Daoist Xuan'ai had inexplicably been feeling uneasy lately. Especially after hearing that Human Emperor Jiang had visited the Red Dust Pure Land, she became even more apprehensive, terrified that Human Emperor Jiang would discover it.
It won't happen. It won't. The sect's disciples rarely interact with the Human Emperor. Only the Holy Maiden and the Sect Leader will receive him, and neither of them has Gu Worms.
What if the Human Emperor scans the disciples with his Divine Sense? No, he won't. Human Emperor Jiang is an upright man. Scanning disciples would be no different from seeing them naked—such conduct is beneath the Human Emperor.
But what if he does? Human Emperor Jiang is always capable of doing the unexpected. Who can guarantee that lust won't suddenly rise in his heart?
Daoist Xuan'ai hid in a secret place within the Red Dust Pure Land, trembling so hard that her teeth chattered. She kept comforting herself, then frightening herself all over again.
She was truly afraid. If the Holy Maiden and the Sect Leader discovered her plan, she was confident that she could deal with them or even escape. But before the current Human Emperor, she would not even dare run. She might as well kill herself and be reincarnated in the Underworld. That would still be better than having her soul scattered by Human Emperor Jiang.
How could there be such a terrifying person in this world?
As someone from the Nine Provinces, who had not heard Jiang Li's legends? He was an unparalleled ruthless figure who slew Nascent Souls at the Golden Core Realm and killed Tribulation Transcendence cultivators at the Body Integration Realm. Human Emperors throughout the ages had all possessed extraordinary combat power, but none had ever been this absurd.
Not to mention that he was now at the Great Ascension Stage, on par with an Earth Immortal. He could likely even kill a Heaven Immortal.
A person like that would be an overlord in the Immortal World, let alone in the Nine Provinces.
Daoist Xuan'ai had grown up in an Imperial Dynasty and witnessed plenty of scheming and intrigue. But she had also seen that before absolute force, every stratagem was nothing but an illusion. Thus, she firmly believed in the saying that the strong were honored and free.
Later, she joined the Red Dust Pure Land, one of the Six Great Sects. Through hard work, she became one of the exceedingly rare Body Integration Realm cultivators and an elder of the sect. With such status, she would be treated with courtesy anywhere.
But that was not enough. An elder did not possess absolute authority. She wanted to become the Sect Leader.
But no one chose her.
What a joke. The others were not blind. If Daoist Xuan'ai became Sect Leader, the first thing she would do would certainly be to recruit disciples far and wide, dominate the world, and indulge in extravagant pleasures. That ran completely contrary to the Red Dust Pure Land's doctrine.
The name Red Dust Pure Land itself revealed its doctrine: a place of peace and rest amid the worldly dust.
Daoist Xuan'ai had only worldly dust in her heart, without a trace of pure land. Naturally, the other elders opposed her.
Seeing that she could not become Sect Leader, Daoist Xuan'ai chose to lord it over the disciples instead. Those who obeyed her prospered; those who defied her perished. She indulged her craving to be strong.
Before long, the disciples reported her, and Daoist Qingyu convened the council of elders to decide that this elder would be expelled from the sect.
After leaving the sect, Daoist Xuan'ai wandered everywhere. By chance, she discovered the Gu Tribe's secluded settlement.
To the Gu Tribe, whose strongest members were only at the Nascent Soul Realm, her Body Integration Realm cultivation allowed her to come and go as if entering an uninhabited land. If she wanted to learn Gu Arts, she learned Gu Arts. If she wanted to take a Gu Worm, she took one.
In the end, after secretly learning what she needed, she finalized her plan and returned to the Red Dust Pure Land.
She had more than enough confidence. The Red Dust Pure Land had no schemes or intrigues and had never witnessed the bloody violence of the martial world. They were a flock of little lambs. With her methods and Gu Arts, controlling the Red Dust Pure Land would not be difficult.
To plant Gu in Spiritual Rice, she could only act at the source. If she planted it within the Red Dust Pure Land, the elders would inevitably discover it.
Her original plan had been to kill the people of a small town and control them with Corpse Gu. But she had not expected Yuan Ling to kill the people of two small towns before her arrival, then control the corpses with inferior Corpse Gu.
In her excitement, Daoist Xuan'ai killed Yuan Ling and used her own Corpse Gu to control those corpses. Every autumn harvest, she had Yuan Ling and Du Xiner plant the Gu, while she herself hid in a secret place within the sect, observing the latest developments and adjusting her plan at any time.
She secretly planted Gu and successfully controlled several Spirit Transformation Stage disciples.
After planting Gu for fifty years, she had controlled every Nascent Soul Realm disciple. She had also controlled quite a few Spirit Transformation Stage disciples, and two had even broken through to the Body Integration Realm.
Her original plan was to wait another fifty years, until more of those under her control reached the Body Integration Realm, before taking action.
But an unexpected change made her decide to act early.
She heard that Ancestor Hongchen had been resurrected.
Daoist Xuan'ai had only heard legends of Ancestor Hongchen and had never seen her portrait. She had assumed that the Red Dust Pure Land was merely boasting to elevate its own standing. Yet driven by curiosity, she wanted to see whether Ancestor Hongchen was truly as capable of making immortals and gods bow their heads as the legends claimed.
Daoist Qingyu could not personally visit Ancestor Hongchen. Worried that her ancestor might awaken with no one present, she sent one of Ancestor Hongchen's descendants to stand guard nearby. Yet she did not know that this descendant had long ago been implanted with a Mind Control Gu.
Daoist Xuan'ai summoned that descendant and ordered her to paint Ancestor Hongchen's divine visage.
When she saw the painting, she felt as though she had been struck by lightning. Even her breathing grew heavier.
There truly are people in this world whose charm transcends gender. Is a painting like this really something a common mortal like me deserves to see? The strong are honored, and beauties belong to me...
Daoist Xuan'ai's thoughts scattered, drifting toward absurd things. Countless thoughts eventually became one: Possess her, possess her, possess her! Daoist Xuan'ai immediately chose to launch a coup and usurp the throne!
She wanted to remain at her ancestor's side for life after life!
"Xuan'ai, why are you here?!" Daoist Qingyu was horrified when she saw Daoist Xuan'ai appear before her. Especially when she saw the mass of disciples behind her, including two Body Integration Realm cultivators, she could hardly believe her eyes.
The elders, too, faced a great enemy. They had not even reacted to what was happening.
Though they were Body Integration Realm cultivators, their thoughts were simple. They were far from Daoist Xuan'ai's equal.
A usurpation?
Was that not something that only happened in storybooks? How could it happen in the Red Dust Pure Land? "You won't even call me Junior Sister? I'm so heartbroken, Senior Sister Qingyu." Daoist Xuan'ai looked at Daoist Qingyu with a smile, victory already in her grasp.
"I only regret being too soft-hearted. I should have killed you with one palm strike back then!"
Daoist Qingyu was furious beyond measure, yet she did not fear Daoist Xuan'ai. She was confident she could take her down within thirty moves.
Daoist Xuan'ai's temperament did not suit the Red Dust Pure Land's cultivation technique. Therefore, she was the weakest Body Integration Realm cultivator. Every elder present was confident of taking her down.
Five elders and one Sect Leader made six Body Integration Realm cultivators in total. Even counting Daoist Xuan'ai, the other side only had three Body Integration Realm cultivators. The gap in combat power was enormous.
"Senior Sister Qingyu, what impressive bearing. In a straight fight, this Junior Sister naturally admits defeat. But these disciples have all been controlled by my Mind Control Gu. Their lives and deaths rest on a single thought of mine. If you dare touch me, I'll make one of them kill themselves!"
Daoist Xuan'ai said this lightly, forcing Daoist Qingyu to stop her attack halfway through. The five elders also feared damaging the vessel to catch the rat and did not dare act.
Seeing that they still hesitated, Daoist Xuan'ai continued, "Don't believe me? Then I'll show you one."
One of the disciples standing behind her stepped forward and, without the slightest hesitation, tore out her own heart. She died instantly! "Xuan'ai!" Daoist Qingyu's fury reached its peak. Her eyes split wide with rage, blood flowing from their corners. Her anger shot into the heavens, thunder rumbling above her head like the might of Heaven itself. This was the sign that she was about to enter the Tribulation Transcendence Realm! She hated her own soft-heartedness back then. She hated that she had failed to detect the Mind Control Gu. She hated that she was not as powerful as Jiang Li.
She hated!
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