Chapter 274 - 300: Taixu True Master, Gui Dao Mansion Assembly

"Hm!?"

As the young Daoist cried out, a middle-aged Daoist meditating cross-legged not far away shot to his feet, his expression a mixture of shock and fury.

"Junior Brother Chu is dead?"

Rage surged in his heart. It had been decades since the Gui Chen Sect had suffered any casualties among its disciples.

Let alone an Elder of the sect?

News of Chu An’s death was instantly reported up the chain of command. Within moments, Xiao Yu was informed.

"Chu An?"

’He was in charge of the Desolate State Branch. Who killed him?’

’Was it that Hui De the Old Monk? Or someone else?’

A glint flashed in Xiao Yu’s eyes as his figure vanished from sight.

When he reappeared, he was standing before the gates of an Earth Palace a thousand feet underground.

"Vice Sect Leader!"

The few disciples guarding the Earth Palace bowed in salute.

"Chu An’s Soul Lamp has been extinguished. Where is his backup body? Take me to it, quickly," Xiao Yu said in a cold voice.

The Gui Chen Sect didn’t have many Elders. Every member who managed to become an Elder possessed exceptional talent.

Similar to the Wansheng Institute, these Elders also had methods to preserve their lives.

Within the Gui Chen Sect, every Direct Disciple, as well as the sect’s Elders, possessed no fewer than ten backup bodies.

These backup bodies were specifically prepared for when a disciple or Elder died, had their body destroyed, or grew old and frail, serving as replacements.

"Elder Chu An is dead?"

The young disciples guarding the Earth Palace were all shaken by this. They then bowed and replied:

"Yes, sir!"

RUMBLE!

A moment later, the gates to the Earth Palace swung open.

Inside the Earth Palace, in a dimly lit room.

A little girl with a sallow complexion was curled up in a corner, her skinny arms wrapped around her knees.

She watched her brother on the wooden bed, who seemed to have become a different person, and her body trembled uncontrollably.

On the brown wooden bed, a little boy with a bluish face was convulsing violently, like a carp flopping out of water. He slammed against the bedframe, causing it to rattle and hum.

And from his lips, the same name was cried out over and over: "Chen Tianhua, Chen Tianhua..."

"Brother... Brother!"

Tears streamed from the little girl’s eyes. Her heart was filled with sorrow, but also with a sense of terror, fear, and helplessness.

BOOM!

Suddenly, the door flew open. The little girl jumped in fright and began to tremble violently.

"Hm!?"

Seeing the boy on the bed, twitching ceaselessly with a twisted expression, barely recognizable as human, Xiao Yu’s face turned ashen.

"Where is the soul?"

The Gui Chen Sect disciples behind him saw this scene, and their expressions changed instantly.

This state was clearly the result of a severely incomplete soul, one that couldn’t even control this frail mortal body.

WHOOSH!

With a grim expression, Xiao Yu raised a hand, grabbing the little boy and pulling him up. He then barked:

"Wake up!"

The little boy jolted as if struck by lightning. He groggily opened his eyes, foam at the corners of his mouth, and suddenly began to giggle foolishly.

"Hee hee... Mommy! I want candy!"

"..."

A muscle twitched in Xiao Yu’s cheek. He flipped his other hand over and clamped it down on the little boy’s head.

"AHH!!"

Even with a fragmented soul and blurry consciousness, the little boy couldn’t help but let out an agonized scream as his limbs trembled violently.

"Brother!"

The little girl’s face trembled, tears streaming down, as she cried out in alarm.

SQUELCH!

Xiao Yu’s fingers twitched. With a flash of light, he directly crushed the head in his palm.

Blood mixed with a foul-smelling, multicolored pulp dripped onto the little boy’s body.

Xiao Yu’s expression was as cold and desolate as an Evil Ghost’s.

"Chen Tianhua?"

Because his soul was severely incomplete, most of his memories had dissipated. All that remained in Chu An’s fragmented soul were the two words "Chen Tianhua."

And they were filled with hateful killing intent!

"Vice Sect Leader! Elder Chu An, he..."

Seeing this, the disciples lowered their heads, asking with slightly trembling hands.

THUD!

Xiao Yu casually tossed aside the little boy’s corpse. Bright crimson blood dripped from his fingertips.

"He’s dead, of course. Utterly and completely."

His expression was cold.

"That good-for-nothing! It would have been one thing if he was killed by that Taixu True Master from the Desolate State Mansion, but now it seems he died at the hands of Chen Tianhua from the Gui Dao Mansion..."

"How is that possible? He’s just a mere Daoist who holds a Divine Position. Elder Chu An’s Sword Dao had already reached the Peak of Ascension, and he even had a chance of breaking through to the Dao Domain."

"Even inside the Gui Dao Mansion, he absolutely shouldn’t have been killed..."

The disciples all found it unbelievable.

’What do those Daoists who submitted to Da Yu even amount to?’

In their eyes, those people were just a bunch of cowards who had bowed their heads, lost souls barely surviving by relying on their Divine Positions from Da Yu and the protection of immense Incense.

Without the Power of Incense, a Gui Chen Sect member could single-handedly suppress a whole crowd of them at the same cultivation level.

If Elder Chu An had truly fought, even within the Gui Dao Mansion, his chances of winning would have been far greater than his chances of losing.

’On Chen Tianhua’s strength alone?’

’He can’t even protect himself, yet he thinks he can kill someone else?’

"This matter is indeed full of suspicious points."

Xiao Yu remained expressionless.

He knew, of course, that there was certainly a problem here, that things were far from being as simple as they appeared on the surface.

But the overwhelming killing intent toward Chen Tianhua within Chu An’s Divine Spirit could not be faked.

With this in mind, he said nothing more and strode out of the room.

The disciples followed him out, locking the door behind them.

From beginning to end, none of them so much as glanced at the terrified little girl huddled in the corner.

She was like a penned animal.

No, in their eyes, these backup bodies, including the little girl...

...were perhaps not even as good as livestock.

...

「Desolate Province, within the Prefecture City.」

Deep within the Gui Dao Mansion, in a hidden room, Chen Tianhua stood slightly bowed before a golden Incense Mirror, his face grim.

"Taixu True Master, that is what happened."

The somewhat cracked Incense Mirror reflected a simple, rustic courtyard where a Daoist sat cross-legged.

It was a thin old man with dry skin and graying hair. He had large earlobes, and his hands were hidden in his sleeves.

His name was Taixuzi, and he was also a Daoist who had submitted to the Dayu Immortal Dynasty.

This man was used to a life of freedom and solitude, never actively befriending other Daoists. However, his Cultivation was quite profound, having reached the Ninth Level of Void Realm, and he was respected by many.

Legend had it that several thousand years ago, this man had been a wealthy traveling merchant. As he neared his later years, his fear of death grew, so he gave away his entire fortune and traveled to every Immortal Mountain Spiritual Land, seeking the Dao and eternal life.

Unfortunately, his body was already old and his aptitude was mediocre. No one was willing to teach him a Cultivation Method.

And on his path to seeking the Dao, he encountered few great masters, but he did run into plenty of Demon Fiends and ghosts. Many of the Martial Artist attendants he hired died because of them.

Then one day, somehow, he had a sudden enlightenment in an abandoned cave dwelling and embarked on the path of cultivation.

Step by step, he has cultivated to this day.

"Alas!"

Hearing Chen Tianhua’s report now, Taixu True Master let out a deep sigh, seemingly unsurprised.

"Taixu True Master?"

Hearing the sigh, Chen Tianhua was baffled.

’Someone is trying to scheme for our Divine Positions, shouldn’t you be burning with rage, filled with killing intent?’

’What’s with the sigh?’

"Ever since the Netherworld Venerable Master disappeared and the Lord of the State stopped caring, this day was bound to come. If not the Gui Chen Sect, then the Wansheng Institute. If not the Wansheng Institute, then other people, ghosts, or demons..."

Taixu True Master’s expression didn’t change.

"I have noted what you said."

’That’s it?’

Watching the thin figure in the mirror stand up and prepare to leave, Chen Tianhua couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Senior Taixu! Are we just going to ignore it?"

He couldn’t understand. How important was a Divine Position in the Immortal Dynasty to Daoists like them?

Someone was trying to plunder their Divine Positions, so how could this old man remain so calm?

’Could it be that he already knew?’

"Otherwise, what can be done?"

Taixu True Master glanced back at him.

"The Netherworld Venerable Master is gone. We can’t count on the two Venerables, Bai You and Hei Ming. If we were to act now, we could, at some cost, destroy that branch of the Gui Chen Sect."

"But what then?"

Chen Tianhua’s expression froze.

"Who will appease the wrath of a Feathered Transformation Great Power?"

Taixu True Master slowly shook his head and said:

"The Leader of Gui Chen Sect is now one of the Directors of the Dayu Incense Hall. He wields great power, and his Cultivation is unfathomable."

"He has slain many other Feathered Transformation experts of the same realm. For us to confront him would be like an egg smashing against a rock."

"If you insist on making a move, I will not stop you. But you should understand the consequences of doing so."

Chen Tianhua was silent for a moment, then spoke again:

"In that case, what is our way out?"

"The Gui Chen Sect grows stronger and stronger, while the Incense we share among ourselves dwindles. If this continues, how is it any different from waiting to die?"

His voice was hoarse, and his eyes held a trace of confusion.

"There will be a turning point."

Taixu True Master clasped his hands behind his back and slowly paced, walking out of the Incense Mirror’s reflective range.

"All we can do now is wait..."

His voice grew fainter and fainter until, along with his image, he disappeared from the Incense Mirror.

’Wait? Wait for how long?’

Chen Tianhua stood there for a long time, then let out a heavy sigh.

"You can afford to wait, but I cannot..."

His time was limited; at most, he had a few decades left.

But Taixu True Master, as a Void Realm expert, could live for several thousand more years even without a Divine Position.

He could wait, but Chen Tianhua could not.

SWISH!

He waved his sleeve, dismissing the Incense Mirror. Striding out the door, he summoned a crowd of Little Ghosts.

"Listen to my command! Quickly deliver this True Master’s invitations to every major city, small city, county, Daoist Temple, and Spiritual Land... Invite all our fellow Daoists to come!"

"Tell them that this True Master wishes to host a banquet to discuss a matter of great importance, a matter of life and death!"

"Huh?"

The crowd of Little Ghosts looked at each other in dismay.

Banquets among True Masters were quite common.

But to invite every single True Master in the entire Desolate Province in one go? Who could possibly handle that?

And how could those Officials in the State Mansion possibly agree to this?

"What are you waiting for? Go!"

Chen Tianhua’s face turned cold. He let out a thunderous shout, scaring the group of Little Ghosts so much that they scrambled away in a panic.

Only one old ghost, his scalp tingling, asked in a low voice:

"My lord! Are you planning to rebel?"

"Get lost!!"

Chen Tianhua irritably kicked the old ghost away. "Go to Celestial Spirit Mountain for me and invite Guihai Master!"

"Ouch!"

The old ghost was sent flying over a hundred feet, retreating with a yelp of pain.

The vast Gui Dao Mansion instantly became empty.

"Sigh!"

Chen Tianhua sighed heavily, his brow furrowed.

’Once I lose my Divine Position, if I don’t have Su Bai’s help, all I can do is wait for death.’

’As long as I can live, even if it means gathering every single Daoist in the entire Desolate Province...’

’...I’m willing to do whatever it takes!’