Chapter 660: Ten Years Later, Great Upheaval in Douxuan Sect
Shen Mo's appearance quickly drew the attention of those nearby.
More precisely, it caught the eye of a middle-aged cultivator in elder's robes.
Shen Mo gave the man a glance and was slightly surprised.
Ten years ago, he had seen all the elders of Douxuan Sect.
But this man had not been among them.
"You are...?"
The middle-aged cultivator gave Shen Mo a few glances, then suddenly remembered, "Ah, I recall now. The former sect master once mentioned that his Heaven-grade cultivation chamber was temporarily lent to an enshrined elder surnamed Shen."
"You must be that enshrined elder. If I'm not mistaken, you're a Human-rank enshrined."
Shen Mo nodded calmly.
Back then, Sect Master Bai Chuanliu had repeatedly warned the elders to keep silent and not disclose Shen Mo's true identity or strength to anyone.
And afterward, he had specially gifted Shen Mo the Heaven-grade cultivation chamber with the densest spiritual energy.
Such treatment, Shen Mo had naturally accepted with pleasure.
At the time, destroying Shaoyang Manor on his own had still posed some difficulty.
But with his current strength, wiping it out would be as easy as lifting a hand.
"Elder Shen, our Douxuan Sect has a total of twenty-nine Human-rank enshrined elders. None of them are qualified to occupy a Heaven-grade cultivation chamber, let alone for ten years."
The middle-aged cultivator smiled. "I ask that you vacate this chamber."
Shen Mo frowned slightly.
He had already completed his cultivation and could indeed vacate the chamber.
But offering it up of his own accord and being ordered to give it up were two completely different matters.
Just ten years—had something changed within the sect?
Shen Mo ignored the middle-aged cultivator and strode directly to the surface.
Before entering seclusion, Chen Ling had vowed to keep watch by his side, yet now she was nowhere to be seen.
Clearly, some shift had occurred within Douxuan Sect.
And since it hadn't directly involved Shen Mo, his life panel revealed no information about it.
Shen Mo spread out his spiritual sense, instantly covering Xuangui Lake and a radius of three thousand miles.
Every movement of the cultivators within fell into his perception.
Moreover, with his total of three hundred Dao patterns, not even other Nirvana realm cultivators could sense his probing.
Very soon, Shen Mo located Chen Nanxuan and Chen Ling.
They were in a secluded courtyard, currently cultivating.
As for the elders from ten years ago, only two remained— the rest seemed to have vanished.
Shen Mo moved slightly.
In the next instant, he appeared in the courtyard where Chen Nanxuan and Chen Ling resided.
He gently tapped the ground, releasing a pulse of spirit energy.
A soft breeze brushed their cheeks, awakening them from their meditative state.
Chen Nanxuan looked weary, but upon spotting Shen Mo, joy spread across his face.
"Senior Shen! You've finally emerged!"
Chen Ling also came to herself, though her expression carried sorrow.
Shen Mo glanced at their life panels.
Before they could speak, he had already grasped the general situation—it was as he had suspected: the sect had suffered upheaval.
And a massive one at that.
"Senior Shen, only you can save Douxuan Sect now," Chen Ling said sorrowfully.
Chen Nanxuan quickly supported his sister and apologized, "Senior Shen, my sister has suffered too great a blow. She's been grieving for years. Allow me to explain on her behalf."
He spoke clearly and thoroughly, filling in details that Shen Mo's life panel couldn't show.
It turned out that not long after Shen Mo entered seclusion, Douxuan Sect was attacked by Shaoyang Manor for stopping them from stealing the Heaven-Shrouding Skylark's egg.
Had it been a duel between two sects, Douxuan Sect might have held its ground despite being weaker.
But Shaoyang Manor had rallied six entire sects to launch a joint assault on Douxuan Sect.
Douxuan Sect did all it could to resist while urgently sending people to contact the Thunder Prison Clan, hoping they would mediate.
Although the Thunder Prison Clan rarely intervened in the affairs of subordinate forces, and typically maintained a hands-off approach, they had always upheld one strict prohibition:
Even if conflicts arose between factions, they were only allowed to engage in one-on-one combat. Rallying allies to escalate the situation was strictly forbidden.
This rule not only reduced the intensity of sect disputes but also fostered controlled competition, promoting healthy circulation among their subordinates.
However, the Thunder Prison Clan's response to Douxuan Sect was that Shaoyang Manor's attack did not violate the prohibition—and they refused to mediate.
In the end, Sect Master Bai Chuanliu died in battle, and of the ten elders, six perished.
Of the few surviving elders, Elder Shi Ping was the strongest and immediately took over as sect master.
The now-vacant elder seats were filled by Nirvana realm cultivators appointed by the Thunder Prison Clan.
Many of them were, in fact, from Shaoyang Manor.
After a few years, Douxuan Sect had effectively been hollowed out. The new sect master, Shi Ping, held almost no real power.
Douxuan Sect had become a second Shaoyang Manor.
Chen Nanxuan and Chen Ling had once been the personal disciples of the late Bai Chuanliu.
After his death, they naturally became targets of exclusion.
Were it not for Shi Ping's protection, they likely wouldn't have survived.
Shen Mo lightly shook his head, somewhat regretful.
But it was only that—regret.
His relationship with Bai Chuanliu and the others had only gone as far as mutual respect and their recognition of him as a Heaven-rank enshrined of Douxuan Sect.
He had needed a quiet place to cultivate.
Douxuan Sect had needed him to destroy Shaoyang Manor.
Each party used the other.
He had cultivated in seclusion for ten straight years without once leaving the chamber, and thus had no knowledge of what befell the sect members.
"Senior Shen…"
Tears fell from the handsome face of Chen Nanxuan.
Real men don't shed tears easily—only when grief runs deep.
Now that Shen Mo had emerged, someone could finally be confided in. Chen Nanxuan could no longer hold back his sorrow and wept openly.
Shen Mo said calmly, "I will destroy Shaoyang Manor."
"This is my promise to Sister Que, and my duty as Douxuan Sect's Heaven-rank enshrined."
Chen Nanxuan and Chen Ling cupped their fists and bowed. "Thank you, Senior Shen!"
Chen Nanxuan said solemnly, "I'll go invite the sect master right away."
However, he never returned.
Three whole hours passed, and there was still no sign of him.
Shen Mo frowned.
"Where is it quiet?" he asked.
Chen Ling pointed to a distant mountain. "Senior Shen, that Blackstone Mountain rises into the clouds and is barren in resources. Very few cultivators go there."
"Please wait here, Senior Shen. I'll go find my brother."
With that, she departed quickly.
Shen Mo gently stepped onto the ground, rose into the air, and flew to the summit of Blackstone Mountain.
There was nothing special about the mountain—just exposed dark rock.
Seeing that no one was around, Shen Mo began to cultivate.
He had only just begun training in the Dragon Elephant chapter of the Divine Elephant Prison Suppression Force.
It required considerable time and effort to get started.
The task now was to awaken all 840 million elephant micro-particles in his body into dragon-elephant micro-particles.
Of course, awakening just ten would count as completing the first layer of the Dragon Elephant chapter.
However, the beginning was always the hardest.
From one to ten was easy.
But from zero to one—immensely difficult.
Shen Mo shut his eyes tightly and stirred his blood energy.
Billions of divine elephants roared and screamed within his body, but even so, not a single micro-particle managed to awaken into a dragon-elephant.
Just then, a bolt of lightning light suddenly came flying from the east.
The figure riding it was about to pass over Xuangui Lake when he faintly heard the roar of divine elephants atop Blackstone Mountain.
Tilting his ear to listen, the sound struck his soul like a hammer.
Deeply shaken, he immediately changed course and sped toward the mountain.
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