Guarding the Prison for 100 Years, I Emerge to Overwhelm the Demon Venerable

The words had barely faded.

The faces of the crowd watching the Golden Cloud Assembly changed as they all looked toward the sky.

RUMBLE—

With a deafening rumble, the dense, dark clouds gathered on the horizon instantly dispersed.

A middle-aged man in a purple robe then emerged from the clouds, his hands clasped behind his back and his expression grim.

A golden vertical eye was set in his forehead, and his aura was immense!

A terrifying pressure radiated from him, scattering the surrounding rain and mist. It was like a tangible, towering mountain pressing down on everyone’s heart.

Upon seeing the man’s face, the surrounding crowd grew tense. Some of the more powerful onlookers, however, merely frowned.

To the right of the Golden Cloud Immortal Platform, a mere hundred meters away, stood a cyan pavilion.

On the 9th Layer of the pavilion, two men sat across from each other, drinking tea and chatting idly.

The Blue-robed Youth glanced at the purple-robed man in the sky and chuckled.

"It’s him. The one from the Jin Family."

The white-robed man sitting across from him nodded slightly.

He took a light sip of tea, his eyes lowering to the swirling cyan liquid in his cup. A smile touched his eyes as he spoke.

"How interesting. The Golden Cloud Assembly was originally a grand Martial Dao event hosted by the Jin Family, held once every three years."

"But it looks like this year’s Golden Cloud Assembly is a little different!"

"The Yun Family is already starting to make its move."

While the two were talking, the purple-robed man in the sky descended above the Golden Cloud Immortal Platform, riding a wisp of a golden cloud.

Inside the small pavilion, Su Bai’s eyes flickered as he looked at the purple-robed man.

’This man’s Cultivation is quite high.’

’His Sin Value is high, too—a full Seven-Star.’

’More importantly, I can smell the thick scent of Incense and Candle Qi on him.’

After activating his Heaven-Seeing Eye, Su Bai could clearly see strands of golden Incense and Candle Qi coiling around the man.

’This golden Incense and Candle Qi is of a rather high quality.’

’The purple-robed man’s current Cultivation is likely inseparable from this Power of Incense.’

Faint wisps of silver-white Incense and Candle Qi were also rising from the vast Golden Cloud Immortal Platform, converging toward the purple-robed man.

Activating his Heaven-Seeing Eye again, Su Bai saw the Golden Cloud Immortal Platform itself in a new light.

’So that’s it. The Golden Cloud Immortal Platform is a special Sacred Artifact capable of gathering the Power of Incense.’

Su Bai glanced at the Golden Cloud Immortal Platform below, his mind racing.

’Clearly, one of the reasons these factions hold the Golden Cloud Assembly is to gather the world’s Incense and Candle Qi, either for cultivation or for some other purpose.’

"Haha! Fellow Daoist Jin!"

Just then, a hearty laugh echoed from the sky.

Everyone’s expression shifted as they turned toward the sound.

An old man in a silver robe appeared beside the purple-robed man. He had a carefree smile, and his white hair was draped over his shoulders.

"Yun Tianlong!"

The purple-robed man’s eyes narrowed at the sight of him.

He immediately unleashed a Divine Technique, forming a barrier around them to block any prying eyes.

A vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke in a low, dangerous voice. "Yun Tianlong! How dare your Yun Family hold the Golden Cloud Assembly and gather Incense from all corners without the Patriarch’s permission!"

"What is the meaning of this?"

The Golden Cloud Immortal Platform was one of his Jin Family’s foundational Sacred Artifacts, possessing the unique ability to gather the Power of Incense.

However, within Jin Yun City, the Jin Family was not the sole dominant power. Several other family factions, when united, were strong enough to rival them.

Of these factions, the Yun Family was the strongest.

Thus, under the combined pressure of these families, the Jin Family had been forced to compromise.

They had to share a portion of the Power of Incense.

But now, the Yun Family had blatantly disregarded the Jin Family, holding the Golden Cloud Assembly themselves to gather the Incense from all corners.

Such an act was a flagrant display of disrespect!

"Hehe... Fellow Daoist Jin. It’s a trivial matter. Why get so worked up?"

The silver-robed elder chuckled.

"You!"

Fury rose in the purple-robed man, a vicious glint in his eyes.

His expression turned frigid as he spoke.

"Fine, fine! So this is how the Yun Family wants to play?"

"I will report this to the Patriarch. You can prepare to explain yourself to him then!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve and vanished.

Watching the purple-robed man’s retreating figure, the silver-robed elder’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’Should I strike?’

He hesitated.

In the end, he abandoned the thought.

’Forget it. There will be other opportunities.’

The thought vanished as quickly as it came.

Then, the silver-robed elder’s figure also faded into the sky.

In the pavilion, Su Bai gazed down at the Golden Cloud Immortal Platform, a thoughtful look on his face.

A moment later, a subtle smile touched his lips.

With a mere thought.

He sent out a Divine Thought Incarnation and used Wishful Size, shrinking it to the size of a rice grain.

He then used the Soaring Snake Transformation to conceal its form before it sped down to the Golden Cloud Immortal Platform.

On the platform, the two combatants were still locked in a fierce battle.

Su Bai’s Divine Thought Incarnation searched the Golden Cloud Immortal Platform for a moment before quickly finding a hidden entrance to its interior.

The rice-grain-sized figure slipped past the clashing tips of a spear and a sword.

It stepped on what seemed like massive drops of blue rain and, with a little trick, slipped inside the platform.

"Such dense Power of Incense!"

Upon entering the inner space, Su Bai’s face lit up with delight as he saw the golden Incense filling the vast area.

Even if the conversion rate between this Power of Incense and Merit Points was steep, the sheer quantity would still yield a handsome profit.

’I can’t believe I’d run into such a windfall so soon after arriving in the Desolate Province.’

At this thought, Su Bai used Wishful Size to return to his original form.

Then, he began to madly absorb the surrounding Power of Incense.

"Absorb!"

BOOM—

A massive amount of the surrounding Power of Incense surged into his body like a tidal wave.

In the Merit Points column.

The number was climbing at a rate visible to the naked eye!

Merit +1... Merit +5... Merit +9...

In the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, his points had soared by more than ten thousand!

Yet the surrounding Power of Incense had barely diminished.

’Not bad! At this rate, if I absorb all this Power of Incense, I should get at least a few hundred thousand Merit Points!’

Su Bai smirked and quickened his absorption speed.

Meanwhile, on the Golden Cloud Immortal Platform, one Martial Arts Strongman after another took the stage, clashing fiercely as they sparred and exchanged techniques.

By the time the sparring matches concluded, Su Bai was nearly finished.

’Not bad at all!’

Su Bai nodded to himself after checking his Merit Points.

Absorbing all the Power of Incense that had accumulated inside the Golden Cloud Immortal Platform for years had brought him a grand total of two hundred thousand Merit Points!

A very nice haul indeed.

Just as Su Bai was wondering how to spend his new Merit Points, he heard someone call out from behind.

"Daoist!"

"Senior!"

The voice was female, and a bit rough.

Su Bai and the old Daoist beside him turned toward the sound.

A figure was approaching through the misty rain.

She wore coarse linen clothes, her hair was unbound, and she carried a long saber. Her face was a slightly round, goose-egg shape, with eyes that were strikingly black and white.

Beside her was a Silver-White Dog Demon walking on its hind legs.

It chewed on a blade of grass, a defiant look on its face.

The old Daoist looked surprised for a moment before breaking into a smile.

"Female Knight Chen, greetings!"

"What a coincidence."

"It is."

Su Bai replied.

Su Bai had met this woman and her dog on the road to the Golden Cloud Assembly. They had traveled together for a time.

Theirs had been a chance encounter.

"So you’re here! I thought you hadn’t come. I looked all over for you."

"We were standing rather far back."

"My eyesight is great!"

"It was far."

"Well? Was it a good show?"

Su Bai wasn’t sure how to respond, so he just said casually.

"It was an eye-opening experience. I gained quite a lot."

"Hehe..." The woman grinned, then fell into step beside Su Bai and the old Daoist as they walked away.

She brandished the long saber in her hand. "If I’d known you were watching, I would’ve gone up there for a round myself. Shown you what I can do."

"We just saw several of your fellow disciples, Female Knight Chen. They’re all Martial Dao experts. We can already imagine how magnificent you must be."

"They’re still a bit behind me."

"Impressive!"

The group bantered casually as they left Jin Yun City.

Vanishing into the misty rain.

...

「Jin Yun City. The Jin Family Estate.」

The purple-robed man, having just returned, sat in the pavilion, his heart seething with frustration.

A moment later, several attendants in Golden Armor approached, trembling. Their eyes were wide with terror as they delivered their report.

After listening to what the attendants had to say...

...the purple-robed man’s expression twisted in horror.

"What?!"

"The Power of Incense inside the Golden Cloud Immortal Platform... it’s all gone?!"