Chapter 758
In the mist, a figure suddenly struck without warning, targeting a disciple of the Yaochi sect.
Seeing the Taiji symbol above the assailant's head, the old monk Zhitong shouted, "Have you lost your mind, Taishang Dao?"
But when he noticed a disciple from the Leiyin sect beside him also disregarding orders and attacking, he realized something:
"You are from the Jiuyou Sect!"
Zheng Fa suddenly understood what the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor was planning.
Sure enough, the laughter of the souls began to fade, leaving only a few lines of a long song, faintly echoing through the mist.
"Once allies, now sworn enemies."
"Brothers in the same sect, turned into mortal foes in the blink of an eye."
"In the past, we drank together and called each other friends; now, we meet only to fight to the death."
"Do not say there is no retribution in this world; the grudges outside the city have not yet ceased."
The verses were neither poetry nor song, and the melody was bizarre and discordant, far from pleasant.
Yet sung by those souls, it carried a haunting sorrow that pierced the heart and reached deep into the soul.
Zheng Fa understood now: those who had struck first were not the disciples of the four sects entering the Tianhe sect this time.
As Zhitong had said, these were remnants of the Jiuyou Sect, like the Yuming Xian, dark agents among the four sects.
Zhitong and the others were not impulsive people.
They wouldn’t act rashly without understanding the situation.
But the Jiuyou disciples had blended into the crowd, launching surprise attacks on the disciples of the four sects.
They couldn’t see the faces of those around them; who could tell who was from the Jiuyou Sect and who was a loyal disciple of the four sects?
Moreover, the four sects were already rife with contradictions. The four true immortals could manage their own disciples, but how could they expect the other three sects to truly submit?
Zhitong intended to restrain himself.
But then, a figure suddenly emerged from the mist, radiating the aura of Haori Mountain, and struck Zhitong hard!
"True Immortal!"
No... it was the Four Swords of Zhusian.
Zheng Fa felt the stir of the Xian Sword within his soul and realized the identity of the attacker:
A Jiuyou Demon Ancestor lurking among the disciples of Haori Mountain, wielding either the Lvxian Sword or the Juexian Sword for a sneak attack.
Zheng Fa activated the transformation of the Tiangang and Dizhao techniques within him, turning into smoke to evade everyone's notice.
Zhitong and the others lacked such means.
They certainly sensed something was wrong, but being caught in the chaos, they had no time to distinguish friend from foe; everyone looked like a Jiuyou disciple.
At this point, survival was the priority!
Zhitong led the disciples of Leiyin Temple to counterattack those indistinct figures.
One figure in the mist was struck down, collapsing to the ground.
The unfamiliar face suddenly changed, revealing a visage Zheng Fa found somewhat familiar.
"Shixiong!"
Several disciples of Taishang Dao shouted, glaring angrily at Zhitong and the others.
Zhitong's expression darkened; just as he was about to speak, a black-and-white Yin-Yang diagram flashed by and struck a Leiyin disciple beside him, leaving not a trace behind.
"Xuanding!"
Zhitong roared, his long brows bristling with fury.
But when he looked up, all he saw were unfamiliar faces; in the mist, he couldn’t even tell where Xuanding had gone.
...
"The Jiuyou Demon Ancestor is... repaying tooth for tooth, blood for blood."
Uncle Pang and the others were stunned.
In the live stream, the disciples of the four sects could no longer distinguish friend from foe, only engaging in frenzied slaughter.
One by one, the disciples of the four sects fell.
Most of them did not die at the hands of the Jiuyou disciples.
Instead, they perished under the madness of the other three sects, even at the hands of their own comrades.
Elder Yuan sighed, "This is the revenge of the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor."
"He wants the disciples of the four sects to taste the bitterness of betrayal by their allies."
"He wants them to experience the pain of fratricide."
The Heavenly Emperor nodded lightly, suddenly saying:
"I understand why he chose to broadcast this."
"Huh?"
"Hatred..." The Heavenly Emperor pointed at the live stream, "The people of the four sects have developed such deep-seated enmity in front of so many cultivators."
"Which of these disciples isn’t an elite of the four sects? Each one has their own master, disciples, and even family."
"After this, how can there be any trust left among the four sects? It will be hard to avoid conflict."
Elder Yuan slowly nodded, adding, "I wonder if this Jiuyou Demon Ancestor only seeks revenge..."
The Heavenly Emperor shook his head.
He didn’t know.
The Jiuyou Demon Ancestor had endured for so many years, and his primary goal was undoubtedly revenge.
But whether he had other motives, that was hard to say.
Could the four sects really allow him to act as he pleased?
Thinking of this, the Heavenly Emperor looked again at the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor on Yinshi Mountain.
...
The Jiuyou Demon Ancestor stood silently on Yinshi Mountain, watching the slaughter of the disciples of the four sects without a word.
It was as if he were savoring a dramatic performance.
Only when most of the disciples of the four sects lay on the ground did he gently raise his hand, and a stream of light flew from his sleeve.
An ancient, mysterious book appeared before everyone.
On the cover of the book were two ancient characters—Shengsi (生死, Life and Death).
"You sought to sever the Tianhe method, yet now you die by its hand."
Zhitong's body stiffened as he looked at the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor who spoke.
The disciples of the four sects also gradually ceased their fighting.
"Actually, I never practiced the Tianhe method from the beginning, and even now, I still don’t know what the fundamental technique of Tianhe is."
The Jiuyou Demon Ancestor's tone carried a hint of mockery.
"Though my path of the法身 (fashen, Dharma Body) has reached its end, the method of Tianhe has never been perfected..."
It seemed the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor was also unaware of the subsequent teachings of the Tianhe method?
"Tianhe told me he has some ideas, and once the demon sect is eradicated, he will discuss them with me."
This was quite a bold claim...
But it did align with Zheng Fa's impression of the Tianhe Zun:
If there was a flaw in this prodigy, it was his excessive self-confidence; he often kept many things to himself.
Even now, Zheng Fa still didn’t know what the fundamental technique of Tianhe Zun was—
The Nine Turns Golden Elixir method had a closer relationship with the Qingping Sword.
The Xian Sword Canon seemed to correspond only to the Xian Sword.
The Tianhe method, like the法身法 (fashenfa, Dharma Body method), was a broad category of techniques, perhaps merely a concept.
For instance, the "Great Freedom True Resolution" in the法身法 was the fundamental technique, while in the Yangshen method, the "Chixiao Jade Volume" was also fundamental.
Yet the Tianhe method, whether due to incompleteness or lack of transmission, had no similar fundamental technique.
Thinking back, the four sects must have had quite a headache back then:
Unable to find the fundamental great law, they simply severed the entire Tianhe method...
The Jiuyou Demon Ancestor continued:
"But I was hunted down by you, and even my法身 was extinguished." He extended his hand, and the ancient book fell into his palm. "If I perish, you cannot resurrect me; I can only choose the Tianhe method."
"I can only choose to merge with this Book of Life and Death."
As his voice fell, the black-and-white mysterious light on the Book of Life and Death suddenly burst forth.
"Golden Immortal treasure..."
Zhitong's murmurs were almost a groan.
How enviable!
Looking at that seemingly unremarkable Book of Life and Death, Zheng Fa felt his mouth watering.
This meant that the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor possessed at least two Golden Immortal-level treasures:
One was the Zhusian Array Diagram.
The other was the Book of Life and Death.
In the current Xuanwei, they were nearly invincible.
And he was now equivalent to... the spirit of the Book of Life and Death?
No wonder the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor was so different from the other demon ancestors:
Other demon sects existed in family forms.
Only the Jiuyou Sect was different, caring little for bloodlines.
"The achievements of Tianhe in his lifetime have all flowed away."
The Jiuyou Demon Ancestor looked at Zhitong and the others, his smile chilling.
"My own path has also been severed."
"How can you, the immortal sects, remain unscathed?"
"In this Xuanwei, the wicked thrive, while the good are left to rot!"
The Jiuyou Demon Ancestor's words carried an undeniable power.
"I wish to turn Xuanwei into the underworld, where good and evil are rewarded, and the heavenly path is restored!"
"You wicked disciples of the four sects shall fight day and night in my underworld, with no way to escape."
This Jiuyou Demon Ancestor truly came for revenge...
It was clear that although he was strong now, he could never transcend the limitations of the Book of Life and Death; it seemed he could only reach the Golden Immortal level in this life.
What could a person filled with hatred do when they had lost all hope? Zheng Fa couldn’t even begin to imagine.
He understood even more that, let alone the fact that he had little connection with the Jiuyou Demon Ancestor, even if he did, he couldn’t persuade or stop him.
Wait!
In that black-and-white mysterious light, there seemed to be traces of incense!
The fallen disciples of the four sects gradually turned to bones, nourishing the mud beneath them.
The surrounding space seemed to expand just a little more.
"Ritual? Or is this Book of Life and Death a type of cave treasure?"
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