“Ah!”
“Help!”
Both demonic cultivators and demons were stunned. They had been hiding deep within the demonic barrier of the Extreme Western Land, far from the heavenly lightning. However, because Qin Si's lightning tribulation had a wide range of influence, it caused countless heavenly lightning bolts to descend from the sky.
These lightning bolts were rough and unrestrained, with immense destructive power. A single strike could obliterate a Nascent Soul stage demon into scattered souls. Demons who had narrowly escaped the lightning's range had no time to rejoice at their survival before they were driven back into the lightning by the surrounding Great Ascension cultivators.
Since ancient times, the righteous and demonic paths have been irreconcilable. The cultivators of the righteous path would not miss such a good opportunity to deal with the demon race.
The rolling heavenly lightning could not drown out the screams of the many demonic creatures. After three days and three nights, this long questioning lightning tribulation finally dissipated.
After the tribulation vanished, everyone instinctively looked towards the man in red at the center.
Qin Si was in much better condition than Bai Shengyi had been previously; he even stood up immediately.
His calm, phoenix-like eyes swept over everyone, but he said nothing. Yet, the cultivators present involuntarily took a step back.
“A’si, congratulations, you succeeded,” Daojun Qinglan said with a faint smile.
Qin Si nodded, “Martial Uncle, thank you for guarding me just now.”
However, he was somewhat surprised in his heart.
Even after successfully passing the tribulation, he still couldn’t discern Qinglan’s true cultivation. Was this due to Qinglan’s special innate body, or was Qinglan’s cultivation still above his?
Qin Si kept this matter in mind but didn’t rush to find an answer. He merely gave Qinglan a deep look.
“Congratulations, Daojun Qin!”
The many Great Ascension cultivators who had doubted Qin Si previously offered their congratulations. Venerable Fei Yun cautiously retreated to the very back, fearing Qin Si’s retribution.
Qin Si was not a magnanimous person. He didn’t say a word. He extended his hand and made a light swipe in the air. In the next instant, Venerable Fei Yun was grabbed by his collar and pulled to his front.
This was the terrifying mastery of rules by a Spirit Illumination Realm cultivator!
If the Qin Si of the past acted in accordance with the rules of heaven and earth, the current Qin Si was using the rules of heaven and earth for his own benefit.
He primarily cultivated the rules of space, and his grasp of them had reached the extreme.
“Qin Si! What do you want to do?”
Venerable Fei Yun’s heart skipped a beat. He looked at Qin Si with extreme vigilance, his hand reaching for a treasure tied to his waist. If Qin Si were to act erratically one day, he would fight for his escape.
“Qin Si, I am Bai Shengyi’s Martial Uncle. If you harm me, aren’t you afraid Bai Shengyi will become estranged from you?”
Seeing that Hongyi and his master were not intervening, Venerable Fei Yun grew furious and had to rack his brain for a solution. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him. He recalled that Qin Si had sacrificed his lifespan when he migrated the Myriad Worlds Secret Realm, and Bai Shengyi, having ascended, had at least five thousand years of lifespan, whereas Qin Si only had three thousand.
“That’s right, Bai Shengyi’s lifespan is now a full two thousand years longer than yours. Aren’t you afraid Bai Shengyi will wrong you? I can help you keep an eye on Bai Shengyi’s… Ah! Qin Si!”
Venerable Fei Yun was thrown heavily onto the ground, creating a massive crater. Before he could escape, Qin Si effortlessly grabbed him again and slammed him back to the ground.
Qin Si held nothing back. With just two moves, the ground beneath Venerable Fei Yun split in two, and he himself passed out.
“Mountain Master Qin, please spare his life.” Daojun Hongyi hurriedly spoke up as Qin Si was about to continue, “Master, please help speak a word. Although Martial Brother is a bit gossipy, he doesn’t deserve to die…”
“Heh, then let’s take that mouth.”
No one had time to see what Qin Si did. After a scream, Venerable Fei Yun was thrown to the ground, his face covered in bloodstains.
Qin Si said coldly, “Grandfather, your disciple has traces of Thousand Soul Insect Silk on him. I suggest you take him back for a thorough examination.”
Daojun Hongyi was stunned, “This, Mountain Master Qin, you must have mistaken him.”
Yue Bufan, however, did not doubt Qin Si’s words at all. “Hongyi, shut up! Take your martial brother back and keep him under my watch. After I’m done, I’ll personally interrogate him!”
He knew clearly that Qin Si would not say such things without reason, nor would he have any need to slander Fei Yun.
If Qin Si truly wanted Fei Yun dead, he would have killed him directly; there would be no need for such extra steps.
Daojun Hongyi did not dare to disobey Yue Bufan and could only leave with Venerable Fei Yun.
As soon as they left, the immortal ascension ladder was set up, and myriad phenomena appeared in the world. Only then did everyone realize that the heavenly lightning Qin Si had endured had actually dispersed the entire demonic barrier of the Extreme Western Land!
The Extreme Western Land was now free from the shrouding demonic energy and barrier. Under the sunlight and spiritual rain, its true appearance was revealed.
Dry, yellow sand and gravel were everywhere. Scorched grass leaves drooped parchedly in the cracks of rocks. As far as the eye could see, for hundreds of thousands of miles, there wasn’t a single large tree or spiritual plant! It was barren and desolate everywhere!
“This isn’t a place for humans to live, is it?”
Everyone even doubted if the demons could truly survive in such a place. Could it be that the heavenly lightning had destroyed everything to this state?
“Amitabha,” Master Ku Lian chanted a Buddhist name, turning his prayer beads. “All beings are equal yet unequal. All beings suffer yet do not all suffer. Amitabha.”
Qin Si had already stepped onto the immortal ascension ladder. Hearing Master Ku Lian’s words, he let out a cold laugh.
All beings are inherently unequal; where does the concept of universal suffering come from?
Only by possessing great strength could one command the right to speak. Otherwise, one couldn’t even protect their own homeland.
Qin Si looked back at Shenqi. The mountains and rivers were vast. This place not only held countless relatives and friends familiar to him and A’yi, but also the plants and trees he was familiar with.
He would never, and was unwilling to, allow outsiders to covet it.
…
Chongyuan Middle World, Lingxian Bay.
This was the “final stop” of the immortal ascension ladder for the small worlds, and the destination for those who ascended.
It did not belong to any single continent. However, both Yingwu Continent and Yunsheng Continent and Xunming Continent had dispatched reception envoys to guard here. On one hand, it was to scout for promising individuals among newly ascended cultivators to prevent them from being recruited by the other two continents. On the other hand, it was to guard this realm and oversee it.
Lingxian Bay, as the passage connecting the Chongyuan Middle World to other small worlds, had extremely unstable space. Every year, cultivators from other middle worlds would attempt to infiltrate the Chongyuan Middle World through here, and many Chongyuan cultivators would sneak down to the small worlds through various means. These reception envoys were there to prevent such activities.
However, year after year, this oversight had gradually become superficial. Especially this year, with the appearance of the Myriad Worlds Secret Realm, the three continents had already stirred up several conflicts over who would descend first.
“Buluo, are we really just letting the people of Yingwu Continent leave like this?”
“That’s right, why should they?”
At the reception area of Yunsen Continent, two young male cultivators stood on either side of a male cultivator in green, expressing their deep dissatisfaction with Yingwu Continent with every word.
The male cultivator in green, surrounded by the two, was the seventh son of the Yunsen Continent’s Lord, Yun Buluo.
Just by hearing his name, one could tell that this son was deeply favored by the Lord of Yunsen Continent, to the point that even his name carried the Lord’s high hopes for him.