Chapter 239 - 267: Dragon Mansion Realm Level 9! The Strong Gather! Is Weakness a Sin?
With that, he poured nearly 300 million Experience Points into his Martial Arts Cultivation.
DONG!
In a flash, everything around him seemed to stand still.
Inside the teacup Su Bai held.
The pale blue tea leaves gently swayed, sending ripples spreading quickly outwards across the water's surface.
Soon, they expanded to the surroundings.
Beneath these ripples, the entire world seemed to transform into a liquid surface, shimmering with a mysterious aura.
Su Bai's Divine Thoughts seemed to enter a wondrous, mysterious, and profound state.
It was as if, for the first time, he perceived the world with such clarity, comprehending the essence of heaven and earth and the laws that governed their operation.
He could also clearly see the countless streams of Spiritual Qi that filled the world, like innumerable young White Dragons swimming about freely.
At that moment, a brown leaf gently fell from the old jujube tree.
As Su Bai's gaze followed the trajectory of the falling brown leaf, he seemed able to discern the cyclical pattern of the seasons and even predict future changes to a degree.
He looked up at the sky and could faintly see the movements of the sun, moon, and stars.
It was as if the world was only now revealing its truer self before his eyes.
It no longer hid its secrets, allowing him to seek knowledge and peer into its mysteries.
And during this process, the True Qi, Divine Spirit, and Physique within Su Bai's body were all surging wildly at an unbelievable speed.
The Dragon Gate inside him emanated a surging, golden-purple energy as it continuously grew taller!
The Dharma Tripod Prison in his mind rumbled as it expanded, transforming from an illusory state and becoming increasingly solid.
Its majestic aura, capable of suppressing all things and judging all living beings, also grew increasingly profound.
"Seeing a mountain as a mountain, seeing water as water."
"Seeing a mountain as not a mountain, seeing water as not water."
'So, when one's Divine Thoughts become powerful enough, one can perceive a loftier, more profound vision of the world.'
Su Bai returned to his senses and slowly blew a breath toward the Jade Cup in his hand.
The tea, which had already grown cold, actually began to steam again, wisps of white vapor rising as it grew warm.
It was as if it had returned to the state it was in half an incense stick's time ago, right after the tea had been brewed.
A look of delight appeared on Su Bai's face as he gazed at the Jade Cup in his hand.
If an outsider had witnessed this, they would have surely thought Su Bai had used some kind of technique.
But only he knew the truth.
He had truly just blown a simple breath of air.
He hadn't used a single shred of True Qi, nor had he employed any Divine Techniques.
This was a miraculous ability Su Bai now possessed after the transformation of his Divine Thoughts.
RUMBLE—
Meanwhile, the Dragon Gate within his body began to tremble and hum. Golden-purple clouds of dawn light swirled around it, along with Golden Dragons and Red Phoenixes.
Roaring and crying out, they soared and danced freely.
The entire Dragon Gate expanded to its absolute limit, becoming as majestic and magnificent as a gateway propping up heaven and earth!
Impossible to gaze upon directly.
At this moment, Su Bai's Cultivation had also reached its current limit, attaining the Ninth Level of the Dragon Mansion Realm!
He was now only a single step away from breaking through to the Nine Tribulations.
'After my Cultivation reaches the Ninth Level of the Dragon Mansion Realm and my Divine Thoughts transform, I can probe even deeper into the essence of heaven and earth.'
'I can also clearly perceive the laws of the world, and even utilize a sliver of them.'
'It's similar to the Fist Dao's Dao Domain...'
Su Bai was lost in thought.
Ultimately, all the great Daos lead to the same destination.
Whether it was the Sword Dao, the Fist Dao, or the laws of heaven and earth, all were a type of Great Dao.
The breakthrough in his Cultivation was undoubtedly a huge boost to Su Bai's power.
His overall strength had increased several times over.
Now, his every move was accompanied by a unique charm, giving him an air of Returning to the Essence, of great skill appearing artless.
Su Bai took a sip of tea and turned his head, only to find the Rabbit Spirit beside him staring at him, transfixed.
Her cheeks were flushed red.
"The power of this Dao charm is potent indeed."
Su Bai murmured with a smile.
Cultivating the Dao not only increased one's Cultivation and strength, but also one's looks and charm.
In fact, any being with sufficiently profound Cultivation could already alter their appearance at will, so naturally, they were all charming and possessed unparalleled beauty.
However, there were always a few exceptionally outstanding individuals who were even more eye-catching.
After his Cultivation advanced to the Ninth Level of the Dragon Mansion Realm, Su Bai's aura became even more transcendent, as ethereal as an Exiled Immortal.
This was what had captivated the Rabbit Spirit beside him.
With a thought, Su Bai concealed his Dao charm, and his features returned to normal.
It was like falling from the status of an otherworldly Immortal God to that of a common mortal.
As the Rabbit Spirit beside him saw Su Bai return to an ordinary state, a flash of disappointment inevitably crossed her eyes.
But the motion of her hands, shelling walnuts for Su Bai, didn't dare to become the least bit careless.
After the transformation of his Divine Thoughts, Su Bai could now perceive things much farther away.
At a certain moment, Su Bai's eyes flickered and his brow furrowed.
He then rose from his wooden chair, his gaze fixed on a certain direction.
With a flicker of his body, he vanished from the spot.
"Senior! Senior..."
The Rabbit Spirit's panicked cries immediately echoed through the courtyard.
"Why did Senior suddenly leave?"
She stood rooted to the spot, a bewildered look on her face.
「A few breaths later.」
「East of Great Xia, somewhere beyond its borders.」
Su Bai stood upon the clouds, his gaze turned toward the direction of Qishan.
He then looked into the distance, at the strange ripples that were gradually spreading toward the Great Xia Territory.
His expression suddenly darkened!
'Sealing the heavens and locking the earth, severing its roots, absorbing all its Spirit Charm.'
'Are these people from the Dayu Immortal Dynasty trying to turn this entire territory into a wasteland?'
After pausing for a moment, Su Bai waved his sleeve.
He vanished on the spot, wrapped in a wisp of golden cloud.
...
Above the vast, endless mountain range, a simple, massive Large Cyan Bell hovered silently.
Flanking the bell were two thousand-zhang-long dharma rulers, one black and one white.
At the top of the bell, a seven-colored, funnel-shaped vortex had formed.
This seven-colored vortex was spinning ceaselessly.
With each rotation, the vortex would grow a fraction larger.
In contrast, the sky above would grow a shade dimmer.
The land below would also sink a tiny bit in response.
Even those with low Cultivation could tell what was happening.
All the Spirit Charm and essence of this land were being mercilessly devoured by the Large Cyan Bell, flowing endlessly into its interior.
This process had already been going on for a full day and night.
Hun watched everything with a complicated expression.
Qishan, after all, was the place where he had lived for a thousand years. It was his home base.
Seeing this scene, he naturally found it hard to bear.
He turned his head and saw that the red-robed youth was watching with great relish, a smile on his face.
"You find it interesting, seeing the Spirit Charm of a land being so tyrannically plundered?"
Hun said coldly.
The red-robed youth looked at him, his smile widening.
"Naturally, it's interesting."
"Back on Ancestral Demon Mountain, I often heard of the Earth Department sealing territories, but I'd never seen it myself. Now that I have the good fortune to witness it, how could I not watch?"
"You should take a good look too. Besides the Dayu Immortal Dynasty, no one else is capable of such a feat."
Sensing the surrounding Spiritual Qi growing thinner and hearing the shrieks and roars of the Little Demons below, Hun's brow furrowed even more deeply.
These Little Demons were all creatures from within Qishan.
They were his subordinates, in a manner of speaking.
Yet as the Qishan Demon Lord, he could only watch helplessly.
"Once this land is stripped of its Spirit Charm, its inhabitants are doomed to suffer. You call this interesting?"
Hun said through gritted teeth.
"To think those words would actually come out of your mouth. I really didn't expect that."
The red-robed youth gave Hun a rather surprised look, then chuckled. "I see. You're just worried about your own underlings, aren't you?"
"Actually, it's not really what you'd call 'dooming the inhabitants to suffer.'"
"They're just storing up the Spirit Charm of this territory and transporting it to a location within Da Yu's borders."
"It's not as if they're completely stripping away all Vitality. For ordinary mortals, nothing will change."
"The ones who are truly affected are the humans and demons who have Cultivation."
"And the more profound their Cultivation, the greater the effect."
"Look..."
As he spoke, the red-robed youth pointed his right hand toward a spot on the horizon.
Hun followed his gesture and could faintly make out dozens of streaks of Escape Light flying toward them at high speed.
Judging from the speed and auras of the Escape Lights, the newcomers' Cultivation levels were no lower than the Daoist Palace realm.
"The experts of this region are starting to get anxious."
The red-robed youth smiled. "A pity. Being anxious is useless."
As he spoke, Hun saw the speed of those Escape Lights rapidly decrease.
The altitude of their flight was also constantly dropping.
In the end, these people were all forced to the ground, their speed reduced to a crawl as faces of utter horror were revealed.
"In the face of irresistible power, all struggle is futile."
"They have no other choice but to submit."
"This is what they mean when they say weakness is a sin."
The red-robed youth sighed with emotion, then said coolly, "Now, you should understand why I want to take you back to Ancestral Demon Mountain, shouldn't you?"
Hun returned a cold laugh. "And what about you?"
"A moment ago, in front of that Earth Department Celestial Official, weren't you the same? Not daring to even breathe too loudly, forced to submit?"
"It seems the name of Ancestral Demon Mountain doesn't carry much weight with that Celestial Official!"
The moment Hun's words fell, the red-robed youth's face instantly darkened.
A flash of anger crossed his blood-red eyes.
But he quickly calmed down and nodded. "You're right."
"When facing the Dayu Immortal Dynasty, even Ancestral Demon Mountain is one of the weak."
"But Ancestral Demon Mountain, at least, is protected by the Great Demon Ancestor. No matter how strong the Yu Dynasty is, it can't topple us."
"Unlike your domain, which is just a tiny speck of land. A single wave could wash over it and leave it stranded."
Hun seemed about to retort, but the red-robed youth's expression turned cold as he cut in, "And don't you go thinking that so-called Lord of Heavenly Punishment can do anything about this!"
"I can tell you that Martial Dao Cultivators with profound Cultivation are also considered a rare resource."
"They too will be taken away by the Earth Department, sent to the territory of Da Yu, and forced to contribute their power to the establishment of the Immortal Dynasty."
"Even that Lord of Heavenly Punishment won't be able to escape the fate of being captured."
After speaking, a smile tinged with anticipation appeared on the red-robed youth's face.
He really wanted to see this Lord of Heavenly Punishment that Hun had hyped up so much.
He wanted to see just what a desperate and pathetic expression he would wear.
"Is that so?"
However, the next moment, a voice echoed from the heavens.
The red-robed youth's expression changed slightly.
Immediately, he followed the sound with his gaze.
His pupils instantly constricted!
In his line of sight...
RUMBLE—
A golden palm swept aside ten thousand li of dawn clouds.
And descended from the heavens!