Ouyang Dao raised an eyebrow slightly and stroked his beard. "It won't come to that. Our Patriarch is a Nascent Soul expert. The strongest cultivator Hengyue Sect has now is only at the Golden Core Realm. They can't possibly withstand his attacks."
As the two men pondered, a surge of spiritual power swept over from afar, making everyone tremble with fear. Then, as if on cue, they all dropped to their knees.
The other Mystic Dao Sect disciples couldn't withstand even the faint pressure of this energy. They collapsed to the ground at once, their whole bodies trembling.
Before the cultivators could react, the protective formation before them shattered in an instant. Under the surging force, the cultivators closest to it were abruptly reduced to dust, dying on the spot.
Ouyang Dao raised his head in shock and stared at the shattered protective formation. "He broke the formation with one move. A Nascent Soul old monster!"
As the clouds parted overhead, Luo Chuan's figure appeared. His indifferent gaze swept over the Mystic Dao Sect disciples and elders. "Junior members of the Mystic Dao Sect, leave Mystic Dao Peak at once."
"You are... Patriarch Luo Chuan of the Hengyue Sect!"
Just then, an elder of the Mystic Dao Sect, at the peak of the late Golden Core Realm, flew out and knelt before Luo Chuan, his voice trembling.
"The Mystic Dao Sect's Progenitor, Pu Nanzi, is dead. If you don't want to follow in his footsteps, join the Hengyue Sect. Otherwise, you die."
There was no emotion in Luo Chuan's voice. It was no negotiation, only a warning.
If the Mystic Dao Sect refused, Luo Chuan would destroy this place, leaving no chance for any other sect to claim its resources.
The Mystic Dao Sect elder looked troubled. He struggled to his knees and bowed repeatedly. "We are willing to join the Hengyue Sect... We beg you, senior, to spare our lives."
Before a Nascent Soul expert, mere Golden Core cultivators were like mayflies trying to shake a tree. Even the entire Mystic Dao Sect together wouldn't be worth a single slap from him.
Seeing the Mystic Dao Sect disciples bow in submission, Luo Chuan turned slightly toward Liu Wenju beside him. "I'll leave this place to you. Kill anyone who resists, without exception."
Liu Wenju clasped his hands in salute. "As you command."
Luo Chuan nodded slightly, one hand behind his back, and let his gaze settle on a female disciple in the crowd.
She wore purple robes and was breathtakingly beautiful, with cascading hair, phoenix eyes, and cherry-red lips. Her lovely eyes held a bewitching allure. Even disciples with resolute hearts couldn't help their pulses quickening when they looked at her.
She was Liu Mei, a disciple of the Mystic Dao Sect.
As one of the most outstanding inner disciples of the Mystic Dao Sect, Liu Mei had great confidence in her innate bewitching arts. Among her peers, few could resist her; one after another, they had fallen at her feet.
Liu Mei was now watching Luo Chuan as well, full of curiosity about this cultivator who had broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm in his twenties.
After all, across the entire Zhao Kingdom, a disciple who could break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm in their twenties was already considered exceptionally gifted. To reach the Nascent Soul Realm at that age was unheard of, making him a figure renowned across Vermilion Bird Planet.
Hengyue Sect, in a quiet room.
Luo Chuan sat cross-legged in white Daoist robes. At a slight stir of his thoughts, a radiant blue status panel appeared out of thin air before him.
[System Name: Immortal Exile] [Host: Luo Chuan] [Age: 25] [Cultivation: Late Nascent Soul Realm] [Identity: Progenitor of the Hengyue Sect] [Treasures: Cloud Clear Flute, Luo God Sword] [Sign-in This Month: 0/1] [Reward for Next Breakthrough: One Yingbian-grade treasure]
Looking at the system panel that had appeared before him, Luo Chuan smiled. The Immortal Exile System's main function was to automatically reward him with different treasures or cultivation whenever he broke through.
With the system's help, Luo Chuan had managed to reach the Nascent Soul Realm in just a little over twenty years.
As for the Spirit Severing Realm above the Nascent Soul Realm, he would have to comprehend an intent domain on his own. Only by fully comprehending one could he truly break through to the Spirit Severing Realm.
Luo Chuan had already chosen his Spirit Severing Intent Domain: the path of the Exiled Immortal!
An Exiled Immortal was one who had fallen into the mortal world without losing their immortal nature, tempering their heart amid the mundane and comprehending the Dao amid the mortal world. With Nascent Soul cultivation, he could roam freely across the Zhao Kingdom.
He could command the sects and keep them in awe, while also sensing the laws of heaven and earth in the smallest details. He would not be shackled by his realm or blinded by power.
Luo Chuan's fingertip brushed over the status panel before him. As his gaze fell on the words "Exiled Immortal," a deeper look appeared in his eyes.
Ordinary cultivators breaking through to the Spirit Severing Realm might comprehend the intent of war, with its ranks of soldiers and horses, or cultivate the stillness of retreating into the mountains. He alone had chosen the hardest path.
He had to be the undisputed Progenitor of the Hengyue Sect, protecting the sect, expanding its resources, and keeping forces like the Mystic Dao Sect firmly under his control. Yet amid the affairs of the world, he also had to preserve the transcendence of an immortal.
Like when he had faced Liu Mei's bewitching arts just now: his heart had remained entirely undisturbed, treating her as no more than an insignificant speck of dust in the mortal world.
At dawn the next day, light shimmered in brilliant colors.
After finishing his cultivation, Luo Chuan arrived at the main hall of the Hengyue Sect. True Person Huanglong had been waiting for some time. The moment he saw Patriarch Luo Chuan, he hurried over and clasped his hands in salute.
True Person Huanglong was no stranger to Luo Chuan. After all, his true identity was no mere Golden Core Realm weakling.
True Person Huanglong appeared to have only Golden Core cultivation, but in reality, he was Lu Yun, an incarnation of the Vermilion Bird, the fifth-generation Vermilion Bird of the Vermilion Bird Sect within the Four Saints Sect. He had concealed his identity beneath the role of the Hengyue Sect's leader, while possessing terrifying strength.
The little sect master Pu Nanzi of the Mystic Dao Sect was nothing compared to him. Even all of Vermilion Bird Planet would be as fragile as ants before him. He had even reached the realm of the Five Decays of Heaven and Man.
He had remained at the Hengyue Sect only to investigate the Immortal Remnant Clan in secret. Even if the Hengyue Sect were truly destroyed, he would feel nothing.
True Person Huanglong stepped forward and bowed respectfully with his hands clasped. "This disciple, Huang Long, leader of the Hengyue Sect, pays his respects to the Progenitor."
The cultivation world had always followed the law of the jungle. Though Luo Chuan was young, he was the Hengyue Sect's Progenitor and a Nascent Soul expert. It was only right for Huang Long to pay his respects.
Luo Chuan nodded slightly, turned, and sat down. "Now that all the Hengyue Sect's elders have perished, as its only Nascent Soul Progenitor, I will naturally protect you."
The Hengyue Sect elders nodded. Their sect had changed beyond recognition, and without a Nascent Soul expert to protect them, they were doomed.
Luo Chuan looked at True Person Huanglong and nodded. "I recall there's a disciple among the yellow-robed disciples named Wang Lin. Is he still in the Hengyue Sect?"
True Person Huanglong's expression turned strange. He clasped his hands and replied, "Reporting to the Progenitor, that disciple Wang Lin killed his master, Sun Dazhu, yesterday and fled the Hengyue Sect. I've already sent disciples to capture him."
Luo Chuan swirled the teacup in his hand and raised an eyebrow. Just as in the original story. Wang Lin killed Sun Dazhu and chose to leave, setting the later events in motion as well.