous."

Yuan Xiao, with the typical bearing of a Demon Cultivator, mocked him directly,

"Since the Geng Metal Essence fell into my hands, it proves I am more virtuous than you."

Nie Ying was instantly so enraged his three corpse spirits raged. He gnashed his teeth and said,

"Fine! Once I’ve lopped that head off your shoulders, let’s see if you can still run your mouth!"

Jiang Yi didn’t judge who was right or wrong. The Demon Dao doesn’t concern itself with such things; everything is decided by one’s Cultivation and backing.

Since they were both True Inheritances from Ancestral Sects with nearly equal status, it naturally had to be settled through a contest of strength.

After this disturbance subsided, Five Elders Peak returned to tranquility. Streaks of rainbow light zipped past, and misty clouds raced across the sky.

Jiang Yi took a quick glance. About a dozen Foundation Establishment True Masters had arrived.

They each found a spot, sat on the ground, and quietly awaited the appearance of Juku Continent.

...

...

All was calm on Five Elders Peak, but hidden within the clouds above the Dian River, someone was secretly watching.

"So that’s the Daoist of the Innate Sect?"

This person was dressed in a silver-white Magical Robe, his face as handsome as jade, his aura ethereal, his bearing extraordinary.

He was clearly alone, yet he voiced the question aloud, which was utterly bizarre.

As soon as the words fell, his full head of black hair suddenly turned white. His silver-white Magical Robe changed along with it, transforming into a blood-like crimson.

He gave a sinister laugh.

"That’s right. The youth surrounded by Yuan Xiao and Feng Yuan, like stars clustering around the moon, is Jiang Yi, the Daoist of the Innate Sect."

The man was actually talking to himself, asking and answering his own questions.

"The new lord of Shao Yang, the Dao-enemy of Tai Yang. So this is what he looks like."

"Don’t stare so intently. When a Daoist from an Ancestral Sect travels, apart from the obvious ’True Inheritance escorts’, there’s no guarantee there isn’t also a Guardian Daoist with vast Divine Techniques."

"I’m not an idiot. Of course I know to conceal my tracks. The Immortal Dao has offered a high price. If I can take his life, the Tai Yang Dao-path will grant me a fine foundation for cultivating the technique of the Great Sun."

"A Buddha sees one hundred and eight thousand creatures in a bowl of water. A Daoist Monarch can survey an entire continent with a single glance. If you dare harbor murderous intent right now, you’ll be obliterated, body and soul, in the next instant. You have to slip into Juku Continent before you can plan anything..."

The man had a youthful face, but his brow held a hint of malevolence.

Just as this soliloquy ended, a voice quietly rang out:

"Young friend, might you be the Yin-Yang Dharma King of the Outer Dao?"

The malevolent-looking youth was horrified. He tried to turn but found his limbs rigid, his entire body pinned by earth and stone.

’Who is that? A True Monarch? But I clearly used the ’Six Senses Worm’ to conceal my karmic traces and threads of fate. It’s impossible for me to have been discovered!’

Just as the youth was overcome with terror, he heard the voice from behind him again:

"’The Six Senses Worm’ went extinct on the other continents long ago. They can only be found on the Nanzhan Continent."

"Those are all ’offspring worms’ that I myself deliberately released."

The youth looked as if he’d been struck by lightning, his face drained of all color. ’It really is a True Monarch!’

’A dignified True Monarch striving for the Golden Position, one of vast Divine Techniques, actually resorted to a sneak attack on me?!’

"Young friend, you are mistaken. You are of the Outer Dao, and I am of the Demon Dao. Why should we bother with such pointless rules?"

The youth was shocked again. ’He can even hear my thoughts?’

"Young friend, although your Heart Spirit is split in two, your karma complex, and your destiny entangled, your concealment is far too crude."

"Our meeting is fate. I intend to bestow upon you a great fortunate encounter."

The youth’s soul nearly fled his body. Falling into the hands of a Demon Dao True Monarch meant a fate worse than death.

"I have decided to pass on all of my accumulated Merit and my attainments in Daoist Techniques to you..."

The voice drifted from behind him,

"...there are just a few minor side effects. You might forget your past, for example."

The youth felt his five senses sever, his vision went black, and then he knew no more.

About half an incense stick’s time later, the man slowly opened his eyes as if waking from a long dream and murmured,

"Oh! So I’m not some ’Yin-Yang Dharma King’ after all, but the mortal incarnation of ’True Monarch Zang-Gui Fuming’ undergoing his tribulation!"

"I am now just one act of Merit away from completing my tribulation and returning to my true self!"

"As long as I ensure the Daoist’s safety, that will be a great deed of Merit..."

The youth looked as if he had been suddenly enlightened, a wave of profound understanding washing over him. Boundless joy filled his eyes.

Far above, looking down on this scene with indifference, a True Monarch Xu frowned:

’Inside Juku Continent, there should still be a few more "nails" that haven’t been pulled.’

’No rush. With the ’Yin-Yang Dharma King’, the ’Crimson-Haired Ascendant’, ’Immortal Yellow Wind’... with these Outer Dao members protecting him, the Daoist will not come to the slightest harm.’

’As for the Dongsheng Continent, I wonder if I’ll be able to hook a big fish.’

...

...

「Two days passed in a flash.」

Above the Dian River, thunderclaps boomed like war drums, each one louder than the last.

The surroundings shook violently with the force of collapsing mountains and surging rivers. The weaker Qi Cultivation Cultivators were so shaken they vomited mouthfuls of blood.

A moment later, a line of golden light abruptly tore open the sky, as if cleaving heaven and earth in two. From within the rift, a brand new, great world slowly emerged.

"Daoist, hold your Talisman Decree and answer the summons."

Feng Yuan reminded him.

"We are outsiders to Juku Continent. Without an ’invitation’ from the creatures within, we will be immediately expelled."

Jiang Yi nodded. He had learned this previously from True Master Xuanmiao.

Cultivators from the Yanfu Vast Land mostly used this method when traveling to other major and minor realms.

According to True Master Xuanmiao, the beings from beyond the heavens referred to the various Daoist Lineages of the Yanfu Vast Land as "Extracultural Calamity Seeds."