Chapter 109 - 105: The Daoist Descends the Mountain

Chapter 109: Chapter 105: The Daoist Descends the Mountain

At the back of Dao Yi Mountain, the grass was withered, and the poplars were bare.

The wind swept up the morning dew, making it sway on the yellow, dry grass. The crystalline droplets reflected Chen Sha, who sat before a grave.

"Father, you said I could only descend the mountain once I became number one in the world."

Chen Sha had sat there all night. Gazing at the tombstone, he had pulled up many weeds. Now, resting his face in his hands, he muttered to himself, "I originally thought so, too. I believed that only by becoming number one in the world could I reclaim from this Jianghu the status you once brought to Dao Yi Mountain."

Looking up at the sky, he continued, "But now, things in the Jianghu are changing a bit too fast. If I wait until others are fully prepared to attack us, even if I am ready, I won’t be able to prevent casualties among our disciples."

Such things had already happened twice on Dao Yi Mountain.

"The first time, the Extraordinary Nine Monsters attacked the mountain. Even though I arrived in time right here at this graveyard—you were watching back then—" Chen Sha spoke to the tombstone, "—even though I quickly eliminated their leading experts and didn’t let a single one escape, our disciples still suffered heavy casualties. Eldest Senior Brother was injured, Second Senior Sister was injured, and several elders lost arms or suffered blade wounds..."

As he spoke, he brushed the dust off the tombstone. "The second time, it was the First-Grade Hall. They brought numerous experts. Just like before, I ensured they all remained permanently on the mountain, yet our people still died."

Staring intently at the tombstone, Chen Sha said, "Now, the Demon Sect is gathering momentum in the Jianghu again. If Long Zaitian truly unifies the Demon Sect soon, then just as Senior Brother Song Yu and the others fear, they will undoubtedly target our Dao Yi Sect first."

However, that would likely be a year or two away.

If Chen Sha waited on the mountain for another year or two, his Power and Martial Arts would inevitably grow much stronger. Perhaps in two years, he would have achieved Perfection in the Twenty-four Gods.

By then, he would have even more confidence in annihilating any invading enemies.

"But the previous two incidents have taught me something. Since Dao Yi Mountain is a major sect in this world, even if I don’t go down to provoke others, we will remain at the center of the storm. Therefore, I cannot allow Dao Yi Mountain to become a battlefield ever again!"

Chen Sha silently let out a breath. "If I don’t descend the mountain, others will come to kill us, and I will be forced to defend this place and fight them here. Once our Sect becomes the battlefield, even if my Cultivation is peerless, it’s hard to guarantee that our junior disciples won’t be sacrificed in clashes with the enemy."

Just from the two invasions by the First-Grade Hall, dozens of disciples had already been killed or wounded.

The grave remained motionless.

The words inscribed on the stone stele—*Chen Clan’s Respected Lord, Canxuan*—offered no response.

But Chen Sha had said everything he needed to say.

EXHALE.

He slowly stood up. "I must descend the mountain.

"If I don’t want others kicking down our doors and turning Dao Yi Mountain into a blood sea over and over again, I must go down and kick down the doors of their sects!

"I will strike them down one by one until no one in the world dares to be my enemy, until no one dares to provoke Dao Yi Mountain ever again."

The grave remained deathly still.

Chen Sha had already turned around, walking toward the Sect.

A soft sigh drifted through the wind, left behind for the grave: "That’s exactly what you did back then, isn’t it?"

......

Meanwhile, over at the Sect Leader’s Hall.

Song Yu and the others had just received an urgent plea for help from Yu Miaolian down the mountain, sent all the way from the Zhao Country Capital. While they were frantically searching for Chen Sha, he slowly arrived at the hall on his own.

Taking one look at their expressions, he knew without asking that something else had happened.

"Sect Leader!" Song Yu said urgently the moment he saw Chen Sha return. "Things are bad. Liting has been locked up in the Celestial Prison by the Zhao Country’s Government Office. Miaolian sent this SOS letter overnight, pleading for the Sect’s assistance. Look."

Chen Sha’s expression shifted slightly. He immediately took the letter from Song Yu’s hand.

The contents matched Song Yu’s summary. The message was very brief, which only highlighted how anxious Yu Miaolian had been when writing it.

"Zhao Country dares to imprison someone from Dao Yi Mountain?" Chen Sha’s face darkened. "Did Second Senior Sister only send such a brief message? Did she say why?"

The elders all shook their heads.

Only Song Yu spoke up. "When Qingqing and Zhengyi were gaining experience down the mountain, I took them to visit Liting. At the time, he seemed to be helping the ’God Catcher’ faction of Zhao Country’s Six Gates apprehend a ’Flower Thief’ who had committed numerous major crimes in the country.

"When I was there, he was quite busy. He didn’t even have time to sit down and chat with me before he was called away by the Six Gates to assist them.

"This time, he was locked in Zhao Country’s Celestial Prison. That is the exact prison under the jurisdiction of the Six Gates. The people imprisoned there are either heinous criminals or highly skilled martial arts bandits of the Jianghu. The only way to find out why Liting was locked up is to negotiate with Zhao Country’s Six Gates."

Song Yu hesitated. "However, as one of the three great countries in the world, Zhao Country possesses a foundation of experts in its Court that is equal to, if not greater than, that of any top-tier Major Sect. The Six Gates alone boasts a God Catcher who is a First-Grade Great Innate. Moreover, world-renowned Clans hold significant official positions within the Court. Not to mention, the Jade Emperor Sect—which, like our Dao Yi Sect, is one of the Four Great Daoist Sects—is the National Religion of Zhao Country..."

The Sovereign of Zhao Country bore the surname Zhao. The country was located in the southeast of this world, bordering Jin Country at Dasan Pass. It ruled the lands south of the Wei River and Celestial Ridge, with its territory extending further south to the vast South Sea. The nation was filled with experts like clouds.

The current Sovereign, Zhao Yi, even practiced the Royal Family’s Martial Arts of the National Religion, the *Jade Emperor Scripture*.

"If we want to save Liting from the Celestial Prison, I’m afraid you, Sect Leader, will have to go in person."

Otherwise, it would be impossible to sway the decision of the Six Gates.

"Say no more." Chen Sha placed his hands behind his back and spoke in a deep voice. "I have already decided to descend the mountain. This incident only solidifies my resolve. If Dao Yi Mountain wants to continue developing, sometimes we need to bide our time and accumulate strength. But once we’ve accumulated enough, we must unleash it; otherwise, no one will know."

His eyes were intensely cold.

Just now at the back of the mountain, he had already figured it out. To prevent certain people and certain factions from walking all over them, he had to go down and beat them into submission. Only then would others lose the chance to attack their Sect.

Hearing this, Song Yu felt a wave of bitterness.

Dao Yi Mountain never used to be like this.

When their Master was alive, never mind Zhao Country’s Celestial Prison daring to lock up Chen Canxuan’s Direct Disciple—even ordinary Dao Yi Mountain disciples traveling the lands were treated as VIPs by the sects of every major faction.

Now, it had only been a few years since their Master passed away.

The Jianghu had completely lost its reverence for Dao Yi Mountain. They even dared to throw a True Disciple of the Sect into prison.

"Junior Brother, I will accompany you down the mountain this time!" Song Yu volunteered.

Chen Sha shook his head. "No. I’m only taking my two disciples. You stay on the mountain. I will leave three Cosmic Light Stones with you to guard the Sect, ensuring that even in my absence, nothing untoward will happen here."

Hearing that Chen Sha was only bringing his disciples, Song Yu was slightly taken aback. "Does this mean... you plan to travel the lands for a long time?"

Why else would he bring his disciples? It had to be so he could personally instruct his two Direct Disciples wherever he went.

Chen Sha replied, "Not for long. Once the people of this Jianghu no longer dare to look down on our Dao Yi Sect, I will return."

Song Yu and the elders listened in stunned silence.

That sounded an awful lot like... he wouldn’t return until he had beaten the world into submission, until no one dared to claim supremacy anymore.

To make the world never dare to underestimate Dao Yi Mountain again... he would undoubtedly have to become invincible in the world, just like the old Sect Leader Chen Canxuan, to achieve such an effect.

However.

Song Yu’s thoughts shifted to the various incomprehensible powers Chen Sha had displayed over the past few years, especially the Cosmic Light Stones now entrusted to his care.

A Sect Leader Junior Brother like this was already a rare existence in the world. With his abilities, if he wanted to restore the prestige of the old Sect Leader’s era and become invincible in the world, the speed of his ascent might... be even faster?

"Very well. I will send someone to fetch your two disciples and pack your bags while we’re at it." After giving a slight bow, Song Yu left the hall first.

Meanwhile, Chen Sha had other matters to entrust to everyone in the Sect. He took out many Martial Arts Secret Manuals he had acquired from the Cosmic Light Fragments. "After I leave, put these Martial Arts in the Scripture Cliff. You can flip through them when you have free time..."

Among them were Cultivation Techniques like the *Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms*, *Void Clarity Fist*, *Jade Flute Swordsmanship*, *Nine Yin Scripture*, *Dog Beating Stick Technique*, *Luoying Divine Sword Palm*, *Toad Skill*, *One Yang Finger*, *Innate Skill*, and *Dugu Nine Swords*.

Chen Sha didn’t leave behind any First-Grade Martial Scriptures, as practicing them demanded exceptionally high talent. In truth, the elders in the Sect had no hope of reaching the First Grade.

That was also why the *Great Yellow Court* had only been passed down to a select few on the mountain.

Therefore, leaving First-Grade Martial Scriptures on the mountain would only make them bite off more than they could chew, leaving them poring over manuals until their hair turned white without achieving anything.

Instead, these Grandmaster and Grandmaster Level Martial Arts would boost their strength far more.

He didn’t expect them to be like him, capable of integrating every single Martial Art into their own repertoires. As long as each person could learn just one more technique, it would massively promote the advancement of their Martial Arts.

When Lin Qingqing learned that Chen Sha was preparing to descend the mountain and taking her and Qi Zhengyi along, she was thoroughly surprised. "Master is entering the secular world?"

Ever since she came up the mountain to become his apprentice, she had heard that their Martial Grandfather had set a rule for her Master: he wasn’t allowed to leave the mountain unless he became number one in the world. Now that he was descending...

Lin Qingqing’s eyes sparkled with excitement. "Is my Master number one in the world now?!"

Before leaving, Chen Sha didn’t forget to visit the back of the mountain to inform his Little Martial Uncle.

Zhou Santong had anticipated this. He simply stepped forward and tapped arms with Chen Sha. "This old man told you last time: with your current Cultivation, I can no longer stop you. It’s only been a few months, and your skills have climbed like a Celestial Ladder. Even if you aren’t fifth in the world, you’ve likely reached the level of sixth. What else can I say? As long as you’ve spoken to your father, that’s enough."

At the back of the mountain, Chen Sha bowed deeply to bid his Little Martial Uncle farewell. Before leaving, he gave him several First-Grade Martial Scriptures and mentioned that he had left many Martial Arts at the Scripture Cliff for him to peruse at his leisure.

Finally, Chen Sha arrived at the steps of the Front Gate Mountain.

He saw that hundreds of people had gathered there. Lin Qingqing and Qi Zhengyi, carrying their packs, obediently walked over and stood behind him.

Then, the three watched as all the Daoists on the mountain bowed in unison. "We await the Sect Leader’s swift return to the mountain!"

Chen Sha turned and waved his hand, signaling everyone to go back.

Placing his hands behind his back, he began his descent and spoke to his two disciples. "Let’s go. Come with your Master to throw some punches in this Jianghu and see how many people in the world can actually take them."