Investiture of the Gods Fragment, the Devil Lord Descends

The most troublesome aspect of the Human Emperor's Three Corpses is that it is unclear whether the one sleeping behind the door is Benevolent Corpse, Malevolent Corpse, or Self-Obsession Corpse.

All three originate from the same source, but their potential threats are vastly different.

Daoist Shouzheng had previously unleashed, there is most likely Malevolent Corpse behind the door.

But right now...

A majestic, dignified, and imposing aura slowly emanated from the seal in front, a stark contrast to the previous ferocity and madness.

Like the sun shining down and the ocean flowing, it possesses a magnificent spirit that carries the full weight of an era!

This aura was majestic and vast, carrying a boundless sense of looking down upon the ages, and it gradually merged with the vibration frequency of the fragment of the Human Emperor Seal Yu Tunzhou's Dantian.

This instantly overturned Yu Tunzhou's original guess.

Daoist School there be Benevolent Corpse behind the door?

"Great Sage?" Yu Tunzhou called out in his Primordial Spirit Heaven and Earth, but there was no response.

At first glance, the Great Sage Huntian, who had been so bold and eager to help him not long ago, now had his wings folded around his head and had shrunk into a ball of golden fur.

Yu Tunzhou's lips twitched slightly.

Is this a PTSD flare-up?

However, his Huntian reaction completely confirmed it—

What awakens at this moment is the aura of the Human Emperor!

Outside the thatched hut.

What was originally a faint, flowing aura instantly burst through the roof of the thatched hut, and its magnificent energy shot straight into the sky like a pillar, scattering the sea of clouds.

"This... this is..."

The old Zhenyan priest was shaken.

Since the signs of unrest appeared at the gates of the Human Emperor's Three Corpses, he had never seen such a dignified and solemn atmosphere, devoid of any ferocity.

Is there still a possibility of change?!

He suddenly looked at Shouzheng, but saw no surprise in the latter; his expression remained as calm as still water.

This instantly dampened his sudden surge of joy at escaping a desperate situation, bringing it to an abrupt end.

Yu Tunzhou looked up.

An Ruyu was kneeling on one knee before the seal, a wisp of purple flame at her fingertips slowly probing deep into the crack in the door, as if using the power of One Qi Breaks Ten Thousand Methods" to establish some kind of connection with the being behind the door.

Her expression was focused, with an unusual seriousness, but Yu Tunzhou noticed that her brow furrowed slightly, as if she had sensed something unexpected.

soon.

Within the soaring, magnificent aura, a phantom image of an imperial robe gradually materialized.

The man was tall and straight, dressed in black robes with tassels hanging down. He was surrounded by the grandeur of mountains and rivers and the spirit of the people. His face was hidden in the misty light and could not be seen clearly, but just one glance from him was enough to make people feel the urge to bow down and worship.

That was the majesty of one who governs Human Dao and establishes the order of heaven and earth, without a trace of ferocity, just like the heavens covering the earth and encompassing all living beings.

The moment the words "Human Emperor" popped into Yu Tunzhou's mind, a sudden roar shattered the illusory image of the Human Emperor!

Behind the portal, a completely different aura suddenly exploded from its depths!

It was chilling, ferocious, and insane, with a murderous intent so intense that it stained the heavens and earth with blood, surging in from all directions and suffocating people's hearts.

This aura was the complete opposite of the Benevolent Corpse corpse's grandeur and righteousness; it was like the other side of the Benevolent Corpse —violent, chaotic, like a wild beast that had been chained up for too long.

The two forces clashed violently behind the door, causing the entire Floating Hill Mountain to tremble, and the bluestone ground beneath their feet to crack with fine lines.

Yu Tunzhou's pupils contracted sharply as a thought flashed through his mind.

The people suppressed at the Floating Hill Mountain...

More than one Three Corpses?!

On the stone steps outside the thatched cottage.

"You... knew all along?" the Zhenyan bitterly. "There's more than one of the Human Emperor's Three Corpses behind the portal?"

The Daoist Shouzheng stood with his hands behind his back, not turning around. He stood on the stone steps in front of the thatched hut, his gaze passing over the sea of clouds and looking towards the vast Eastern Wilderness. He felt that it had been a long time since he had properly looked at this world.

"Whether you speak or not will not affect the situation. On the contrary, knowing too much will only add to your burden."

He spoke slowly, with a calm and unwavering tone.

"One hundred and thirty years ago, when I took over the position of mountain lord, my master told me the top secret passed down through generations of mountain lords of Floating Hill Mountain, stating that what was suppressed Floating Hill Mountain was the complete Three Corpses Dao Fruit of the Human Emperor, and not any one of them."

"Benevolent Corpse remains, the seal remains; if the Malevolent Corpse awakens, all people will suffer; Obsession Corpse is unleashed, heaven and earth will be in chaos."

"Two hundred years ago, the Obsession Corpse escaped the seal and disappeared. It was after that that the Malevolent Corpse gradually awakened, and the Malevolent Corpse Benevolent Corpse could no longer suppress it, which led to the increasingly frequent uprisings within the sect."

Shouzheng turned to look at the gate, his eyes showing a strange light. "The only thing I didn't expect was that this woman could actually awaken the Benevolent Corpse. It seems she really came prepared."

"What do you think...?"

Zhenyan Daoist priest Zhenyan could speak, Shouzheng shook his head but said nothing, only looking in the direction of the Cangling Nan Household.

The clash between the two auras behind the door was like two invisible mountains crushing each other, causing cracks to extend beneath the feet.

Yu Tunzhou's gaze was fixed on An Ruyu.

She first used her One Qi Breaks Ten Thousand Methods aura to draw out the Benevolent Corpse's energy from behind the portal, and then, as the two energies collided, she retrieved a fragment of some unknown object.

This is...

Yu Tunzhou suddenly had a thought, and suddenly remembered that this was the fragment of the Investiture of the Gods An Ruyu had obtained from the Northern Plains Cave Heaven Secret Realm!

An Ruyu's face was pale, and a layer of fine sweat seeped from her forehead, clearly indicating that she was struggling to hold on.

With a solemn expression, she painstakingly slipped the fragment of the Investiture of the Gods into the crack in the portal.

In an instant, the frenzied and ferocious aura of the Malevolent Corpse seemed to be severed by something and vanished abruptly.

The previously disintegrated illusory image of the imperial robe flickered and reformed again during this brief moment.

The illusory figure didn't utter a single word, as if racing against time. With a flick of its finger, it touched An Ruyu's brow.

Witnessing this scene, Yu Tunzhou understood.

So this was what An Ruyu truly wanted!

At the same time, the fragment of the Human Emperor Seal in his Dantian sensed something, but it only trembled slightly before falling silent again, showing no sign of affection or submission.

It seems the Human Emperor severed Three Corpses...

Ultimately, he was not the true Human Emperor.

"Young Hero Guo, do you still remember the follow-up Cultivation Method of the Spark Instruction that I gave you in the Northern Plains Secret Realm?"

Just then, An Ruyu's voice rang in his ears.

Yu Tunzhou looked slightly taken aback, wondering why she had suddenly brought this up.

That is the method of transforming Qi into Qi, and it is also a follow-up Cultivation Method of the Spark Instruction.

If he hadn't embarked on the path of manifesting the Dao Path, this Cultivation Method would indeed have been useful.

However, his Dao Path manifested, forging Dao Sprout Immortal Embryo, and he forged his own unique Martial Dao. His Gang Qi was transformed from Dao Foundation into Limitless Gang Qi on its own, so he no longer needed to cultivate other Qi transformation methods.

"What I gave you in the past was one of the core techniques of the Human Emperor. If Young Hero Guo had cultivated it, perhaps he too could have received this gift from the Benevolent Corpse today, just like me..."

Yu Tunzhou was startled. Without thinking about the reasons, the Cultivation Method instantly flowed into his mind, connecting with the Spark Instruction and using the Dao Sprout Immortal Embryo as its core, beginning to transform Starfire Gang Qi.

Buzz--

A vortex of Gang Qi, formed from his own qi, suddenly unfolded around him, interspersed with glazed flames, and shimmered with a faint glazed luster.

The illusory figure standing in front of An Ruyu seemed to sense something, looked up, and also extended a finger to touch his brow.

This is...

Yu Tunzhou's pupils contracted sharply as a massive amount of information surged into his mind through his fingertips.

His gaze fell on An Ruyu's back again, and he finally understood An Ruyu's true purpose for this trip.

What came to his mind was actually the method of controlling the Three Rankings of Heaven, Earth, and Man!

But why would she specifically remind herself of this?

If she had remained silent, she would have been the only one to receive this inheritance.

The transmission of the Dharma was instantaneous, and the illusory image of the Benevolent Corpse was inherently unstable. After the Dharma was imparted, it instantly disintegrated and disappeared again.

The two opposing forces of good and evil clashed and intertwined behind the door once again. Although it did not cause a major impact on the outside world, the aftershocks still sent An Ruyu flying.

Yu Tunzhou subconsciously raised his hand and wrapped his arm around her waist, feeling its warm and soft texture.

He looked down and saw that the demoness was either exhausted or injured by the aftershocks; her face was as pale as paper, her forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, and a soft groan escaped from her nose. Combined with her exquisitely beautiful face, she appeared somewhat weak and pitiful.

Yu Tunzhou's eyes twitched, and with a slight exertion of force, he sent the person flying.

An Ruyu spun around in the air, lightly touched the ground with her toes, and regained her footing. The paleness on her face disappeared in an instant.

She pursed her pink lips, her clear black and white eyes revealing a shrewd glint in them, and chuckled softly, "Young Hero Guo is truly a man who remains unmoved even with a woman in his arms."

Yu Tunzhou gave her a deep look and cut to the chase. "Why did you remind me?"

"I just want to see if Young Hero Guo is truly one in a million, a peerless genius, and whether he can master this Gang Qi technique in the blink of an eye," An Ruyu said with a smile.

The Yu Tunzhou is neither affirmative nor negative.

For others, it might be as difficult as climbing to the heavens, but for him, who had already mastered the Spark Instruction and cultivated the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, mastering a method of the same source of Gang Qi was really nothing.

Not to mention that the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art are inherently adept at transformation and simulation. Combined with his Dao Foundation, replicating and mastering a Cultivation Method is merely a matter of a moment.

"Your next step is to seize the divine artifact of destiny jointly controlled by the Star Palace and the Jixia Academy — the Three Rankings of Heaven, Earth, and Man?" Yu Tunzhou asked, his tone laced with probing. "Aren't you afraid that I, Yu, will interfere?"

"The three lists—Heaven, Earth, and Man—are located in three different places and stored separately. Even I, in my capacity, cannot seize them all at the same time," An Ruyu said casually, seemingly unconcerned. "Therefore, I am not worried. On the contrary, it would be too boring if there were no unexpected variables."

At this point, she stretched lazily. Although her white dress covered her up completely, it couldn't hide her graceful figure, and every undulation of her body was alluring.

"My journey in the Eastern Wilderness ends here. From now on, the situation in the Eastern Wilderness will depend on Young Hero Guo."

"?"

Yu Tunzhou frowned. "What do you mean? You've achieved your goal, so you're going to abandon me?"

"As you just saw, Young Hero Guo, there's more than one of the Three Corpses behind the door, making it impossible to find the Human Emperor's ' Immortal Realm ' and gain the ability to Nether Passage."

"This is exactly the future I predicted from the beginning. The Devil Lord's descent and the Three Corpses' uprising are both inevitable events, predetermined fates beyond my control. Naturally, I have no way to persuade the Immortal Cauldron."

She blinked, her expression sincere, and said...

"I have just confirmed that Young Hero Young Hero Guo's ability to cultivate [Sparks Fill the Sky] in the blink of an eye and receive a gift from the Benevolent Corpse must make him an unparalleled genius, one in a million. Even though the Immortal Cauldron is extremely arrogant, it should still look upon Young Hero Guo with special favor. Therefore, the important task of persuading the Immortal Cauldron falls on Young Hero Guo's shoulders."

"You mean you're at your wit's end, that you've given up?"

Yu Tunzhou glanced at her sideways, then turned and walked out of the thatched hut.

"Then stand to the side."

He stepped out of the thatched hut, looked at the Mountain Lord Shouzheng on the stone steps, and asked bluntly, "Senior Shouzheng, may I ask how long until the Devil Lord descends upon the world?"

Shouzheng withdrew his gaze and pondered for a moment, "The aura of the Nine Netherworlds is becoming increasingly clear. If nothing unexpected happens, the Nan Household has already opened up the rudimentary passage, and the Devil Lord's power has begun to permeate this world."

"How long can you hold out, senior?"

The Daoist Shouzheng looked on in surprise, then suddenly laughed and said, "Don't worry, the Devil Lord's power won't be able to reach Cangling City within a day."

" Within Cangling City?"

"It's unavoidable, and there's no need to avoid it," Shouzheng said calmly. "Cangling City has long been the Nan Household's stronghold, impenetrable to any outsiders."

"Understood."

Yu Tunzhou turned around and returned to the Daoist temple.

Just now, the two corpses, one good and one evil, erupted in succession, their energy astonishing, yet this immortal Immortal Cauldron remained completely still.

Yu Tunzhou guessed that, given this thing's "temperament," it was probably more compliant to force than to gentleness. Even if he used the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, the chances of success were slim. Fortunately, he simply sat down cross-legged in the center of the Daoist temple.

The cauldron remained completely still, as if it were a dead object.

"The Three Rankings of Heaven, Earth, and Man..."

Yu Tunzhou's eyes were slightly closed, his mind stirred, and he sank into the Three Rankings Control Secret Method taught by the Benevolent Corpse.

He had been at the top of the Dragon and Dragon and Tiger Ranking for some time, and had been using the luck of the list to nurture his Dao Sprout Immortal Embryo. However, at that time, he relied entirely on instinct and had no method, so the results were minimal.

Now that he has obtained the orthodox method, and following the connection with that the Unseen fortune, things became much clearer, and he could even faintly sense the existence of the Dragon and Tiger Ranking.

In his perception, the Dragon and Tiger Ranking seemed to exist in no specific place, but rather as an invisible bridge floating higher up, intimately connected with martial artists throughout the world.

As the top-ranked member of the Dragon and Tiger Ranking, he was closest to that bridge.

At this moment, this ranking list is continuously releasing a faint flow of energy to the outside world, nourishing the martial artists on the list like spring rain.

It disperses but does not gather together, thus benefiting many.

Following the methods of managing the Three Rankings, he quickly established a subtle connection with the Dragon and Tiger Ranking.

After a brief period of awareness, he figured out what he could do for the time being, such as drawing upon the blessings of good fortune for a period of time in the future.

Such behavior is tantamount to living beyond one's means, and it's uncertain whether there will be any backlash later.

Yu Tunzhou did not hesitate. He drew upon the luck of the ranking list and infused it into the Dao Sprout Immortal Embryo, thus beginning his breakthrough to the Middle Divine Ability Stage.

Since Huntian's suggestions were unsure which ones would work, he decided to try them all in the end.

In an instant

The light inside the Daoist temple suddenly dimmed for a moment.

The sky outside remained unchanged, but the energy around Yu Tunzhou was rapidly converging inwards.

The bronze cauldron inside the Daoist temple trembled slightly, emitting a very soft hum, but then fell silent again.

soon...

The aura of the Yu Tunzhou rose steadily and irresistibly.

Within the Dantian.

Like a parched Dao Sprout Immortal Embryo slowly sprouted branches and leaves under the infusion of abundant fortune, their roots and stems grew deeper, and the tender buds became more substantial.

As the foundation of the Dao Foundation strengthens, one's cultivation level naturally rises, the Inner Heaven and Earth quietly extends outward, the outline of the Mountain Peaks Surpassing Kunlun becomes increasingly clear and imposing, and the surface of the Vast Sea and Azure Deep quietly rises a level, with the sound of waves faintly audible...

Just then, the ancient patterns on the bronze wall of the Immortal Cauldron suddenly flashed without warning.

A faint trace of doubt flickered through the slumbering consciousness of the Immortal Cauldron's spirit.

It sensed a familiar yet distant presence.

But even after searching through countless memories, it could not find the source of this familiar aura, which was the most bizarre thing, because this aura was indeed very familiar to it!

This forced it to awaken from its slumber, to secretly observe the young man before it, and it quickly sensed something amiss.

How could such a crude and vulgar path give birth to the [Root of the Great Dao]?

Cangling City, Nan Household.

On the altar, hundreds of people knelt blankly, their eyes glazed over, clearly suppressing their emotions and not even having the right to kowtow and beg for mercy.

"Patriarch, all the Alchemist and alchemy apprentices have gathered here," an elder of the Nan Household said in a deep voice.

Nan Zhongwei stared at the dense mass of heads ahead, his face as cold and hard as iron, uttering only one word:

"Bloodletting."

In an instant, the blade flashed like frost, and shards of it fell.

Hundreds of heads rolled to the ground, blood gushing from severed necks, submerging the altar in front of them under the restraint of the surrounding martial artists.

Even though their heads were severed, those people were not truly dead. Instead, black flames burst forth from their bodies, using their remaining flesh and blood as candles to ignite a raging fire. The chilling wails and howls of their souls rose and fell in waves!

Looking at this scene, Nan Zhongwei remained cold and unmoved.

The karma accumulated by those who refined the Heavenly Origin Pill was the most beloved thing of that Six Desires Devil Lord, and also the main medium for summoning him to descend upon the Eastern Wilderness!

The Nan Household has raised them until this day, preparing for this moment, to transform them into human candles, using their flesh and blood and karma as fuel to illuminate the rift leading to the Nine Netherworlds, without sacrificing the direct bloodline of the Nan Household.

Witnessing the "blood candles" being lit one by one, Nan Zhongwei said, word by word:

"Descendants of the Nan Household, follow me to worship the Devil Lord and welcome Devil Lord arrival!"

The Nan Household members, who had already lined up around the altar, all knelt down, their expressions varied—some were panicked, some were bewildered, some were expectant, some were fanatical, and some had ferocious expressions...

But the moment their faces were illuminated by the black flames, the same tremor ran through the depths of everyone's blood, and what surged forth was an astonishing fervor and obsession.

"We, descendants of the bloodline, swear an oath in blood—"

Nan Zhongwei shouted sternly, his voice echoing in the Cangling City.

"We, descendants of the bloodline, swear an oath in blood—"

Thousands of voices rang out simultaneously, trembling and frenzied, their roars converging into a tidal wave.

"Today I burn the karma candle and knock on the devil's door!"

"I would rather be condemned to the Nine Netherworlds than return to the Mortal Realm!"

"We beg Your Majesty to descend to earth and restore our clan's honor!"

The moment the last four words were uttered, the hundreds of black pillars of fire on the altar simultaneously surged!

Deep within the flames, a dark crack silently opened up.

There was no loud noise, no strong wind, but the entire Cangling City suddenly came to a standstill, as if someone had gently squeezed its heart.

Beyond the crevice, something enormous seemed to open its eyes.