After the elixir was refined, Zhang Fan officially entered seclusion. With the aid of the Soul Divine Pill, Zhang Fan was confident that he could fully integrate the remaining hundreds of thousands of rules into his soul and cultivate his primordial spirit. While he was in seclusion, the others in the Golden Light Immortal Mansion were also busy and entered a state of cultivation one after another.
Lin Haotian, in particular, felt immense pressure lately. Southern Esteemed had not only broken through to the Nascent Soul realm but had also received his master's teachings, his strength would undoubtedly soar in a short period. As the senior disciple, he had not even reached the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Naturally, a competitive spirit arose within him.
However, he overlooked one point: Southern Esteemed had cultivated for tens of thousands of years to achieve his current accomplishments, while he had only cultivated for a few decades. It was naturally impossible to compare them.
"This Immortal Grade Blood Spirit Pill is indeed of much higher quality than the spiritual pills I exchanged for in the Boundless Star Domain," Dongji True Immortal concluded after carefully examining the Immortal Grade Blood Spirit Pill in his hand.
"With this spiritual pill, the overall strength of the sect can be improved by a small margin, but now is not the time." Dongji True Immortal put away this batch of Immortal Grade Blood Spirit Pills and began to arrange sect affairs.
The emergence of Zhang Fan and Southern Esteemed had completely disrupted the balance, causing the Giant Spirit Hall, which had always held the upper hand, to feel a sense of crisis. Based on his understanding of Qin Yun, the Giant Spirit Hall would undoubtedly launch a fierce counterattack in the coming days. To solidify the sect's position, Dongji True Immortal believed that the Giant Spirit Hall must have harbored murderous intent towards Zhang Fan and Southern Esteemed.
Therefore, Dongji True Immortal issued multiple orders in the following days, shrinking the entire territorial scope of the Ten Thousand Mountains Sect. The primary goal was to ensure the stability of the sect's protective mountain array, with cultivators at the half-step Nascent Soul realm stationed at each array eye.
The other strongholds on the Ten Thousand Mountains Continent would also withdraw their main elite forces back to the sect, leaving only a few cultivators to guard them. They were also instructed that if the situation became unfavorable, they could abandon their posts and flee immediately.
With the issuance of these orders, many disciples within the Ten Thousand Mountains Sect clearly sensed an unusual atmosphere, and the sect's mood immediately became tense.
Dongji True Immortal's worries were indeed well-founded. On the forty-third day after Zhang Fan and the others entered seclusion, Qin Yun and Juque True Immortal, leading dozens of half-step Nascent Soul cultivators from the Giant Spirit Hall, marched towards the Ten Thousand Mountains Continent. No one dared to stop them wherever they went.
"They are truly fast. It seems Qin Yun cannot wait a moment longer," Dongji True Immortal said, standing on the main peak of the Ten Thousand Mountains Sect, gazing into the distance. He watched the vast army approaching the Ten Thousand Mountains Sect from thousands of miles away, his expression growing somber.
Although the Shattered Star Domain and the Boundless Star Domain were relatively close to each other, this was only in comparison. It would take at least more than a month for an ordinary Primordial Spirit realm cultivator to travel at full speed. Qin Yun's ability to reach the Ten Thousand Mountains Continent so quickly was enough to show that he had not rested at all, indicating how urgent his state of mind was.
"Esteemed fellow Daoists, you have traveled far. For what purpose do you come?" Dongji True Immortal's voice, deep and resonant, spread outwards.
"Old thief Dongji, hand over Zhang Fan. This brat killed my own brother and insulted my sect. I am here today to exact revenge," Qin Yun said without any preamble, directly stating his intentions.
"Zhang Fan and his party have already left. You have come to the wrong place for revenge," Dongji True Immortal replied with a steady aura and a frank expression, showing no flaws in his lie.
"Left?" A cold sneer appeared in Qin Yun's deep eyes. How could he believe Dongji True Immortal's words? He had paid a great price to invite Senior Brother Yu Jian, and even if Zhang Fan and the others had indeed left, he would not give up so easily.
"Then please open the mountain gate and allow us to search. If they have truly left, we will naturally not pursue the matter further," Qin Yun said.
"The mountain gate is a sacred place; how can it be easily opened? I have said all I need to say. Esteemed guests, please return," Dongji True Immortal refused unceremoniously. What a joke! Given the disparity in strength between the two sides, opening the mountain gate would be tantamount to surrender.
"Old man Dongji, I, Yu Jian, have come to visit. Are you refusing to see guests?" a tall and slender middle-aged man stepped forward, staring at Dongji True Immortal and smiling.
He was dressed in a green robe and carried an ancient long sword on his back. His entire being seemed to be integrated with the sword. When he stepped forward, even Dongji True Immortal, who was within the Ten Thousand Mountains Sect, could not help but be startled.
"It's actually Yu Jian True Immortal. This is troublesome," Dongji True Immortal's brow furrowed slightly. He had heard of Yu Jian True Immortal's reputation for a long time. Even in the Boundless Dynasty, which was full of experts, Yu Jian True Immortal's strength could rank among the top five in the Primordial Spirit realm, far beyond ordinary peak Primordial Spirit realm cultivators.
"I did not expect Yu Jian True Immortal to personally grace us with his presence. My apologies," Dongji True Immortal said with a smile, "If it were any other time, I would surely welcome Yu Jian True Immortal with open arms. However, due to some circumstances within our Ten Thousand Mountains Sect, we are unable to invite Yu Jian True Immortal to be our guest. I am truly sorry."
Yu Jian True Immortal smiled, his eyes filled with sharp radiance. He said directly, "Dongji, let me be frank with you. My junior brother Qin Yun has paid a great price to invite me to act. I will not return without bloodshed today. Will you open your protective mountain array yourself, or should I break it open personally?"
"Since that is the case, Fellow Daoist Yu Jian, feel free to display your techniques," Dongji True Immortal, seeing Yu Jian True Immortal's attitude, no longer bothered to dally. He coldly left a sentence and turned to leave with a flick of his sleeve.
"Senior Brother Yu Jian, allow me to try first," Qin Yun volunteered and stepped forward. He unleashed the Heavenly Absolute Boundless Seal, a divine ability that drew upon the power of heaven and earth within a radius of a thousand miles. Gathering over nine hundred thousand Dao Sword rules, it formed a hundred-mile-wide seal and hurled it towards the Ten Thousand Mountains Sect.
A faint, shimmering light screen enveloped the Ten Thousand Mountains Sect. As the massive handprint descended, the light screen trembled slightly, absorbing and dispersing the immense force with ease, nullifying it.
"The Heavenly Absolute Boundless is indeed a Grade Seven divine ability. Qin Yun has only learned one move, yet with his mid-stage Primordial Spirit realm strength, he can shake the protective mountain array," Dongji True Immortal praised verbally, but his expression remained calm, and he was not flustered in the slightest.
He had already arranged for half-step Nascent Soul cultivators to guard the eight crucial array eyes of the protective mountain array. Qin Yun's attack merely triggered the array's self-defense mechanism. Although the power was immense, it was absorbed and transformed by the array, causing no damage to the array eyes.
In other words, if Qin Yun's strongest means could only achieve this much, then even if he attacked for a hundred years, he would not be able to break through the Ten Thousand Mountains Sect's protective mountain array.
Qin Yun himself had clearly realized this. His expression was slightly awkward, and he couldn't help but shake his head slightly, saying, "Old thief Dongji has put a lot of effort into this protective mountain array. My abilities are insufficient to harm it in the slightest. I will have to trouble Senior Brother Yu Jian."
...