Wisdom Dharma King

What's going on? Why is there suddenly such a big wave...? A little girl popped out from underground and looks like she's trying to hug his leg?? What kind of expression should I make in this situation?!

"Congratulations to the Dharma King on his great achievement! He has rekindled the Holy Flame! He has rendered unparalleled service to our religion!"

Before Li Fan could react, Duan Ye was already panting heavily, his emotions running high. He gazed longingly at the blazing sword light, his crimson pupils completely filled with its Sword Light. Heat washed over his face, his cheeks flushed red, and he was so excited that he was trembling. One wave of excitement after another, he crawled on his knees in front of Li Fan.

"As the Saintess's protector, I am unskilled and unable to fulfill my duties, which has caused the Dharma King to have to come to my rescue. I am truly unforgivable! You hold the Holy Flame in your heart; if anything had happened to you, it would have jeopardized the great cause of the Divine Cult! I am utterly ashamed! I beg the Dharma King to punish me!"

Li Fan glanced down at it.

Duan Ye maintained the posture of praising the sun, spread his arms, kowtowed, and stretched out his neck, clearly surrendering to his fate without any intention of plotting.

Moreover, she had probably been holding her breath underground for too long, and now, as she kowtowed on the ground, she was panting heavily, her smooth back rising and falling. At this moment, the surrounding air was scorched into heat waves by the True Yang Dao Power that had overflowed during the battle, and the torch-like, dazzling Dao Flames were also radiating outwards, the rolling flames making her fair, smooth, but dust-covered back appear red and sweaty, and even the fine hairs nearby could be seen.

Looking at the long neck poised beneath his sword, Li Fan knew that severing it with a single strike was perhaps the simplest and most swift option at this moment.

However, even at this distance, he could still feel the same fiery, surging blood flowing beneath the skin of the body before him. This was naturally the blood essence secretly cultivated by the authentic Cultivation Method of the Divine Sect. At first glance, it did indeed have many similarities to the True Yang Technique.

The Holy Flame... what exactly is this Holy Flame? Is it the same as the True Yang Dao Fire, or... no, it shouldn't be...

At this Duan Ye suddenly raised his head. It was unclear whether Li Fan had become suspicious due to his prolonged lack of reaction, or whether he wanted to steal another glance at the 'Holy Flame'. Their eyes met, and their gazes collided.

Wearing the mask, Duan Ye didn't know what Li Fan could see. All Li Fan saw was that the woman's red bangs were stuck to her face, strands of hair were caught in the corners of her mouth, and saliva clung to her full, red lips. Her oily skin was covered in dust and sweat, and large beads of sweat rolled down her temples, chin, neck, and collarbone, dripping into deep creases... Cough cough cough!

Li Fan's mood improved significantly.

Hiss...! Li Fan quickly looked away, realizing how terrifying the primordial spirit techniques of these cult witches were! He almost fell for their tricks again! How insidious!

Knowing that continuing to examine it would likely lead to trouble, Li Fan quickly turned the sword, extinguishing the true fire within. At the same time, with a flick of his wrist, the Blood Talisman Sword transformed into a streak of red light, sweeping across Duan Ye's fingertips and collecting his blood essence one by one for examination.

Round beads of blood, like pearls, danced on the spine of the sword. As the divine light swept across them, fleeting images of Duan Ye joining the Divine Sect and achieving ten merits flashed across the blood beads. Countless scenes flashed in Li Fan's eyes in an instant, revealing the details of Duan Ye's background in the Divine Sect.

"You are actually the daughter of the Light Dharma King?"

The light of the 'Holy Flame' faded from his eyes, and the fervor within them gradually dissipated. Duan Ye's fanatical eyes regained some clarity, and he replied in a somewhat indifferent tone,

"The Light Dharma King has many daughters..."

Li Fan frowned. "How come your protector, the Saintess, was adopted by the Pure Dharma King?"

Duan Ye wrinkled his nose. "This disciple was merely following the orders of the Enforcement Venerable."

Li Fan glanced at her, flicked his sword, and returned all that hard work to Duan Ye.

Having dealt with the Divine Cult extensively, and having just examined Duan Ye's memories of his ten great merits, and gained a glimpse into the Divine Cult's heartland on the other side of Kunlun Mountain, Li Fan now has a certain understanding of the internal situation of the Divine Cult, as well as the reason why Duan Ye and Ban Yu appeared at Ink Bamboo Mountain.

The Divine Sect, one of the Three Great Sects, differs from the Xuanmen and Immortal Palace systems; it is a theocratic organization. Its leadership is known as the Ten Ultimate Venerables. Besides the Supreme Sect Leader and the Saintess, there are the Pure, Bright, Mighty, and Wise Ones, the Four Dharma Kings, and the Four Directions Enforcement Venerables.

Because of its clear system of rewards and punishments, proper command, and unity, the Divine Cult, despite being the weakest of the Three Great Sects in overall strength, was able to unleash astonishing efficiency and combat power in every operation.

However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the cult is not simply a matter of 'unity of purpose'. At least under the Sect Leader, there are three leadership structures.

This includes the lineage of the Four Dharma Kings who command local altar masters, the lineage of the Enforcement Venerable who lead the Dharma protectors in various regions, and the rather special lineage of candidate Saintess Saintess.

But this is not really a factional split; rather, it's more about the division of responsibilities and personal choices.

After all, everyone has their own ambitions. Some people yearn for absolute power, to sweep across the land and create an everlasting legacy. Others, however, pursue immortality, to be invincible and reign supreme over the world.

The greatest advantage of the cult's merit-based reward system is that members can choose the rewards they want. Of course, cultivators will choose cultivation Cultivation Method and resources, but what happens after their combat power reaches a certain bottleneck? Do they continue to pursue higher realms and study celestial scriptures? Or do they try to monetize this power and pursue greater power and higher status? There will always be these two types of people in the world.

Therefore, within the divine cult, the Dharma Kings and Altar Masters who pursue the world are responsible for conquering the world, while the Venerable Protectors who pursue power are responsible for providing combat strength. Although both factions can elect Sect Leader and there may be instances of them exchanging duties, generally speaking, the two groups each have their own pursuits.

For example, tasks such as recruiting soldiers, establishing altars to spread teachings, summoning demons and gods, and arranging infiltration are generally assigned by the altar masters. As for the protectors, they are simply told to go somewhere and kill a few.

The candidate Saintess also has a unique role besides 'awakening', namely 'marriage'.

After all, as long as humans remain social animals, aristocratic families will always exist, and retired Dharma Kings who lose their elections will accumulate their own family power and even use various methods to influence the elections of their followers to regain the pinnacle of power.

However, when a large family loses the protection of a patriarch like the Dharma King, and its members are merely ordinary followers, it is easy for them to lose their former privileges and be suppressed by their enemies.

Therefore, in order to maintain power, they could only continue to perform meritorious service for the religion in order to maintain the family's status, and a common task was to 'raise the Saintess '.

Qualified 'candidate Saintess' are identified by the cult from birth and then assigned to various families for adoption as their talismans. Of course, these families also provide education and all expenses for the 'candidate Saintess '. After they come of age, these families also arrange personal guards to protect them as they leave the heart of the cult and go to live in the Central Plains.

But it wasn't simply a matter of 'seclusion'; they also had to act as bridges, actively participating in the planning of the cult, and serving as representatives of the same rank as the Ten Ultimate Venerables of the cult, taking on various special roles such as special envoys, hostages, and secret agents.

During this stage, local altar masters and protectors typically arrange protection for the nearby candidate Saintess. Once they break through to the Golden Core realm, they will receive the attention of the sect, which will immediately assign dedicated Saintess as protectors and assist Saintess in carrying out the 'awakening' mission.

In simple terms, this task involves finding and killing the other 'candidate Saintess' and absorbing their souls to awaken the Saintess. Of course, this awakening task cannot utilize the resources of the cult; it can only be carried out by the 'candidate Saintess' and their 'Saintess protectors' as a pair.

Whether due to the limitations of secret techniques or some other rule, it seems that if a 'candidate Saintess' cannot reach the Nascent Soul Realm by the age of sixty, the cult will judge that there is basically no possibility of 'awakening' and remove the Saintess protector assigned to her.

Given that there has been no 'Saintess Awakening' for many years, being a nanny for the Saintess now is considered an exile and marginalization within the Guardian system, pushing her to the edge of the religious cult.

If these 'candidate Saintess' survive all these years, they will return to the families that adopted them and be married into other families, thus continuing the 'Saintess' bloodline. In this part, these families will also be regarded by the cult as 'meritorious in protecting the Saintess' and will receive great honor and rewards.

Therefore, although almost none of the 'Saintess' have awakened, the forces affiliated with the 'Saintess' are still a powerful force that cannot be ignored in the political arena of the religion.

So to put it bluntly, the Dharma Kings compete with each other, the Saintess compete with each other, and the Dharma Protectors also compete with each other.

This Duan Ye, despite being the daughter of the Light Dharma King, joined the Dharma Protectors, and then was reassigned to protect the Saintess, who was even adopted by the Pure Dharma King. It's all quite a mess...

... What the hell does all this nonsense have to do with me?! They didn't even mention the Holy Flame!

Li Fan's temples were throbbing with veins.

He's so curious! He's so curious about what that 'Holy Flame' is! Why does True Yang Technique enhance the Blood Talisman Sword! And why is he called the Wisdom Dharma King?!

But these questions, which he had just glanced at his heart's blood, had no answers to. And now he couldn't reveal his true colors. Would a dignified Dharma King really be so foolish as to stare at someone and ask, "What's the Holy Flame? What's the deal with the Wisdom Dharma King? This is True Yang Technique, have you ever heard of it?" He'd probably be beaten senseless...

So Li Fan had no choice but to patiently work on his Duan Ye. While returning Duan Ye's painstaking efforts, he casually tossed her a Daoist robe to wrap herself in, and simultaneously, in a flash, threw out a talisman to seal the cyan sword, then tucked it into his sleeve. While quickly cleaning up the battlefield, he frantically considered whether to continue the act to extract information, or simply go all out and behead her to search her soul...

"Thank you so much, Dharma King, for saving my life!"

Seeing that the other party had no intention of killing him, Duan Ye breathed a sigh of relief. He almost collapsed to the ground, his body becoming increasingly limp. It was only when Li Fan threw a Daoist robe at his face that he realized what was happening, and he felt even more ashamed. He quickly put the robe on.

However, since the robes were Li Fan's everyday clothes, the ruby was too large to cover, so he could only wear something like pajamas, with a V-shaped opening to cover the sides. Moreover, because Ink Bamboo Mountain lacked silk, these Daoist robes were made of coarse linen, which was quite rough and made Duan Ye feel uncomfortable and uneasy.

"So, you've been hiding in Ink Bamboo Mountain all these years. No wonder the Venerable Ones couldn't find you. Ah, brother, after I rescue the Saintess, I will definitely perform a ritual to confer divine titles and forget about this matter."

Li Fan's eyes darted around, and he said coldly, "That Saintess has already been captured by the Discipline Institute of Ink Bamboo Mountain. With your pathetic skills, you're just courting death. It's alright if you die, but if someone searches your soul and reveals the 'Holy Flame'... Hmph, I'd rather kill you with my palm now and destroy your soul as insurance."

Duan Ye was terrified and quickly knelt down again, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger! A few days ago, as a precaution, I took a blood curse. If I fall into the hands of those bandits and outlaws of Ink Bamboo Mountain, I will immediately use the Heavenly Demon Blood Release! I will not give them a chance to defile this body! Even if my soul is scattered, I will not ruin your great plan! Please give me another chance! As long as you can rescue the Saintess, Duan Ye will be at your service! I will never go back on my word!"

Who the hell wants to defile you... But it's a bit annoying that this fat girl also knows the Heavenly Demon Blood Release self-destruct technique...

Li Fan thought for a moment, "Alright, this isn't the place to talk, come with me!"

So Li Fan waved his sleeve, covering Duan Ye's head. Duan Ye dared not resist and let the Heaven and Earth Sleeve cover him. Then Li Fan flew through the air and disappeared, passing directly through layers of thunderclouds and landing on the Qingting Peak.

After circling around, Li Fan found a cave dwelling built inside the mountain.

This is the immortal ruins he found while wandering around. The cave contains the remains of Zhao Jingtai, the last peak master of Qingting Peak. Now, that fellow Daoist Zhao has been collected and buried by Ink Bamboo Mountain, and Qingting Sou is also recuperating in the cave and will not be back for a while. It is just right to use it to hide people.

However, thinking about it, Li Fan remembered that he had also found a sword pellet in a stone box in the cave.

That sword pellet was of the 'struggle type,' requiring immense willpower to wield. Moreover, it had a shocking karmic connection, causing Li Fan to be ambushed and cough up blood by some unknown old ghost. Thinking back on it now, it felt like a side quest from his past life, one he'd long forgotten!

I think Old Liang got his hands on that sword pellet back then? I wonder what happened to it. I'll ask him in a couple of days. First, I'll ask about the Holy Flame.

So Li Fan flicked his sleeve and released Duan Ye, giving her a Changchun Pill.

"This secret chamber is absolutely safe; no one will come looking for you. Here is a Donghua Changchun Pill. Stay here and rest to recover your strength. I will bring it to you once I find an opportunity to rescue the Saintess."

Upon seeing that even a hiding place had been prepared, and that a sacred medicine like the Changchun Pill had been given, Duan Ye immediately relaxed, his guard lowered considerably, and he knelt down to pay his respects.

"Your disciple is deeply grateful to the Dharma King for saving my life!"

Li Fan, sensing the time was right, asked, "Duan Ye, are you willing to work for me?"

Duan Ye was overjoyed and kowtowed again, flicking his fingers to attain enlightenment, "I'm willing to do anything as long as it's of use! Please give your orders, Dharma King!"

Sure enough, normally Nascent Soul Stage cultivator is already an ancestor, and given that the Divine Sect is such a performance-oriented organization, they certainly wouldn't want to be relegated to a menial role, especially since that Ban Yu is so mischievous...

Li Fan narrowed his eyes. "Then I'll test you first. Do you know why I'm hiding in the Ink Bamboo Mountain?"

Upon hearing that it was a test from the Wisdom Dharma King, Duan Ye quickly sat up straight, gathered his robes to cover his collar, pondered for a moment, and tentatively asked,

"Disciple has heard that Your Majesty, the Wisdom Dharma King, has been hiding in the Central Plains for many years in order to find the lost divine skills of our sect and rekindle the Holy Flame of the main altar. Could it be that this secret technique has been hidden in the Ink Bamboo Mountain?"

Li Fan remained expressionless. "Anything else?"

Duan Ye panicked and quickly added, "Yes, yes! Even your clone can cultivate this skill, which shows that you can already ignite the Holy Flame and rebuild the Holy Altar. You have already made great contributions to our sect, and the position of the next Sect Leader is rightfully yours! But why are you still staying in Ink Bamboo Mountain... Could it be that you are seriously injured and have no choice but to recuperate in Ink Bamboo Mountain?"

Li Fan's voice was completely flat. "Anything else?"

Duan Ye seemed to have thought of something, and his expression changed. "Yes, yes! Now the Sect Leader has been defeated by Cangyun in the Ten Ultimate Formation, the venerable ones are also entangled with the Xuanmen, and the Great Strength Dharma King has even died in the face of calamity. Now only the Light Dharma King and the Pure Dharma King are vying for the position of Sect Leader!"

Although the Light Dharma King seized Kunlun, conquered the Kun Country, and repeatedly defeated the Immortal Palace army, and the Pure Dharma King's achievements in overthrowing the turmoil in Xun and shaking the nations were also considerable, it is still uncertain whether either of them will be elected as the Sect Leader. If you were to enter the fray now, it might not be the best time, and you might even face their combined attacks. It would be better to continue to lie low and recuperate...

Li Fan repeated mechanically, "Anything else?"

"There's more?!" Duan Ye anxiously, biting his fingernails. "There's more... yes, that's right! Ink Bamboo Mountain! Qingyue!"

Li Fan's eyes widened, and he nearly blasted the woman in front of him to smithereens with a palm strike. He barely managed to restrain himself before hearing Duan Ye continue speaking.

"Rumor has it that this person is a rare chosen one of destiny. I secretly took a look, and his cultivation is indeed astonishing and extraordinary! Could it be... that you intend to seize his body and cultivate Blood God Child avatar?"

Li Fan stared at the other person quietly for a while, his gaze behind the mask deep and unfathomable, as if he were lost in thought.

The gaze was so penetrating that Duan Ye became uneasy and fidgety, clutching his Daoist robe with both hands, lowering his head, and protecting his chest.

But Li Fan did nothing and said nothing; he simply turned around and walked out of the cave.

Duan Ye was left alone in the cave, bewildered and lost.