The Crime of Deceiving Heaven!
Having escaped the suffocating cocoon-like cage, Qi Yun felt a lightness all over his body, and found himself in a completely different place.
Before my eyes, clouds and mist swirl, and Spiritual Qi gathers into rosy clouds. Several majestic mountains pierce through the sea of clouds like sharp swords, standing tall between heaven and earth.
Beside it, a massive staircase, dozens of feet wide and made of an unknown material, extends upwards, piercing the clouds and disappearing into the vast sea of clouds, its end nowhere in sight.
The steps are ancient and desolate, exuding a timeless atmosphere.
Qi Yun's gaze was instantly drawn to the series of clear, still damp and dark red bloody footprints on the steps.
Footprints are deeply imprinted on the surface of the steps, each step seemingly containing immense pain and an indomitable will, winding upwards, leading straight to the sea of clouds.
Qi Yun raised an eyebrow, his face not showing any seriousness, but rather a very strange expression, and muttered to himself, "Chang Qing —he's still alive?"
He's really an unkillable cockroach!
He was all too familiar with the scent lingering in those bloody footprints.
It was Chang Qing's unique and violent Asura Sha Qi.
Without any hesitation, Qi Yun swayed and once again used [Gather Form and Disperse Qi], transforming into a wisp of ethereal qi that was difficult to catch. He then sped upwards along the staircase that led straight to the sky, against the direction of the bloody footprints.
He wanted to see just how Creation Chang Qing was, not only escaping such a desperate situation but also having the strength to climb this ladder.
The stairs were long, seemingly endless.
The pure air darted through, as swift as lightning.
After an unknown amount of time, the view suddenly opened up before me!
Qi Yun had already rushed to the top of the steps and landed on a vast, white jade platform.
At the end of the platform, thick clouds and fog blanketed the area.
A middle-aged Daoist priest, dressed in a simple Daoist robe, with a blurred face as if shrouded in a clear light, exuding an ethereal and otherworldly aura, floated quietly in the air, his Daoist charm naturally emanating from him.
Below the illusory figure of the Daoist priest, Chang Qing, who was almost inhuman, sat cross-legged.
His body was broken and his breath was extremely weak.
It was even worse than when it was in the Danhai, as if it would completely collapse at any moment.
Yet, his eyes burned with an almost insane obsession and yearning.
Just then, the ethereal, middle-aged Daoist figure slowly raised his finger and gently flicked it at Chang Qing's brow.
A tiny, yet dazzling, golden speck of light, seemingly containing endless vitality and the wonders of Creation, gently drifted into Chang Qing's brow.
"Buzz--!"
In the next instant, a sudden change occurred!
Chang Qing's battered body suddenly developed countless dense cracks, like dried porcelain. Then, Chang Qing's flesh and skin actually peeled off and collapsed from his body piece by piece, just like shattered porcelain shards!
Behind the detached fragments were not bones or internal organs.
Instead, it is an endless, dazzling, and boundless expanse of light.
Chang Qing seemed to transform into a pure beam of light and shadow!
As the blinding light gradually dissipated...
In its original position, a complete and majestic figure slowly solidified.
It is Chang Qing!
At this moment, not only have all his injuries been fully healed, but even the six Asura Arms that had been shattered earlier have regrown.
His body was surrounded by a surging, dark red Asura Sha Qi, several times stronger than when he was at his peak.
Its energy was harmonious and full, as if it had undergone a complete transformation and rebirth!
"Hahaha!!!"
Chang Qing felt the surging power within him, far surpassing anything he had ever experienced before, and couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh that shook the clouds.
"Heaven has not forsaken me! The Divine Silkworm Sect's heritage is infinitely profound!"
Chang is indeed destined for greatness!
But the laughter stopped abruptly as soon as it began.
Chang Qing's eyes flashed like lightning. He suddenly turned his head and precisely locked onto the tall, slender figure that had appeared at some point and was slowly walking towards them.
"You—" Chang Qing Qing's ecstatic joy instantly turned into deep-seated resentment and icy killing intent.
"They're really persistent! They're like a persistent ghost!"
His murderous Sha Qi surged like tangible flames, and the Asura Eight Weapons faintly appeared behind him. He stood proudly, looking down at Qi Yun, and sneered, "I can sense that your aura is depleted, and your True Essence is no longer at its peak."
As for me, I have now received the supreme inheritance of the Divine Silkworm Sect, learned the [Divine Silkworm Transformation] Divine Ability, and been reborn, surpassing even my former self!
You still dare to chase after me now? Do you have a death wish?!
Facing the aggressive Chang Qing.
Qi Yun neither adopted a defensive stance nor immediately launched an attack. He simply used his deep, calm eyes to scrutinize the revitalized and imposing Chang Qing.
Then, a sneer, undisguised and laced with sarcasm and disdain, curled at the corner of his mouth.
The laughter wasn't loud, but it felt like an invisible slap across Chang Qing's face.
"You," Qi Yun pointed at Chang Qing, saying each word clearly, "You are truly a disgrace to our Holy Sect."
"I was tricked and manipulated like a guinea pig."
"They've skinned you alive, removed your tendons, replaced your core, and yet they're still here shamelessly howling, thinking they've received the greatest Creation?"
Qi Yun's cold, insightful words exploded in Chang Qing's ears like a thunderclap.
"You're talking nonsense!"
Chang Qing's expression changed drastically in an instant, and he was about to retort sharply almost instinctively.
As a prodigy of the Holy Sect and a successor of the Asura Dao.
How could he tolerate others belittling the "fortuitous opportunity" he had fought so hard for?
However, the inherently suspicious nature of "Holy Sect cultivators" and the keen intuition honed through countless life-and-death experiences brought him to a sudden halt at the edge of rage.
Qi Yun's words were like a poisonous thorn, precisely piercing into that subtle unease in his subconscious that he himself had never delved into.
He subconsciously began to rapidly recount the entire process of how he "received the inheritance"—
After being engulfed by black flames in the Danhai, he inexplicably entered a strange space and began to experience one "trial" after another.
The trials progressed from easy to difficult, and were extremely dangerous.
It seems reasonable.
But things just went too smoothly!
Each time, just when he was at his limit, with his strength exhausted and on the verge of collapse, a glimmer of hope would appear "just in time".
Either the difficulty of the test inexplicably decreases, or a wisp of pure energy appears out of nowhere to replenish the energy, or the enemy reveals an unexpected weakness.
This allowed him to always manage to "get through" by the narrowest of times.
Even the seemingly endless staircase leading to heaven beneath our feet is like that.
When he was exhausted, his Divine Soul was blank, and he collapsed to the ground, thinking that he would stay there forever.
Looking up again, I realized that I had unknowingly "walked" all the steps and arrived at this final platform!
Previously, he was critically injured and on the verge of death, his mind was in a daze, and he was sustained only by a strong will to live. He felt that it was because of his firm will and that he was destined for greatness.
But now, awakened by Qi Yun's words, his body has recovered, and his intelligence has regained its dominance, allowing him to connect these details—
This is hardly a test.
This is clearly a meticulously designed and precisely controlled scheme!
And I am like a fish, lured in little by little by the bait.
Thinking of this, Chang Qing felt a chill run down his spine and broke out in a cold sweat.
He abruptly turned his head, no longer caring about Qi Yun standing to the side.
Those crimson eyes, now rekindled with lucidity and rage, stared intently at the venerable figure at the far end of the platform.
The ethereal, otherworldly figure of a middle-aged Daoist priest roared, "You—what exactly are you?!"
What did you do to me?!
Despite Chang Qing's furious roar filled with hatred and accusation, the Daoist's illusory figure remained suspended in the air.
His face was blurred, his eyes were empty, as if he couldn't hear or see him at all, and he didn't respond at all.
That kind of disregard is more chilling than a direct attack.
At this moment, Qi Yun's calm voice rang out again. He rolled up his sleeves and his gaze also fell on the Daoist's illusory figure. "Lying dormant on the ground, weaving a net, waiting for someone destined to fall into its trap."
Breaking free from the cocoon, stealing another's body, continuing the lineage—"
He paused, his tone carrying the knowing certainty of someone perusing ancient texts, and slowly said, "No wonder—no wonder the sect's records and many rare anecdotes only vaguely state that the Divine Silkworm Sect was destroyed for some reason, 'vanishing overnight,' but never clearly state which force or what methods were used to completely erase this great sect."
Qi Yun's gaze sharpened, as if he could see the truth hidden by the dust. "I guess—your Divine Silkworm Sect has committed a major taboo in the entire Northwest cultivation world."
Legend has it that during the ancient era...
Qi Refining to seek truth is just one of many paths.
All kinds of wonderful methods offer the opportunity to attain enlightenment.
One of them is called [Creation Art].
Manipulating Creation, pioneering new species.
Your Divine Silkworm Sect is most skilled in the wondrous methods of revitalizing life.
So you want to create a new being out of thin air and seek great merit from Heavenly Dao.
That perilous place is your testing ground.
I have to say, you guys really dare to think big.
And he actually fucking did it.
However, if this were to succeed, it would be a meteoric rise, and the Divine Silkworm Sect would leap to become the most powerful force in the world.
To be defeated—this is the crime of deceiving Heaven.
The entire cultivation community in the Northwest will likely be implicated.
Therefore, to be on the safe side, the sects, Aristocratic Clan, and even powerful Rogue Cultivator of the Northwest cultivation world joined forces to completely erase you from this world.
"I told you so, right?"
Qi Yun asked the last two words directly to the illusory image of the Daoist priest.
Upon hearing this, Chang Qing's face turned deathly pale, and his whole body went cold.
Even the ethereal, unresponsive Daoist figure seemed to emit a barely perceptible, faint glow.
It fluctuated slightly.