Profound Sin

"Alas, Saintess, what a sinful woman you are..."

Sarilang, "...???"

Li Fan waved his hand, "It's nothing, I was just remarking. If you have the chance in the future, buy more expired pineapples for the Sect Leader to eat."

"What exactly did you guys talk about?!"

Actually, we didn't talk much. What's there for two men to talk about? A cigarette, a glass of wine, and everything was understood without words.

Just as the Sect Leader said, he really didn't have any particular purpose. He probably just wanted to take one last look at the Saintess before going into seclusion, to confirm the qualifications of the new altar master, and to know who the Saintess, whom she had protected for many years, had entrusted to.

Of course, a tiger is probably not an ideal guardian of the Saintess, but it's not far off either, is it? A pure beast is at least better than a hypocritical scumbag.

After all, you can't expect every reincarnated Saintess to snag a few shy, reserved, and quietly devoted men like Sect Leader Zhang, who protect you in the shadows, right?

However, as Li Fan studied mathematics and recalled some of his personal experiences, he did some calculations and vaguely began to understand the function of the Saintess's method of dividing souls into thousands.

Yes, feelings and fate—aren't these also a way to touch the soul and the primordial spirit?

Thinking about it carefully, it seems that he and the two potential Saintess he encountered all had some kind of special bond. In Li Fan's words, it was the plot; in the Taiji Realm's terms, it was a predestined connection.

You should know that fate and destiny are unpredictable.

Especially for those deities, Daoists, and immortals, most can only make contact with people of the same realm. Ordinary people, or even those one or two realms lower, can't even see Real Immortal face to face, let alone seek immortals, visit the Dao, curry favor with True Cultivator, or seize the opportunity to become an immortal.

However, the Xuanmen (Daoist sects) also particularly like, or rather, are superstitious about, this method of accepting disciples "according to fate." Some older Xuanmen who are skilled in divination especially enjoy playing the field, accepting disciples from the common people, choosing those who, although mortal, can form a connection with them, or rather, a destiny, and taking them as disciples. The fact that Li Fan was able to be taken in by Cangwu and become a disciple of Emei from a demon child also shows the high priority of this kind of master-disciple relationship in the Xuanmen.

No matter how much infighting and backstabbing occurs within the Xuanmen (Daoist sect), the relationship between master and disciple is always the most fundamental and solid. This is the reason why.

However, immortals generally don't roam the mortal world year-round, except when they want to find disciples. Therefore, it is indeed possible that there are people who are destined to meet but not to be together, and who are left behind in the mortal world. This attracts many people to go to the deep mountains and forests to seek immortals and seek the Tao, even sacrificing themselves to feed tigers.

However, the candidate Saintess is in a peculiar state. She is a venerable one who almost attained enlightenment, but at the same time, she is an ordinary mortal who has not yet awakened. Moreover, she travels around the world year-round, making it easier for her to come into contact with promising young people than a pure Dao Lord. This leads to strong bonds being formed. And it seems that the higher one's aptitude, the easier it is for such bonds to form.

To take a darker stance, imagine if every candidate Saintess could seduce a chosen one from either the west or east of the river in the Central Plains, and after mastering their divine skills, still couldn't forget their first love and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the cult. Then this secret alliance of Saintess guardians could probably be considered the fourth largest power in the world, right?

Furthermore, the Saintess herself wouldn't suffer any emotional entanglements that would affect her cultivation, since she had been reincarnated. Therefore, someone like Sect Leader Zhang could only be considered an ex-boyfriend...

"The method of the primordial spirit is terrifying indeed..."

Zhang Yanzhi was also baffled, wondering what was wrong with the Demon Lord and the Sect Leader who kept sighing and lamenting after their conversation. So he changed the subject and said...

"When the Sect Leader saw me, he said he was going into seclusion and instructed me to recommend a qualified Sect Leader from among the two Dharma Kings of Light and Purity."

Li Fan snapped out of his daze. "Oh? So you get to choose the Sect Leader whenever you want?"

Zhang Yanzhi pursed his lips, "How could that be? I'm just acting as a notary, waiting for the results, and representing the Saintess to make the recommendation."

In fact, the merits of the two Dharma Kings have always been evenly matched. Originally, the Light Dharma King's Ten Ultimate Formation did not win the battle against the Sect Leader, while the Pure Dharma King successfully seized the Kun Country, so the Pure Dharma King had a slight advantage.

However, it seems that the Pure Dharma King recently suffered a sudden loss of troops in Kunlun, while the Light Dharma King absorbed my godfather's old troops and, with your assistance, conquered Shazhou. Therefore, the merits of both sides have been leveled back to being roughly equal.

Therefore, this time, the Sect Leader personally led the team to besiege the demonic cultivators who had invaded the Kunlun headquarters. The Cangyun Demon Lord had already been injured by the Sect Leader, and the demonic cultivators had also scattered. The two Dharma Kings were chasing down the lone demonic cultivators. Now it depends on who kills more demonic cultivators. Whoever does will have the opportunity to inherit the position of Sect Leader.

Therefore, the Sect Leader stopped participating and returned to recuperate, leaving only the forces of the Light Dharma King and Pure Dharma King factions in the finals. The results should be out soon."

Li Fan asked curiously, "So, what faction do I, the Qingyang Altar Master, belong to now? And what faction does Ali belong to?"

The Saintess thought for a moment, "As for Ali, he is considered a disciple of the Pure Dharma King, but he is a member of the Legion. Even if the Light Dharma King succeeds to the throne, he will still be highly valued."

The Qingyang Branch Altar is located on the northern slope of Kunlun, theoretically belonging to the territory of the Pure Dharma King. However, now that I am True Saintess, both Dharma Kings should give me face and not make things difficult for you, the altar master."

Well, now we'll have to rely on your influence, Sarilang's...

However, Li Fan could also sense that after meeting the Sect Leader and receiving official recognition, the Saintess's status had risen dramatically. Not only did she have her own Saintess Palace, but she was also protected by the Blood God Child and various demon gods. She could have countless underlings at her beck and call, and her status was now completely different from before.

Of course, Zhang Yanzhi was indeed one of the smarter candidates among the Saintess, knowing who her 'true followers' were, so at this time, only Guiche were plotting with her in the palace.

"What kind of people are these two Dharma Kings? Which high-ranking Sect Leader would be beneficial for us to usurp the power of the religion?"

Zhang Yanzhi knew that if the Celestial Immortal Group wanted to control the Divine Sect for its own use, it would definitely have to go through a power struggle with her and the future Sect Leader. Therefore, she directly took out a map from the God Lord Jade and carefully analyzed it.

"The Light Dharma King was born into the Duan Family and was skilled in military affairs. He was the right-hand man of the Sect Leader during the western expedition and the commander-in-chief of the army. He made great contributions to our religion in conquering cities and destroying countries. Although the Ten Ultimate Formation were not won, the King of Light Dharma King was still strong. Therefore, he advocated taking advantage of the chaos in the Central Plains to gather military strength and launch an attack from Tianshan, taking the old Hexi route to invade the Three Realms."

Our cult has fought this route many times, so we are familiar with the terrain and have spies and agents deployed in various places. The western part of the Dui Country has long been destroyed. The Immortal Palace is not difficult to attack, but it is always blocked by the Demonic Sect. Now, the leader of the Demonic Sect, Emei, has closed the Golden Summit and sealed off the mountain. Hengshan and Songshan are fighting among themselves. Moreover, with the assistance of the legion, the military communication within the Tianshan territory has been fully arranged. This is a great opportunity to send troops.

Although the Northern Court is no longer a factor, even if we cannot accomplish the great task of restoring order, we can at least take advantage of the Three Palaces' army being trapped in Zhen Country to carve out Dui Prefecture and establish a bridgehead. In this way, we can form a pincer movement with Kun, allowing us to attack or defend as needed. After a hundred years of development, we could contend for the Central Plains."

Is that Duan Ye the big gemstone?

"What realm is this Light Dharma King? How strong is he?"

"At least at the Transformation Stage, right? I've heard that the Blood Flame Overlord Blade of the Duan family of Tianshan is incredibly powerful, and the more it breaks through enemy formations, the faster one's cultivation improves, often breaking through on the brink of life and death."

Moreover, the Blazing Blood Divine Blade, which Divine Transformation Duan family serves, is a top-tier Blade Lord of the first rank of the Nascent Soul stage. It is the supreme magic weapon bound to the Duan family by blood and is known as the number one domineering blade in the world. Its killing intent soars to the sky, and its power is unparalleled. Even a Dao Lord level cultivator may perish under this blade.

Therefore, the Duan family heads of each generation were top experts that the Divine Sect could rely on. Whenever they fought against the Demonic Sect, the Duan family would fight alongside the Blade Lord to contend with the Demonic Sect leaders who wielded the Four Great Sword Lords.

However, because of this, the Duan family patriarch often fought to the death, covering the retreat of our Divine Sect, and perished at the hands of the Three Elders and Four Ancestors of the Demonic Sect. Therefore, although he made countless contributions, he was not often elected as the Sect Leader, but he was highly trusted and supported by the sect members, and was often elected to be the Dharma King or Altar Master in Tianshan.

Oh, probably someone like the Lion King. This guy sounds like a powerful figure. But...

"Hasn't the Divine Cult been wiped out several times? How come the Duan family hasn't been wiped out yet? And how come something as powerful as the Blazing Blood Divine Blade is still in the Duan family's possession and hasn't been taken away?"

Zhang Yanzhi knew this, "It seems to be a quirk of their Demonic Sect. It's said that ever since the Sword Ancestor, when Demonic Sect experts came in groups to challenge our Divine Sect's headquarters, they particularly liked one-on-one duels, whether it was formation battles, magical duels, or sword duels. They all vied to challenge the Duan family patriarch's Overlord Blade. I don't know what's wrong with them. But no matter whether they won or lost, they always made the Duan family disciple leave with the Overlord Blade."

Oh, I see... So it's just relentlessly grinding on one monster, and you're actually quite considerate of it... But it could also be a two-way street. After all, once you reach a certain level, finding an evenly matched opponent to break through is indeed very difficult...

Zhang Yanzhi continued, "Although there are many supporters of the Light Dharma King within the Divine Sect, a considerable number of people believe that after several unsuccessful attempts to attack the Central Plains via the same route, this time there will likely be no progress either."

After all, the strength of our Divine Sect is far from its peak, and we have only recently changed many Dharma Kings and Venerable Masters. Meanwhile, the Demonic Sect has a deep foundation, and the Demonic Palace has not been crippled. In a desert wasteland like Dui Country, repeatedly fighting and strangling for a well-defended border stronghold will only waste our strength in vain. We will not gain any real benefits in the short term.

Therefore, the other faction, led by the Pure Dharma King, advocated a different approach: wait until our divine religion has fully assimilated the Western Regions before plotting against the Central Plains. For now, they only need to conquer the various peaks and caves of Kunlun one by one, occupying the entire Kunlun Wonderland. They should open up the supply routes to Kun and maintain their territory. Then, they should wait for the right time, until Hengshan and Songshan have fought to the bitter end, both sides severely weakened, before marching eastward from Kun and sweeping across the world."

"From Kunlun, out of Kun..."

That means Li Country is definitely going to get involved. Or rather, they're specifically after the wealthy Li Country...

Zhang Yanzhi also changed to a different map and pointed it out, explaining...

"This is the Qingyang Branch Altar. It was originally the Qingyang Sect, an ancient Qingyang Sect. Back then, after conquering this place, they secretly crossed from the northern foothills of Kunlun and launched a surprise attack on the Kun Country."

Speaking of this, I learned that the Qingyang Sect was an ancient Daoist sect. The sect specifically worshipped the Qingyang Sword Lord, who guarded Kunlun and suppressed the Qiongqi beast, one of the Four Fiends. It was once a major sect in Kunlun, but its lineage was cut off and it gradually declined.

Although our sect conquered the Qingyang Sect back then, the Qingyang Sect leader fled, and the divine sword and ferocious beast also disappeared. Until you, the altar master, appeared.

The Sect Leader told me, "You are probably the Qiongqi evil spirit that the Qingyang Sect Master took away. The world was in chaos, and you were forced to flee, eventually escaping from Qingyang. Now, returning the Qingyang Sect to you is like returning something to its rightful owner."

That's absolutely right, isn't it just returning things to their rightful owner? I killed Qingyang the Old Demon, so his things are mine now.

Of course, Li Fan still said...

"I don't remember much about what happened before I became human, maybe that's just how it is, anyway, it's all fate."

Zhang Yanzhi, saying, "Let the sect leader explore on his own after he returns to the mountain. Perhaps he can find the treasure of the Qingyang Sect and the lost Qingyang Sword Lord."

In short, Kunlun Mountain is the most blessed land in the world, its spiritual energy far surpassing that of the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land. The mountain's secret realms are all of the highest level of blessed lands. Ancient sects such as Qingyang Sect, hidden immortal caves, and demon god lairs are too numerous to mention.

Among them are countless divine skills and secret techniques, treasures and Divine Beast. It has always been the main battlefield for cultivators to explore, seize treasures and compete for immortal opportunities. Those who can enter and Kunlun are at least Nascent Soul Stage reached the Transformation Stage for a long time and come to seek the Dao.

Previously, the Three Great Sects used Kunlun as their boundary, which was also the most intense battlefield for their struggles. Therefore, now that the Demon Palace and Demon Sect's forces have been driven out, the Pure Dharma King advocates seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to completely annex the Kunlun Immortal Realm. This conflicts with the strategy of the Light Dharma King."

"But it sounds like the approach taken by the Pure Dharma King is more reliable, doesn't it?"

From the perspective of the Divine Cult, taking advantage of the current internal strife within the Xuanmen (Daoist sects) to annex Kunlun, and then marching out of Kun into the Central Plains, could also conquer Li Country, contact the old followers of the Divine Cult in the Central Plains, and even join forces with Hengshan to sail up the river and sweep across the Southern Country. All of this would be far better than a deadly struggle in the North. Why is the Light Dharma King still following the old path?

"Because Kunlun is much harder to conquer than Duizhou."

Zhang Yanzhi pointed at the map for a while before Li Fan understood the reason.

There are just too many immortals in the Kunlun Mountain.

After all, the Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land of the Central Plains had long been occupied by the Xuanmen sect. Even Xuanmen cultivators who were stuck at the Transformation Stage for too long were considered a burden on their sects and gradually lost the support of resources. The local rogue Daoist Tradition had it even worse, having to work and risk their lives for the Immortal Palace and kings in exchange for cultivation resources. Moreover, after the Nascent Soul Realm, whether it was refining pills or making treasures, it would often require the resources of an entire city or country to support them. They also had to prepare to deal with the continuous tribulations and killing calamities. How many local powerful families could afford to support them?

Over the years, countless cultivators have retreated into the Kunlun Mountain, some gathering resources, others seeking enlightenment, and still others joining the inevitable battle royale, searching for their own destiny. This continued for a long time. Moreover, the Kunlun Immortal Realm is a place of endless secrets and extreme danger, riddled with restrictions and seals from the Three Great Sects and ancient sects. Encounters with Transformation Stage experts are commonplace, and the ancient immortal ruins are often fraught with peril, their secrets obscured by countless layers of formations, making it impossible to even observe or calculate the fate of those on the other side from across a mountain.

Although with the strength of the Divine Sect, it was indeed possible to level one mountain after another by recalling its main force to suppress Kunlun, it would not be an easy task. In their most recent attack on the Qingyang Sect, the Old Demon of Qingyang relied on the sect's restrictive formations and fought a long battle, injuring many protectors but managing to escape. Moreover, recently, a Dharma King's avatar was ambushed and annihilated by an unnamed ferocious beast in Kunlun.

Therefore, although conquering the Kunlun Secret Realm would undoubtedly bring immense benefits, the risks are also great. After all, most of the enemies are old monsters at the Transformation Stage, and if any Transformation Stage combat power is lost, the Three Great Sects will suffer heavy losses.

However, these are just objective circumstances, not the main reasons.

As mentioned earlier, many things are interconnected.

"The opposition from the lineage of the Light Dharma King is not because they feel that the Kunlun Demon Gods are too numerous to attack, but mainly because the Divine Cult simply has no opportunity to make a move."

In fact, since the time of the Divine Lord, the masters of our Divine Sect have frequently entered Kunlun, vying with the Demon Palace and the Demonic Sect for Kunlun. The two opposing sides are the same. Over the years, everyone has set up many restrictions and tribulations around the various secret realms in Kunlun, scheming and fighting for them. Some of these treasure troves, demon-sealing caves, or the caves where Divine Sect predecessors perished and disintegrated, have also been specially set up with formations, left for future generations to retrieve their own inheritance and cultivate new talents.

But back then, the Demonic Sword Ancestor infiltrated our sect and caused chaos! He completed all the secret realm treasure quests left by the Divine Sect's predecessors! He stole and took away many of the Divine Sect's inheritances! He even sealed away many seriously injured predecessors who sought help! As a result, almost all the remaining secret realm formations in Kunlun today were set up by the Demonic Sect!

If he had only stolen the magical treasures and secrets left behind by my sect's predecessors, that would have been one thing, but breaking the formation wasn't enough for him; he also had to show off his abilities! He even turned around and set up a sword formation seal against my Sword Sect!

Now that the Sword Sect has been wiped out, and there are no successors to help, breaking through the seals one by one requires brute force and magic, which is incredibly time-consuming, laborious, and as difficult as ascending to heaven! Even the secret passages that many sects used to enter and exit Kunlun Mountain have been sealed and blocked by him! One wrong move and you could trigger the Sword Sect's grand formation, only to be killed and forced to use Blood Transformation Divine Travel! I don't know if this guy is just bored or what, always doing such disgusting things!

This is such a huge mess, and we still can't clean it up. We're forced to take a detour through the Qingyang Sect! Ugh! It's so annoying! I'm so angry! How am I supposed to clean this up?!

Perhaps involuntarily recalling the life of that despised Sword Ancestor, the Saintess of the Divine Cult grew increasingly agitated as she spoke, rolling around in a fit of rage like a child who didn't want to go to school. In this emotional outburst, she broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm...