On the day the Pure Land Holy Land was delisted, representatives from the Kunlun Holy Land, Yaochi Holy Land, other top sects, and several imperial families were present to witness the ceremony. After the event, they convened for a meeting.
The Pure Land Sect, stripped of its Holy Land title, was granted special permission to attend.
"Regarding the battle at the Heavenly Flood Dragon Cloud Thunder Valley, I believe everyone present is aware of what transpired.
The female Valley Master, Ding Yun, fought alone, with the rest of her companions being demonic beasts. To put it mildly, they were descendants of flood dragons, but to put it bluntly, they were just demonic beasts.
While their strength was formidable, it also indirectly indicated that the Heavenly Flood Dragon Cloud Thunder Valley had very few human powerhouses. The only one truly worth mentioning was the female Valley Master; the rest of the powerful individuals were dragon-type demonic beasts.
It's hard to say whether it should be considered a human sect or a demonic territory!
Most crucially, those flood dragon descendants did not possess such immense power before. Their current attainment of the Martial Saint realm is undoubtedly due to Ding Yun's nourishment. If we don't intervene, she will likely continue to nurture countless more Martial Saint-level demonic beasts.
Do not dismiss this as a minor issue. The female Valley Master is still alive and can control the Cloud Thunder Flood Dragon, and by extension, the flood dragon descendants. But what happens if she dies? Who will maintain control?
The maximum lifespan for our human Martial Saints is only a thousand years, whereas the Cloud Thunder Flood Dragon lives for ten thousand years. It is currently only three thousand years old, and even after the female Valley Master perishes, it will only be four thousand, with another six thousand years to live.
Those flood dragon descendants, comparable to Martial Saints, also have lifespans of around five thousand years. Most of them are currently less than a thousand years old, and after the female Valley Master's death, they will still have over three thousand years to live.
Have you all considered the immense threat that so many Martial Saint-level demonic beasts will pose to our human race once the female Valley Master is gone? Even if we unite, we might not be their match!"
Yu Qingzi, the sect leader of Kunlun Holy Land, did not bring up any disputes over interests. Instead, he first highlighted the threat and the opposition between humans and demons, elevating the seriousness of the situation to a racial level.
"Sect Leader Kunlun, are you perhaps being overly concerned? The Cloud Thunder Flood Dragon has been around for a long time. It has lived for over three thousand years, and even its attainment of the Martial Saint realm was over two thousand five hundred years ago. For all these years, it has never left the Cloud Thunder Valley. I believe as long as we don't provoke it, the Cloud Thunder Flood Dragon should not cause trouble outside its valley in the future."
The sect leader of Yaochi Holy Land opportunistically undermined his statement. She did not want to be dragged into taking action.
"Indeed, nothing has happened for so many years. How could something go wrong so easily? Sect Leader Yu Qing, you are worrying too much!"
"That's right, you're exaggerating!"
The elder ancestors of the imperial families, who had been intimidated by Ding Yun and the dozens of flood dragon descendants, quickly chimed in. This was not about bullying the weak, but about confronting immense power. If they didn't quickly deny the threat posed by Cloud Thunder Valley now, and if the Kunlun Holy Land sect leader proposed a joint attack on the Heavenly Flood Dragon Cloud Thunder Valley, would they agree or refuse? Refusal would be to disregard the human race.
If they agreed, who wouldn't fear death? They had already killed twelve Martial Saints; would they be short of one or two of them? They could easily be wiped out.
The Pure Land Holy Land had lost too many Martial Saints and lost its Holy Land status. Their imperial families had few Martial Saints to begin with. If a few more were lost, it could easily destabilize the court and turn them into puppets of aristocratic clans.
This was in the best-case scenario. In the worst case, they might even be overthrown by a sect with more Martial Saints. Who would they complain to? Would the Kunlun Holy Land still support them? It was inconceivable.
People were willing to get involved in things that posed no danger, but they would hesitate when there was danger. For extremely dangerous matters that could lead to immediate death and shake the foundations of their own power, the vast majority would not dare to take the risk. After all, they weren't tired of living, so why risk their lives and the extinction of their clans for something that might not even bring any benefit?
If the Holy Land took the lead, even if they succeeded and reaped benefits, the Holy Land would claim the lion's share. They would be fortunate to get a sip of the soup.
Therefore, the imperial families naturally had to object. The other top sects quickly echoed their sentiments, secretly feeling fortunate that the Yaochi Holy Land also seemed unwilling to cooperate. If Yaochi Holy Land had agreed, it would have been difficult for them to refuse.
With the majority opposing the proposal, Sect Leader Yu Qingzi of Kunlun Holy Land was powerless to change the tide. He could only lament the decline of human morality, warn them of future regrets, and reluctantly conclude the meeting.
Then, each returned to their own factions, and they parted ways.
And they obediently purchased various types of spiritual rice from the Heavenly Flood Dragon Cloud Thunder Valley at market prices.
As the outside world became more peaceful, life in the Heavenly Flood Dragon Valley finally normalized for Ding Yun and her followers. Some cultivated, some studied, and some farmed. Elders and stewards gradually got married or brought their children and grandchildren to join the valley.
Each had their responsibilities, maintaining order and clarity.
Ding Yun's main focus, however, was on raising her child.
In this era of peaceful coexistence, the child grew visibly before their eyes, learning to walk, to run, to call out "Mother," to cause mischief everywhere, dig holes, and ride flood dragons.
The elders and disciples of the valley doted on him. Ultimately, Ding Yun had to be the one to play the role of the strict disciplinarian.
...
Su Yong, in a cave on the summit of Tianzhu Mountain, was completely unaware of the events unfolding outside, nor of what was happening within the Heavenly Flood Dragon Valley. He had been in a semi-dormant state on the Thousand-Year Cold Jade for five full years.
During these five years, he ate and drank nothing, reducing his body's consumption to the absolute minimum. This allowed him to endure and continuously use the surrounding ice power to wear down the surging malevolent and killing energies within him.
Fortunately, this arduous and painful process yielded results.
At this moment, although he was gaunt, his bones protruding through his skin and his vital energy depleted, the malevolent and killing energies within him had completely vanished.
This was not his greatest achievement over the past five years.
His greatest gain was in utilizing this ice power to modify his sect's inherited techniques, changing the attributes of his cultivation from the original malevolent and killing energy-filled essence to an extreme ice element, one that brought about desolation. Not only was its power and lethality comparable to the original technique, but it also guaranteed his absolute rationality and clarity, eliminating any worry of going mad or losing control.
At this moment, the cultivation technique he practiced could no longer be called the Seven Kill Technique. He renamed his newly modified technique the "《Heaven and Earth Desolation Ice Heart Art》."
Desolation was his Martial Saint's intent.
Heaven and Earth are desolate, all things wither and perish, all beings fall!
Now, although his essence was frigid, and his blood was almost frozen, his heart of vengeance burned fiercely.