Change in the Red Dust Pure Land

Xuan'ai Daoist had been feeling inexplicably uneasy lately, especially after hearing that Jiang Human Emperor was visiting Red Dust Pure Land. It made her even more anxious, terrified that Jiang Human Emperor might discover what was above.

"No, no, it won't happen. The sect's disciples rarely interact with the Human Emperor. He'll only be received by the Holy Maiden and the Sect Leader, and neither of them has Gu Worms."

"What if the Human Emperor scans the disciples with his Divine Sense? No, no, that won't happen. Jiang Human Emperor is an upright man; scanning disciples would be like seeing them naked—that's not something a Human Emperor would do."

"But what if? Jiang Human Emperor always does the unexpected. Who can guarantee he won't suddenly be struck by lust?"

Xuan'ai Daoist hid in a secret place within Red Dust Pure Land, trembling, her teeth chattering, constantly comforting herself and then scaring herself again.

She was truly afraid. If the Holy Maiden and Sect Leader discovered her plan, she was confident she could handle it or even escape. But facing the current Human Emperor? She wouldn't even dare to run. It would be better to just kill herself and reincarnate through the underworld than to have her soul scattered by Jiang Human Emperor's hands.

"How can there be such a terrifying person in the world?"

As a native of the Nine Provinces, who hadn't heard of Jiang Li's legends? He was the absolute ruthless one who killed Nascent Soul cultivators at Golden Core and slew Tribulation Stage cultivators at Body Integration Realm. Although previous Human Emperors were exceptionally powerful, none had ever been this absurd.

Not to mention that he was now at the Great Ascension Stage, on par with an Earth Immortal, and could probably even slay a Heaven Immortal.

Someone like that would be a dominant force even in the Immortal World, let alone in the Nine Provinces.

Xuan'ai Daoist grew up in an Imperial Dynasty and witnessed plenty of scheming and intrigue, but she also saw that under absolute force, all cunning was meaningless. That was why she firmly believed in the philosophy that the strong rule and the free roam as they please.

Later, she joined Red Dust Pure Land, one of the Six Great Sects. Through hard work, she became an extremely rare Body Integration Realm cultivator and a sect elder—a status that commanded respect wherever she went.

But that wasn't enough. An elder didn't have absolute authority. She wanted to be the Sect Leader.

But no one voted for her.

Of course not. The others weren't blind. If Xuan'ai Daoist became Sect Leader, the first thing she'd do would be to recruit countless disciples, conquer the world, and indulge in extreme pleasure—completely against the tenets of Red Dust Pure Land.

Red Dust Pure Land, as the name suggests, was a peaceful resting place within the red dust of the mortal world.

Xuan'ai Daoist only had "red dust" in her heart, not "pure land," so naturally, the other elders opposed her.

When she couldn't become Sect Leader, Xuan'ai Daoist chose to bully the disciples, rewarding those who obeyed her and destroying those who defied her, enjoying her power trip.

Soon, she was reported by the disciples. Qingyu Daoist convened a council of elders and decided to expel this elder from the sect.

After leaving the sect, Xuan'ai Daoist wandered around and accidentally discovered the hidden land of the Gu Tribe.

For the Gu Tribe, which only had Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, she, an Body Integration Realm cultivator, could move around freely like entering an empty room. She learned Gu Arts as she pleased and took whatever Gu Worms she wanted.

In the end, she mastered her stolen knowledge, finalized her plan, and returned to Red Dust Pure Land.

She had full confidence. Red Dust Pure Land had no scheming or infighting, no experience with the bloody violence of the martial world—they were a flock of sheep. With her skills and Gu Arts, controlling Red Dust Pure Land would be easy.

To poison the Spiritual Rice with Gu, she had to act at the source. Poisoning within Red Dust Pure Land would inevitably be discovered by the elders.

Her original plan was to kill everyone in a Small Town and control them with Corpse Gu. But unexpectedly, before she arrived, Yuan Ling had already killed the people of two Small Towns and used inferior Corpse Gu to control the corpses.

Excited, Xuan'ai Daoist killed Yuan Ling, took over the corpses with her own Corpse Gu, and every autumn harvest, she had Yuan Ling and Du Xiner plant the Gu while she hid in the sect's secret grounds, monitoring the latest developments and adjusting her plans at any time.

She secretly planted Gu and successfully controlled several Spirit Transformation Stage disciples.

After fifty years of planting Gu, she had controlled all Nascent Soul Realm disciples, many Spirit Transformation Stage ones, and even two Spirit Transformation Stage cultivators who broke through to Body Integration Realm.

She originally planned to wait another fifty years, until more controlled cultivators reached Body Integration Realm, before making her move.

But an unexpected change forced her to act early.

She heard that the Hongchen Ancestor had revived.

Xuan'ai Daoist had only heard legends of the Hongchen Ancestor and never seen a portrait. She thought it was just Red Dust Pure Land boasting to inflate their prestige. But driven by curiosity, she wanted to see if the Hongchen Ancestor was truly as breathtaking as the legends claimed.

Qingyu Daoist couldn't see the Hongchen Ancestor herself and worried that the Ancestor might wake up alone, so she sent a descendant of the Ancestor to stand guard. But she didn't know that this descendant had long been planted with a Mind Control Gu.

Xuan'ai Daoist summoned this descendant and ordered her to paint the Hongchen Ancestor's immortal visage.

When she saw the painting, she was struck as if by lightning, her breathing heavy.

Could there really be a charm in this world that transcended gender? Was this painting something a mortal like me was even worthy of seeing? The strong rule, and beauty belongs to me...

Xuan'ai Daoist's thoughts scattered, drifting to irrelevant fantasies, until a thousand thoughts condensed into one: Possess her! Possess her! Possess her! Xuan'ai Daoist immediately decided to launch a coup and usurp the sect!

She wanted to stay by the Ancestor's side for life after life!

"Xuan'ai, how are you here?!" Qingyu Daoist was horrified to see Xuan'ai Daoist appear before her, especially when she saw the crowd of disciples behind her, including two Body Integration Realm cultivators. She could hardly believe her eyes.

The other elders also braced themselves as if facing a great enemy, none of them understanding what was happening.

They were Body Integration Realm cultivators, but their minds were pure, nowhere near as cunning as Xuan'ai.

A coup?

Wasn't that something that only happened in storybooks? How could it happen in Red Dust Pure Land?

"Won't you even call me Junior Sister? That makes me so sad, Qingyu Senior Sister." Xuan'ai Daoist smiled at Qingyu Daoist, confident of victory.

"I only regret being soft-hearted back then! I should have killed you with one palm!"

Qingyu Daoist was furious, but she wasn't afraid of Xuan'ai Daoist. She was confident she could defeat her within thirty moves.

Xuan'ai Daoist's temperament didn't match the cultivation method of Red Dust Pure Land, making her the weakest Body Integration Realm cultivator. Every elder present was confident they could take her down.

Five elders and one Sect Leader—six Body Integration Realm cultivators in total. The opposing side, counting Qingyu Daoist, only had three Body Integration Realm cultivators. The gap in combat power was enormous.

"Qingyu Senior Sister, you're so imposing. In a direct fight, I naturally admit defeat. But these disciples are all controlled by my Mind Control Gu. Their lives are in my hands. If you dare touch me, I'll make one of them commit suicide!"

Xuan'ai Daoist said lightly, forcing Qingyu Daoist, who had already begun her attack, to stop mid-motion. The five elders also hesitated, afraid to strike.

Seeing them still wavering, Xuan'ai Daoist continued, "Don't believe me? Then let me show you one."

One of the disciples standing in the back stepped forward without hesitation, tore out his own heart, and died instantly!

"Xuan'ai!" Qingyu Daoist was enraged to the extreme, her eyes splitting with fury, blood streaming from her sockets. Her anger shot straight into the sky, thunder rolling overhead like divine wrath—a sign that she was on the verge of breaking into the Tribulation Stage! She hated that she had been soft-hearted back then. She hated that she hadn't detected the Mind Control Gu. She hated that she wasn't as strong as Jiang Li.

She hated!