Chapter 316 - 135: A Homeless Dog, I Have Arrived, Where Are You?

His palm flipped, poised to unleash the God Summoning Technique, but he forced himself to stop, allowing the sleeve to envelop him.

With his mastery of the God Summoning Technique, if the connection to the Netherworld and the Kui God still existed, he could have summoned the Kui God with a single thought and wielded half of its power.

Even the Leader of the Gui Chen Sect himself would have to treat him as a formidable foe, to say nothing of a mere incarnation.

But in this world, there are no ifs or buts.

"Master..."

Fan Xin Junior Daoist’s face was deathly pale. He could only watch, helpless.

"You poor little thing. Joining a sect with no future... how pitiful, how pitiful!"

Heavenly Evil Daoist chuckled softly, gave Fan Xin Junior Daoist’s shoulder a squeeze, and vanished on the spot.

Arriving without a trace, departing without a shadow.

This described him perfectly.

...

「Within a magnificent and solemn hall in the Gui Chen Sect Headquarters.」

Figure after figure took their seats—some cold and ruthless, some transcendent, some serene, some sinister, some severe, and some compassionate.

"Hm!?"

At a certain moment, several of the figures present felt a stir and looked toward the center of the hall.

THUD!

With a muffled thud, a figure fell heavily from the void, landing on the floor and making the great hall hum from the impact.

"This is..."

Taiqing Daoist clutched his wine cup, the liquid within rippling slightly.

On the main seat, Xiao Yu’s expression shifted. He seemed to have heard something, and a smile couldn’t help but spread across his face.

"Fellow Daoists, I presume you all recognize this man. And even if you don’t, you’ve surely heard of him."

Xiao Yu’s gaze swept across the crowd in the hall before settling on Huaisheng Daoist. He smiled faintly.

"This fellow Daoist is named Huaisheng. He is the successor to the lineage passed down in the mortal realm by the Netherworld Venerable Master..."

"Huaisheng Daoist!?"

In the hall, many of the Daoists were startled.

The Netherworld Daoist Temple, while not widely known—with ordinary people completely unaware of its existence—was familiar to those present. After all, every person here was a Sect Leader, an ancestor, or an Elder; of course they would know of him.

However, seeing his current pathetic state, it seemed he had suffered a major defeat.

Although the Netherworld Daoist Temple had grown much weaker since losing contact with the Netherworld, this Huaisheng Daoist had once fought a Feathered True Master to a standstill.

’For him to be in such a sorry state now... could it be that his strength has fallen even further?’

Speaking of which, this Huaisheng Daoist was extremely senior, having cultivated even longer than many a Feathered True Master.

But while some people’s Cultivation grew more profound and immeasurable the longer they trained, others seemed to regress with age.

Huaisheng Daoist was undoubtedly one of the latter.

As time passed, his strength gradually waned. Right after the connection between the Netherworld and the Mortal Realm was severed, he could still manage to fight a Feathered True Master to a draw.

But later, it was said he was injured by a Returning Void True Master.

Looking at him now, he seemed even weaker.

"Cough, cough!"

Huaisheng Daoist coughed a few times. The flush on his face subsided as he slowly got to his feet and surveyed his surroundings.

On the main seat at the head of the hall was Xiao Yu, the Vice Sect Leader of the Gui Chen Sect. To his left and right were the two Guest Ministers of the Gui Chen Sect, named Gong Yan and Jiuyu.

These were two Feathered True Masters.

In the hall, two columns of seats stretched down from the left and right.

At the head of the rows were Taiqing Daoist, the True Man of Heavenly Tiger, the Pavilion Master of Yitian Pavilion, Zilei Master, Zihuang Daoist, Zen Master Gu Yue, Long Ya Dharma King, Elder Bai Shen, and other Tribulation Crossing Realm and Feathered Transformation Realm True Masters.

Behind these many True Masters were dozens more who had reached the Returning Void Realm.

A great number of the renowned masters from within the Dayu Immortal Dynasty were gathered here.

Among these people, there were some he recognized and had even met before, some he had only heard of, and others who were complete strangers.

But whether he knew them or not, every single person was looking at him with a hint of faint mockery and undisguised condescension in their eyes.

As if looking at a...

...homeless dog!

There are five paths of cultivation in the world: the Daoist, Buddhist, Demon, Ghost, and Evil paths.

The five paths were clearly distinct, yet they also intersected. Among them, the Daoist, Buddhist, and Evil paths were mostly followed by the Human Race, and were truly and clearly distinct from the Demon and Ghost paths.

And as for the Netherworld Daoist Temple, which relied on the Summoning Technique while its members’ own Cultivation was not strong, many Cultivators secretly looked down upon them.

In the past, out of deference to the Netherworld Venerable Master, they had treated the Netherworld Daoist Temple with courtesy and respect, never revealing their true feelings.

But with the disappearance of the Netherworld Venerable Master and the severing of the connection between the Netherworld and the Mortal Realm, their true colors naturally began to show.

Now, seeing Huaisheng Daoist’s miserable state, they all felt an indescribable sense of glee.

Such are the ways of the mortal world, and the fickle nature of the human heart.

Huaisheng Daoist could not peer into the minds of these powerful experts, but he could still guess, still see it in their eyes.

In fact, the decline of the Netherworld Daoist Temple was partly the result of schemes by some of the very people in this hall.

PAT! PAT!

He patted the dust from his Daoist Robe and stood up straight, meeting the many malicious and mocking gazes.

As if he hadn’t noticed a thing, he cupped his fists in a salute to the assembly and said:

"Huaisheng Daoist of the Netherworld Daoist Temple greets all you True Masters!"

As expected, there was no response.

The hall was full of guests, yet it seemed utterly empty.

Huaisheng Daoist was not surprised. He did not lower his cupped fists, but simply let out a soft sigh.

"True Masters... True Masters..."

"You are ’True,’ indeed. It’s just a pity you are no longer ’Men’."

The smile on Xiao Yu’s face vanished. He spoke, his voice carrying a bone-chilling cold:

"Your mouth is tougher than your bones!"

"Haha!"

The True Man of Heavenly Tiger—who sat on his throne looking less like an extraordinary Daoist and more like a Demon Beast with his exceptionally burly frame—threw his head back and laughed.

"To have fallen to such a state, and you still dare to mock us. Say what you will, but you’ve certainly inherited a sliver of the Netherworld Venerable Master’s audacity!"