Chapter 187 - 157: Subduing

Chapter 187: Chapter 157: Subduing

Yan Jiulin had now assumed the appearance of "Luo Xiu," wearing the skin of an Ancient Body Cultivator.

"My friend, it was just a friendly spar. No need to get truly heated," Yan Jiulin said to Zhang Ji.

This gave Zhang Ji a real sense of Yan Jiulin’s power.

’He took my punch so easily. I estimate that even if I played all my trump cards, we’d be evenly matched at best. But in a battle of attrition, I’m not sure I could win.’

"It’s mainly because Brother Cui is so powerful, and my own skills are lacking. I got a little carried away and couldn’t hold back. My apologies," Zhang Ji said, taking the opportunity to gracefully de-escalate.

Cui Wei flew out from the crater and landed beside Yan Jiulin. He gave Yan Jiulin a slight bow with cupped fists, said nothing, then turned and left.

Yan Jiulin said nothing more either, returning to the assembly hall with Zhang Ji, laughing and joking. Then he announced, "After a friendly spar, Blood Master Cui has acknowledged the strength and position of Blood Master Zhang. Now, let’s have Blood Master Zhang say a few words."

Zhang Ji took the stage and began, "I don’t have much to add. These are extraordinary times, and with our great undertaking ahead, I ask for everyone’s continued patience. Now that I have been entrusted with this position with the approval of the two Blood Chiefs, I will strive to live up to that trust and work hand-in-hand with all of you to build a glorious future..."

After finishing his string of platitudes, Zhang Ji had formally assumed his post.

Next, once Yan Jiulin entered closed-door cultivation, True Source Technology would be handed over to him.

Yan Jiulin then began explaining the relevant operational details to Zhang Ji in preparation for the handover.

In reality, there wasn’t much to discuss. The factory mostly ran itself; as long as the key personnel didn’t stir up trouble, there wouldn’t be any issues.

After finishing his explanation, Yan Jiulin left, allowing Zhang Ji to tour the factory on his own.

He toured the Array Plate production line. After observing for a while and committing the details to memory, he was about to leave when he ran into Cui Wei.

With a wave of his hand, Cui Wei deployed an Array that blocked both sound and Divine Sense.

"The Celestial Dao Alliance is not something the Ascetic Order can overthrow. Yan Jiulin is just using you—it’s a dead end! The Alliance has made its move, giving us a perfect opportunity to leave. If you cooperate with me and we turn over Yan Jiulin and his people, you could end up presiding over your own domain above the Tenth Heaven, with no shortage of Spiritual Qi for your cultivation..." Cui Wei said.

"You’ve been in contact with the Celestial Dao Alliance?" Zhang Ji interrupted.

"Is that important?" Cui Wei retorted. "You have no idea how many people in the Ascetic Order have already made contact with the Celestial Dao Alliance. You’re new, so you just don’t get it." Cui Wei added with a sneer, "You can’t possibly believe the Ascetic Order can overthrow the Celestial Dao Alliance and restore the ancient cultivation environment, can you? They don’t even believe that themselves!"

"I’m not counting on the Ascetic Order to succeed, nor am I counting on the Celestial Dao Alliance," Zhang Ji said.

"Then what are you counting on?" Cui Wei asked, confused.

"Myself." A corner of Zhang Ji’s mouth curled up. "You can’t always rely on others."

With that, he started walking. As he passed by Cui Wei, he suddenly stopped. "I’d advise you not to betray the Ascetic Order," he said. "At least, not right now."

Zhang Ji didn’t elaborate further.

But surely Cui Wei understood the implication.

Yan Jiulin’s control over his subordinates never relied solely on superficial goodwill.

As far as Zhang Ji knew, Yan Jiulin had placed a failsafe on Cui Wei long ago.

Cui Wei himself was probably unaware of this.

If Cui Wei were to defect to the Celestial Dao Alliance, Yan Jiulin would likely activate that failsafe without hesitation.

The failsafe was called a "Soul-controlling Heart Demon Seed." It was a special cursed Secret Skill that had to be installed in the Divine Soul via a process akin to surgical implantation.

Cui Wei had undergone such "modifications" in the Ascetic Order before, and that very thing had been installed in his Divine Soul.

Once the Heart Demon Seed was activated, Cui Wei wouldn’t even notice. He would inexplicably become loyal to Yan Jiulin, gradually losing his sense of self.

The drawback to this method was that the victim would lose most of their Spiritual Consciousness, causing a significant drop in their power. Therefore, it was typically only used on cannon fodder.

Using a Heart Demon Seed to control anyone with decent skill or power was simply not worth the trade-off.

Nine Nether Deep Technology was the master of such methods. They could even preserve a person’s original consciousness entirely, keeping them immersed in an illusion while they worked for them.

After Zhang Ji left, Cui Wei hesitated for a long time before finally suppressing the impulse.

He couldn’t fathom the depths of Yan Jiulin’s power. It was just that the circumstances were unique; the Celestial Dao Alliance seemed to be making a serious move, and he genuinely wanted to use this as a chance to break away. That’s why he had staged this little drama.

But now, it seemed better to wait a little longer.

......

「Inside Yan Jiulin’s immortal residence.」

He was in conversation with Qu Wuyin.

"His strength is much greater than I thought," Yan Jiulin said. "And he’s a smart man. If we have his help, he’s sure to play a key role later on."

"You’ve changed the plan?" Qu Wuyin asked.

"Let’s bring him into the fold. Relying on just the few of us is, ultimately, not enough," Yan Jiulin said.

Originally, Yan Jiulin had intended to use Zhang Ji as a disposable pawn. He hadn’t invested much in him, so he planned to leave Zhang Ji behind with traitors like Cui Wei for the Celestial Dao Alliance to deal with. This would serve as a perfect distraction, giving his group a chance to relocate to the Abyss of Eternity.

But the strength Zhang Ji displayed gave Yan Jiulin a new idea.

This level of strength placed him in the highest tier, second only to the Divinity Transformation Venerables. It was enough to establish a domain above the Fifteenth Heaven.

So he no longer intended to discard Zhang Ji. Instead, he had a new role in mind for him.

"What does the Blood Chief think?" Qu Wuyin asked.

"He’s in full agreement," Yan Jiulin said.

.....

「The Abyss of Eternity, 18th Level: The Burial Ruins Abyss.」

Inside the Yuyi Grotto-Heaven, Ling Xuzi took the Sword Oil for his Spirit Sword from Aunt Liu. Wiping his old companion, he muttered, "A Celestial Demon from beyond our realm... I wonder what that world is like!"

Ling Xuzi was no fool.

The moment Ling Xuzi met Zhang Ji, he had detected the completely different cultivation system within his body.

No trace of Spiritual Power, an immensely powerful physique, and yet a completely different type of energy flowed within him.

In a world saturated by the influence of Spiritual Qi, this was as good as openly declaring himself a Celestial Demon from another realm.

However, Zhang Ji concealed it so well that an ordinary person’s Divine Sense couldn’t grasp his true nature.

But Ling Xuzi was an exception.

He was a Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator with a powerful Divine Sense. He had also mastered a specialized Divine Thought Method, granting him meticulous perception. Furthermore, he possessed a special Spiritual Prosthetic Eye that could perceive the truth behind all things.

With a single glance, he had already formed a rough hypothesis about Zhang Ji’s origins.

However, he had no intention of moving against Zhang Ji, nor did he entertain any thoughts of coveting the world he came from.

First, he wasn’t confident he could actually capture Zhang Ji.

Second, distant water can’t quench a present thirst. The most pressing matter was still to bring down that Floating City and return the Spiritual Qi to all living things...