Translator: CinderTL
"Defeated!"
Wu Ji Sect.
Upon learning that all twenty-six remaining Dharma Aspect cultivators, including Yuan Shaoyang, had perished, Sect Master Yuan Taiji found himself in a state of profound bewilderment.
Anger?
Undoubtedly!
The murderous intent in his heart surged uncontrollably, threatening to overwhelm him.
Yet, buried deep beneath the overwhelming rage and resentment, lay a sliver of hidden delight.
He understood perfectly why this contradictory emotion existed.
If Li Chunjun had truly been defeated by the combined forces of over two hundred Dharma Aspect cultivators from the Wu Ji Sect and Heavenly Palace, it would have proven that while Li Chunjun was indeed powerful—perhaps even a unique life form—his status as an innate divine being remained questionable.
But now, after an eight-month stalemate, the tides had suddenly turned.
Not only had all fifty-nine Dharma Aspect cultivators from the Wu Ji Sect perished, but over a hundred from the Heavenly Palace had met the same fate. This overwhelming defeat proved beyond doubt that Li Chunjun's power far exceeded the comprehension of everyone, including Yuan Taiji himself, the Sect Master of the Wu Ji Sect.
"Innate divine being..."
Yuan Taiji murmured to himself.
His eyes now held no trace of hesitation, resentment, anger, or inner conflict.
In its place was an unprecedented resolve.
"Sect Master! Xun Feng and Kan Shan are arriving shortly!" Vermilion Bird reported to Yuan Taiji.
"Hmm," Yuan Taiji nodded slightly. "Are Lei Ze and the others in position?"
"They are," Vermilion Bird confirmed, then hesitated. "However, although the four of them have cultivated into Law-Manifesting Lifeforms, their foundations remain shallow. Even Lei Ze, the strongest among them, possesses only 140,000 combat power. The remaining three hover around the 100,000 range, with the weakest falling below that threshold. Once battle commences, they may struggle to withstand the Profound Yellow Sect and Profound Yellow Lineage's retaliation."
"I'm aware," Yuan Taiji replied calmly. "I merely require them to delay the Profound Yellow Sect's Supreme Sages, buying us time. I don't expect them to engage in a death match."
He added, "The sect's Dharma Manifestations will coordinate with their actions."
Hearing his sect master's unwavering determination, Vermilion Bird Supreme Sage could only nod heavily. "So... we're truly going to war this time?"
"Whether war erupts depends not on the Profound Yellow Sect, nor on Lei Ze and his group, but on us!"
Yuan Taiji gazed at the Vermilion Bird Supreme Sage and said, "If we can strike down Li Chunjun with overwhelming force, completely shattering the Profound Yellow Sect's core, we might be able to avert this cataclysmic war between the two sects, a calamity that would engulf countless lives!"
His expression grew solemn. "Therefore, when the dark horned prison opens, you and Xun Feng, Kan Shan, and the others must exert every ounce of your strength to restrain Liu Yu and block the Profound Yellow Sect's Huang Daozhen and the Three Sages of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity!"
He took a deep breath. "Li Chunjun could contend with over two hundred Dharma Aspect cultivators while still in the Dharma Aspect stage. His talent and potential are self-evident. Once he attains the Supreme Sage realm and accumulates a hundred thousand years of Qi, the Wu Ji Sect will be nothing more than fish on a chopping block, utterly at his mercy!"
The Vermilion Bird Supreme Sage sighed inwardly.
He remained silent, refusing to utter naive platitudes about settling grudges in the dark horned prison battle.
Settle grudges?
The Heavenly Palace and Wu Ji Sect had already lost hundreds of Void Refining and Dharma Aspect cultivators—losses unprecedented since their founding. Could such profound wounds truly be erased with a mere declaration of settlement?
They knew Li Chunjun had initiated the dark horned prison pact to eliminate a sufficient number of the major powers' dharma avatars and accumulate enough resources to prepare for his upcoming rapid cultivation.
Li Chunjun himself also understood...
The Heavenly Palace and Wu Ji Sect had only agreed to the dark horned prison battle because they believed it would give them a legitimate means to capture him. Moreover, Liu Yu's sudden arrival had caught them unprepared.
Now that the dark horned prison battle had failed to yield the results they desired, a full-scale war was inevitable.
However, since they were all members of the Human Race and part of the Immortal Alliance, they chose not to publicly air these grievances and entanglements.
Yuan Taiji, standing nearby, seemed to discern the Vermilion Bird Supreme Sage's thoughts. He cast a cold glance at the sage and said, "Vermilion Bird Supreme Elder, the matter has reached this point... there's nothing more to discuss. For the sake of our Wu Ji Sect's honor, its legacy, and to crush this mortal threat—which could one day bring our sect to ruin—in its cradle, we must wage this war."
The Vermilion Bird Supreme Sage glanced at Yuan Taiji.
If only their Sect Master hadn't been so arrogant, dismissing Li Chunjun as a mere Void Refiner, leading to a disastrous decision that forged a mortal enmity with such a monster, the Wu Ji Sect wouldn't find itself in such a precarious position.
In the end, it was all due to arrogance and greed.
But then again, who could have imagined that Li Chunjun, who had only broken through to the Void Refinement Realm a few years ago, would grow so rapidly that even Supreme Sages like themselves found him deeply troublesome, forcing them to mobilize the entire strength of the Wu Ji Sect just to contend with him?
If he had been in the Sect Master's position back then, he would have likely felt the same way—that Li Chunjun's audacity in killing Wu Ji Sect Void Refiners and Dharma Manifestation cultivators warranted a swift and decisive response.
Ultimately...
Li Chunjun's growth rate was simply too rapid.
So rapid that it repeatedly shattered their understanding of what was possible.
By the time they truly recognized the threat he posed and began to take him seriously, his cultivation had already reached a level that required the full might of the Wu Ji Sect to confront.
"Truly..."
The Vermilion Bird Supreme Sage wanted to speak, but ultimately found himself at a loss for words.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At that moment, six streams of light pierced through the Void from the edge of the Heavenly Vault.
Seeing this, Xuan Wu Supreme Sage extended his hand, manipulating the Void Law to redirect the streams of light. He swiftly guided them toward the Wu Ji Sect's location.
As the six streams of light converged, they transformed into six figures, their robes travel-worn and dusty.
Having just emerged from the Void, they still maintained their Law-manifested forms.
At a glance, it was clear that all six were Supreme Sages who had cultivated Law-manifested lives.
The aura emanating from them was no less formidable than that of the Vermilion Bird and Xuan Wu Supreme Sages.
"They've arrived," Yuan Taiji said, a faint smile appearing on his face as he observed the newcomers. "I apologize for interrupting your cultivation."
"Sect Master!" the six figures replied, nodding respectfully.
Then, the one who seemed to possess the strongest cultivation spoke in a deep voice: "Has the situation truly deteriorated to this extent? Why was there no warning beforehand?"
"Xun Feng, I understand your confusion, but everything happened too quickly," Yuan Taiji explained. "Li Chunjun's growth rate... it's simply too rapid!"
"Too fast?"
The man known as Xun Feng couldn't quite grasp it. "A supreme sage like this couldn't have suddenly sprung from the cracks in a stone. His path to power must have left traces. After all, mastering cultivation techniques, refining Qi, and forging a Dharma Aspect require both human effort and material resources. These things can't be achieved overnight..."
"Don't apply conventional logic to Li Chunjun," Yuan Taiji interrupted, turning to Vermilion Bird. "Explain Li Chunjun's true achievements, our current situation, and the decisions we've made to Xun Feng and the others."
Vermilion Bird nodded.
He had witnessed Li Chunjun's rise from nothing firsthand and knew his history like the back of his hand.
He understood Xun Feng, Kan Shan, and the others' shock and doubt, as well as the Sect Master's apprehension and wariness.
As Vermilion Bird began explaining the full story to Xun Feng and the others, a stream of light materialized through mental power.
It was Huang Daozhen, Sect Master of the Profound Yellow Sect.
"The dark horned prison is about to open, Sect Master Yuan," Huang Daozhen said gravely. "Why are you summoning all the Supreme Sages back from their training at this critical moment? What are you planning?"
"We are gathering our forces to return. Aren't you and your Profound Yellow Lineage doing the same?" Yuan Taiji said calmly.
"According to my information, Xu Yang, the strongest member of the Profound Yellow Lineage, is already on his way. If not for the consecutive malfunctions of three Star Gates along his route, he would have reached the Profound Yellow Great World by now."
"Xu Yang..." Huang Daozhen's accusatory fervor faltered slightly.
"Compared to this supreme sage, who is so powerful he could likely contend with a Quasi-Tenth-Tier expert for a short time, we haven't recalled Yuan Guiyi nor alerted Wu Tongtian. We've merely sent Xun Feng and a few others back to the Profound Yellow Great World. What's the significance of that?"
"Hmph!" Huang Daozhen snorted. "You probably didn't send word earlier because you thought you had already won eight months ago and didn't need to alert anyone else, right? Now that the situation has suddenly changed, you've run out of time to recall them all, so you've only managed to bring back six."
"Believe what you want," Yuan Taiji replied calmly, clearly unwilling to engage in further verbal sparring with Huang Daozhen.
This scene darkened the Profound Yellow Sect Master's expression. "So... you truly intend to wage a full-scale war against our Profound Yellow Sect?"
"There's something you seem to have forgotten," Yuan Taiji said, his gaze fixed on Huang Daozhen. "It was never our Wu Ji Sect that sought war—it was your Profound Yellow Sect! If you had simply handed over Li Chunjun, peace would have reigned between our sects. But you stubbornly chose to stand by his side, defying our Wu Ji Sect!"
He slowly rose to his feet, a pressure radiating from him that rivaled even that of the Demon-Quelling Great Emperor. "Since when has the weak dared to bully the strong? Profound Yellow Sect, you crave annihilation? Our Wu Ji Sect will grant your wish!"
"Li Chunjun is a Supreme Elder of our Profound Yellow Sect!" Huang Daozhen declared, meeting Yuan Taiji's gaze without flinching.
"Supreme Elder? A Supreme Elder who isn't even from the Profound Yellow Sect, and who joined less than ten years ago?!" Yuan Taiji's expression turned icy. "Am I to understand that after learning Li Chunjun had become our Wu Ji Sect's greatest enemy, your Profound Yellow Sect deliberately invited him into your ranks, all to provoke us into war?!"
Huang Daozhen remained silent.
He now understood everything.
"It seems Sect Master Yuan has made his decision."
"So what?" Yuan Taiji replied coldly.
Seeing this, Huang Daozhen said nothing more, and the projection of his mental power dissipated.
Yuan Taiji paid no attention to Huang Daozhen's departure, his expression utterly calm as he gazed toward the Profound Yellow Great World.
He knew the potential consequences the Wu Ji Sect might face if war broke out.
But...
An innate divine being!
What did it matter if the entire Wu Ji Sect was sacrificed for a chance at dao unification?
Even if every member of the sect perished, he could rebuild the Wu Ji Sect from its ruins.
Moreover, this new Wu Ji Sect would surpass its predecessor in scale and possess even greater prospects for growth.
At that time, he would become the greatest Sect Master in the sect's history, ushering in an unprecedented golden age. He would become a legend sung for countless ages, forever remembered and revered by all future generations of the Wu Ji Sect.
(End of the Chapter)
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