Otherworldly Desert Dust-Chapter 471 - 426 Stoke the Fire
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High above the Yunluan clouds, several Holy Shadows appeared, both male and female.
They were clearly looking down on Tongtian City, aware of what had happened below.
"Leng Shu has just ascended into sainthood, yet he has mastered the Tianxuan Saint Decision. It has been some time since anyone has deployed it. He's fairly interesting. I wonder which of you here has such a disciple under your wing," a female elder's voice rose, tinged with both probing and inquiry.
"Perhaps he cultivated on his own, or maybe he had some serendipitous encounter in the Otherworld. After all, the Otherworld is vast and anything is possible."
"Do none of you intend to interfere?"
"If you have the desire to intervene, descend to the Lower Realm."
"Let's wait and see. Prematurely intervening would only make those below think that this is our duty as celestials. Only when they despair should we appear—that way they will show us the reverence due. The cultivators in the Lower Realm have been increasingly disrespectful. This serves as a good warning for them."
"But wouldn't our intervention break the rules? The Human Emperor is free to do as he pleases in the Mortal World. We must not interfere."
"The rules were also set by us. Changing them is not a problem."
"I'm not worried about Leng Shu draining the entire Holy Sect of its cultivation. What I fear is 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.' Leng Shu is naive to think that by using the Tianxuan Saint Decision, he could become a celebrity or an ancestor. Little does he know that he has exposed himself to everyone, and his end will surely be tragic."
"I'm actually quite curious about the boy entangled with him. The Totem he forged is mysterious, even we can't see it clearly."
"Which of you does he belong to?"
While they were discussing, a youthful man with a demonic look in his eyes revealed a sinister smile. His enchanting eyes fixed on Leng Shu, his pupils betraying a hint of excitement!
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On the great land below, hundreds of thousands of people had been drained of their cultivation, most of them at the Holy Embryo realm, the lowest amongst cultivators.
Tongtian City was vast, and though the Blood Pattern Centipedes spread like a wild forest, they had only extended a few hundred miles from Leng Shu in the center of the city. Compared to the boundless Tongtian City, it was akin to a small grove in a primeval forest.
Leng Shu's Xuantian Saint Technique was clearly divided into several stages.
In the first stage, the Blood Pattern Centipedes grew and swelled after feasting on the Holy Power of nearby cultivators, and once mature, they would rapidly split into hundreds of Blood Pattern Ropes, radiating towards more distant areas.
These Blood Pattern Ropes, having devoured abundant Holy Power, would then grow into Blood Pattern Centipedes, starting to prey on the members of the Holy Sect with stronger cultivation. Once the Blood Pattern Centipedes grew and matured, they would split again!
So initially, only a huge Blood Nest was visible around Leng Shu, with a million Blood Centipedes writhing. Gradually, the numbers of Blood Pattern Centipedes and Blood Pattern Ropes exploded exponentially, continuously splitting and growing. From initially spreading like a small blood stain in Tongtian City, they quickly stained a vast area of Human City red—those of the Holy Sect's Earth Hall, dispatches, and posts... all were enveloped by Leng Shu's Tianxuan Saint Decision, with living beings turned into sacrificial offerings in this terrifying blood-soaked purgatory!
"Lord, do something to stop him!" The Dragon Robe Celestial Official began to plead.
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"For so many years, we've finally had a Human Emperor. If the Human Emperor is hungry and desires to feed on everyone's cultivation, what of it? In the past, the Human Clan had to make offerings to the heavens. Every year, countless lives were lost due to dissatisfying sacrifices. Now isn't it much better? By offering up those with cultivation, we can usher in this golden age of cultivation, there's nothing wrong with that!" Wu Hen stood there, only using his soul light to protect himself and the two women beside him, disregarding everyone else.
Hearing these words, the Dragon Robe Celestial Official was on the verge of tears!
Why not sacrifice those common mortals without cultivation instead of them, the cultivators.
"If he ascends another realm, even you won't survive. Please, save us, your fellow Holy Sect members!" the Dragon Robe Celestial Official said.
"I can't do anything. He's wrapped in such a thick Blood Pattern. Even if I used my most powerful Divine Skills, I wouldn't be able to shake it. This is the Tianxuan Saint Decision, my abilities cannot break it," Wu Hen said.
In truth, he could break it.
Wu Hen simply didn't want to expend the effort.
The power of this Tianxuan Saint Decision was close to one of Disaster's Divine Skills. Wu Hen could feel that there were celestials watching over this place from above. If they were unwilling to intervene, why should he foolishly put himself on the line? After all, Leng Shu's actions in massacring the entire Holy Sect were something Wu Hen applauded. The Holy Sect was nothing but a bunch of demonically twisted Demon Cultivators!
"Leng Shu!! Why have you also drained my cultivation?!" Suddenly, Yin Zhiyu let out a terrified scream.
"You are of no use to me anymore, and I'm tired of your droning in my ear like a bothersome cicada!" Leng Shu said indifferently.
Yin Zhiyu's cultivation had also reached the Holy Origin.
Looking across the entirety of Tongtian City, not many cultivators had reached this realm.
Leng Shu had no reason to spare him.
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"You... you have become demonized, you are completely possessed!" Yin Zhiyu roared.
"Which saintly being has not tread upon a path of pure white bones?" Leng Shu was entirely unconcerned. "I have spared your life; that is the greatest leniency I could offer!"
His cultivation regressed, from Holy Origin Realm back down to Saint Child Realm, and then from Saint Child degraded to Holy Infant. Yin Zhiyu watched despairingly as the cultivation he had painstakingly accumulated became the stepping stone for Leng Shu's ascension, but no matter how hard he struggled, it was all in vain.
Only then did he realize, even as a servant as loyal as himself, when a crazed cultivator needed flesh and blood, they wouldn't hesitate to throw one into the furnace to be cooked and devoured!
Before long, Yin Zhiyu degenerated into a common person—or rather, even weaker than one. Emaciated, with skin like dead wood, he stood amongst those Holy Sect members who were also drained into mere mortals, appearing even less healthy and lively than the displaced beggars.
Who could have imagined those Earth Officials of the Holy Sect, who not long ago hunted these beggars and displaced people, would themselves become no different from the destitute, with all their cultivation gone? They took pride in their Sacred Bodies, but now they were indistinguishable from ancient trees. For a long time, they regained their dignity trampled elsewhere by stepping on those lower than themselves. Now, they found themselves at the very bottom, a fate worse than death!
Many cultivators in Tongtian City were still executing the Human Emperor's orders for executions, but as the Blood Pattern Centipedes crawled by, they could no longer lift their weapons, whereas those displaced beggars were not affected by this Tianxuan Saint Technique. Many picked up weapons and turned on their brutal persecutors.
"Their cultivation is gone!!"
"They have become like us now... No, they have become even worse than us!"
"What are we waiting for? Revenge for grievances, retaliation for enmity!"
In an instant, a riot broke out in Tongtian City, as the long-nurtured resentment against the Holy Sect surfaced.
And those surviving in Tongtian City were well aware that the number of Holy Sect Practitioners was limited. The death of these people freed up more chances for those who never had the opportunity to step into the cultivation sphere, the underprivileged. The elimination of one meant an extra chance to rise above.
"So, the Human Emperor is playing a big game!"
"Perhaps we have all misunderstood Leng Shu; he aims to level this insufferable Holy Sect!"
"Yes, this is a chance given by the Human Emperor to us, his billions of subjects. We must seize it well!"
Tongtian City was plunged into complete chaos, turning from cultivators slaughtering mortals to mortals slaughtering cultivators. Even hearing that the flesh and blood of cultivators were more valuable, they eagerly started to carve and devour!
A flourishing era, in a moment, descended into a mortal hell!
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Finally, Leng Shu had absorbed enough Holy Power.
He also broke through the last barrier of his cultivation, as the Holy Origin within him transformed into the supreme Saint Leader!
To become a Saint Luo, the Saintly Leader Realm is the most fundamental. Now Leng Shu had stepped onto the threshold of the Holy Sect's highest extreme. In the vast expanse of the heavens, a blood-colored star would be born, signifying his place among the immortals.
Leng Shu took a deep breath, feeling as if he were a vast universe himself, with energy suffusing his body powerful enough to annihilate this trivial otherworldly world. With the lifting of his hand, he could now crush those enemies he once had to look up to.
"Now, how will you contend with me??" Leng Shu's gaze refocused on Wu Hen, and after ascending to a higher realm, he finally discerned the mysterious soul light on Wu Hen.
That soul light took on an even more ancient form of a Qilin, like the progenitor of all Divine Beasts, the leader of all calamities.
Leng Shu realized that his opponent possessed a Totem nobler than his own Thunder God Qilin.
It was fortunate that he had mastered that supreme Saint Decision and broken through the Holy Origin earlier, otherwise the position of Human Emperor might not have been his!
"Aren't you going to continue absorbing? There are still so many Holy Cultivators in this Tongtian City; you've absorbed merely one-tenth. If it were me, since I've become demonized, I might as well consume the entirety of the Holy Sect, thoroughly and completely," said Wu Hen.
Go ahead and evolve.
No matter what realm you evolve into, it's a matter that can be resolved with a single sword stroke.
Wu Hen was a man who did not fear stirring up trouble. The vast majority of the Holy Sect had never considered the people of otherworldly Human Clans as their peers. Wu Hen wasn't their god nor did he feel the need to pity them. Instead, he reveled in fanning the flames.
"Killing you first before sacrificing this Tongtian City is not too late. Every second you live in this world is displeasing to me!" Leng Shu let out a tremor akin to a Demon God's.
"Think it through, if you still fail to match me after ascending to the Saintly Leader Realm, it will be challenging for you to absorb these people's cultivation later. Moreover, how do you know whether I used my full strength in our fight?"
As Wu Hen spoke, he once again awakened his Holy Soul. The Holy Soul morphed, and the shadow of Blood Chiyou emerged, with the stature of an Ancient God as tall as a mountain, his spirit soaring once again like a divine demon incarnate!
In the distance, the Dragon Robe Celestial Official fighting to survive wept tears of blood.
"My ancestors, please don't provoke this great demon. If you have any formidable power, please quickly subdue this demon. Afterwards, sit upon the Imperial Platform and indulge in the pleasures of the world to your heart's content!"
