In fact, the moment Lu Xuan learned the true nature of the curse, he wanted to end it. However, the curse itself contained a trap, and by the time Lu Xuan realized it, the contract had already taken effect. The other party killed the centipede demon for him, but never asked him to pay anything in return.
This matter had once become a source of inner demons for Lu Xuan. He never knew when this debt would come knocking. Therefore, he desperately cultivated, and after achieving great mastery of his cultivation, he used the karmic thread to directly kill the creditor, thus completely ending the debt.
But for some reason, in this final moment, he sensed the aura of that extraterrestrial demon once again. The blood debts between them caused a slight crack in his resolve.
"Impossible! I clearly killed it, so why is the contract still there?"
Lu Xuan had no idea what had happened. He even had a vague feeling that he had fallen into some kind of trap from the very beginning. But it was too late to undo the damage. That one moment of distraction had rendered Lu Xuan's final attack almost completely ineffective.
No, it wasn't entirely ineffective. Lu Xuan still inflicted an unhealable wound on the Chaos Devourer. However, he himself completely vanished from the creature's corruption.
"No, that's not right... Why am I here???"
...............
Lu Xuan suddenly opened his eyes. He saw swirling clouds in the sky, purple aura rising from the east, a wondrous sight of immortals descending to earth. The previous tribulation and inner demons seemed like nothing more than a dream.
Hundreds of disciples from the Hidden Immortal Sect had already stepped forward.
"Congratulations, Sect Master, on achieving the Great Dao!"
“The Great Dao…” Lu Xuan murmured to himself, more than one question arising in his mind.
The inner demon hurdle is truly terrifying; I hadn't even realized I'd fallen into it. But upon closer reflection, my inner demon is filled with all sorts of strange things.
First of all, this inner demon seems... not very dangerous. It seems the entire inner demon dream was just a reminder that there is a fatal flaw, like a trap, within one's Dao heart.
In this light, it's not a demon in my heart at all. It's more like a warning. Originally, in the dream, my mind was out of balance, and I was about to be devoured by my opponent. But at the crucial moment, I suddenly woke up.
Thus, the entire process of overcoming inner demons was fraught with danger but ultimately safe. It seemed as if some unseen force had given him a hint. This felt strangely unsettling to Lu Xuan. Inner demons... shouldn't be like this, right?
Regardless, Lu Xuan successfully formed his Nascent Soul. This was a major event for him, the Hidden Immortal Sect, and even the entire cultivation world. At this moment, the surrounding cultivators understood perfectly well that Lu Xuan wasn't cultivating any supernatural abilities. Rather, his cultivation had reached a new level, a realm they had never even heard of before.
I wonder what level of cultivation this Sect Master of the Hidden Immortal Sect has reached now, since he could previously fight the Beast God single-handedly. I reckon all of us watching wouldn't even be enough to defeat him with one hand.
But while I may feel sentimental, I should still offer my congratulations. Giving gifts is pointless if you do it, but if you don't, you're very likely to be remembered.
In the current world of Jade Dynasty, nobody wants to be targeted by Lu Xuan!
7017k
------------
Chapter 468 The Final Feud
The Hidden Immortal Sect held a grand banquet for three days, letting the whole world know that Lu Xuan's cultivation had reached a new level. To give everyone a more intuitive understanding of what the Nascent Soul Realm truly entailed, Lu Xuan even personally demonstrated it.
He added several mountains around the Hidden Immortal Sect...
The reason why the Hidden Immortal Sect's spiritual veins have not been occupied is because the spiritual veins here are not very good. Moreover, the surrounding area is shrouded in poisonous fog, making it unsuitable for building a sect.
After Lu Xuan arrived here, he cleared away the poisonous fog, then used an array to gather spiritual energy and established the Hidden Immortal Sect.
However, artificial formations ultimately have limitations. As the number of disciples gradually increased, the Hidden Immortal Sect's supply of spiritual energy began to become insufficient. Therefore, Lu Xuan planned to adjust the layout of the mountains surrounding the Hidden Immortal Sect, artificially creating a large-scale spirit-gathering formation. But this time, he wouldn't use spirit stones or rare treasures to set up the formation. He planned to add several mountains, utilizing their terrain to create a super-giant spirit-gathering formation!
People often use the phrase "moving mountains and overturning seas" to describe the great supernatural powers of spiritual practitioners. But in reality, no spiritual practitioner in this world has ever been able to truly move mountains and overturn seas.
Dao Xuan could completely annihilate a mountain peak by fully activating the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation. However, Lu Xuan did something far more extravagant. He used the power of the Hidden Immortal Sect, with himself as the main force and hundreds of disciples as the assistants, to forcibly relocate three mountains of moderate size. This repaired the loopholes in the formations surrounding the Hidden Immortal Sect, creating a super spirit-gathering formation that was 'man-made yet natural'.
"If the spiritual energy is insufficient, I'll make do with what I have." This scene is both highly practical and boastful. The most fundamental change is that the Hidden Immortal Sect is now undoubtedly the leading force in cultivation in the Central Plains. Even though the Immortal Slaughtering Sword of the Azure Cloud Sect still holds its rank, it is still far inferior to the Hidden Immortal Sect's true power to move mountains and overturn seas.
After this momentum reached its peak, an unexpected incident occurred. On this day, people from Tianyin Temple arrived.
The one who came was Venerable Puhong, accompanied by the last remaining elder of the Pu generation named Puyi. They came to apologize for the sins committed by Puzhi back then.
In fact, Zhang Xiaofa and Lin Jingyu had never given up investigating what happened back then. Not long ago, they obtained secrets from the Qingyun Sect; members of the Qingyun Sect revealed to them the wall that had been broken by Buddhist magic. This made the two of them suspect the Tianyin Temple.
However, Zhang Xiaofan refused to believe it was true, and thus delayed for several days. Unexpectedly, this delay scared Tianyin Temple itself out of its predicament.
The cultivation world is actually quite illogical. It's basically a dog-eat-dog world. The Qingyun Sect and Tianyin Temple are powerful, so they have the resources to act chivalrously and build their reputation as righteous.
In the original novel, besides Dao Xuan, who else in the Qingyun Sect truly harmed Zhang Xiaofan? Actually, no one did. In fact, the entire sect treated Zhang Xiaofan very well. However, Zhang Xiaofan's tragedy is still inextricably linked to them.
When Zhang Xiaofan first revealed the Great Brahma Prajna, he was interrogated by the combined forces of the Qingyun Sect and the Tianyin Temple. However, he remained steadfast in his promise and did not utter a word. During this period, neither side was at fault. But what happened later?
Dao Xuan and Pu Kong joined forces to interrogate Zhang Xiaofan, and Pu Hong, unable to bear it any longer, revealed the truth.
And then what? The villagers of Grass Temple Village were on Qingyun Sect territory. They were all wiped out by the people of Tianyin Temple. Zhang Xiaofan could be considered a spy for Tianyin Temple, but Lin Jingyu was a legitimate disciple of Qingyun Sect. With their entire sect wiped out, what did Qingyun Sect do?
"How could that be? Who do you think you are? A mere disciple? How could the Qingyun Sect possibly wage war against the strongest Buddhist sect in the world for the sake of a single disciple? Even if they killed your entire family, they'd only ask for some compensation at most." In reality, the Qingyun Sect ultimately didn't ask for any compensation, and those villagers died in vain.
This is the law of the cultivation world: mortals are nothing more than ants. When they are in a good mood, they will naturally act chivalrously and protect their reputation. But when their own interests are involved, how could a high-ranking cultivator possibly compare the lives of mortals to their own?
Dao Xuan never took the blood feud between Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu to heart. He was the high and mighty head of the Qingyun Sect. He wouldn't pay attention to these ants. Even though Tianyin Temple was at fault, he still didn't hesitate to swing his sword at Zhang Xiaofan.
Throughout the entire process, Zhang Xiaofan did nothing wrong except keep a promise. Yet he endured almost every kind of human tragedy. His family and loved ones all died at the hands of the people he respected most. Lu Xuan couldn't even imagine what he felt at that moment.
Pu Hong personally came to apologize, which would be considered an honor for most sects. However, for the Hidden Immortal Sect, it was not a big deal.
Because Lu Xuan's cultivation level is now a whole tier above the entire cultivation world, Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu, as his personal disciples, have naturally risen in status. Simply put, these two are now basically equivalent to the sect leader level in other sects.
Puhong was a highly accomplished Buddhist monk. He had always felt guilty about what happened back then. However, for the sake of his sect, he couldn't publicly admit his mistake. As the saying goes, when it came to the sect's reputation and interests, the lives of a few mortals were insignificant. Even the Tianyin Temple, which preached compassion, held this view.
But things are different now. Those two survivors from back then are now the most powerful second-generation cultivators in the entire cultivation world. Their master and the sect behind him are no longer something Tianyin Temple can contend with. This means that if the two of them were to discover the truth themselves one day, Tianyin Temple would face annihilation.
Left with no other choice, Pu Hong had to personally go to the door to apologize.