Chapter 512: Chapter 511: Aren’t You Tempted?
"Understood!"
"Don’t worry."
The faces of the others were all serious as they nodded in agreement.
*For such a large-scale mission, my Soul Energy absorption speed should increase a bit more.*
*I don’t expect to break a hundred million at once, but the more Soul Energy I have, the more it will help me.*
*The only concern I have is whether we’ll encounter some unknown danger this time.*"
Bai Ziyue thought silently, feeling a stir in his heart. His hands transformed, casting a spell he had previously deduced, and immediately executed the Small Shelter Technique.
In an instant, a hazy blue light flashed over him. A peculiar and indistinct sensation flickered in his heart spirit, causing a slight tremor.
"It seemed there was some danger, but it didn’t feel particularly intense."
Bai Ziyue frowned inwardly, still feeling a bit perplexed.
The Small Shelter Technique could offer some protection, but for someone at the Divine Realm level like himself, its effectiveness was limited, rendering the detection somewhat ambiguous.
Seeing this, he could only suppress his worries and patiently wait with the others.
A little while later, a total of fifty people gathered.
Among them, a cultivator with a somewhat imposing presence suddenly waved his hand.
Instantly, a warship appeared in the void, starting small and quickly growing to hover in the air.
"This is the Giant Axe Warship of Master Giant Axe. Not only is its defense unparalleled, but its speed is also incredibly fast. It is said that at its fastest, it can rival the top speed of a Golden Core, which is truly astounding.
It was obtained by Master Giant Axe when he upgraded the Divine Order to Nine-star, exchanging it from the Nine-star Daoist Palace’s treasury for thirty thousand top-grade Spirit Stones."
Master Pei, seeing Bai Ziyue’s expression of astonishment, quickly explained.
"So expensive."
Bai Ziyue was initially tempted, but the price made him furrow his brow.
Thirty thousand top-grade Spirit Stones equaled three billion low-grade Spirit Stones.
With his current financial resources, he couldn’t afford it.
Moreover, even if he wanted to buy it now, it wasn’t available.
Because at least a Nine-star Divine Order was required to qualify and have the authority to purchase from the Nine-star Daoist Palace’s treasury, and he only had a Four-star Divine Order, allowing him to buy upper-grade Dharma treasures at most.
If he used the Qingxu Sect as leverage, there was no need to worry about this. With his status, asking the Artifact Integration Hall to customize a warship wouldn’t cause any objections, with the price being slightly cheaper.
But for now, he didn’t consider doing so.
"Everyone, board the ship. We still have half a month’s journey ahead of us."
Master Giant Axe called out in a loud voice, taking the lead in boarding the warship.
He was followed by Evil Moon Fairy of the Nine-star Divine Realm level, Master Great Sun, then Master Xiongshan, Master Demon Slaying...
Bai Ziyue closely followed the others onto the warship.
Though the warship looked small on the outside, it was quite spacious inside.
The interior of the warship even had rooms resembling cultivation secret chambers.
But clearly, such rooms were rare, only those at the Seven-star Divine Realm level and above could occupy them. As someone holding a Four-star Divine Order, Bai Ziyue could only stay in the ship’s cabin, finding a place to sit cross-legged.
Rumble!
The Grand Array activated, the warship soared through the air, and after leaving Cloud-piercing City, with a ’whoosh,’ it disappeared from the scene, heading southeast.
The Giant Axe Warship advanced rapidly, yet it remained stable on board. Even the thunderous sounds of breaking the sound barrier were contained and muffled by the array.
Knowing there was a half-month journey ahead, everyone seemed rather relaxed.
Those who enjoyed good wine took out Spirit Wine to drink heartily. Others skilled in making talismans casually cast a Sound Insulation Talisman and began crafting talismans.
Immortal cultivators, seeking survival in the challenging Immortal Technique World, all mastered certain techniques. Though their means might not be highly advanced, they were all particularly practical.
Of course, some just sat and discussed the Dao, exploring cultivation techniques and magic spells, while others idly chatted, sharing anecdotes about various sects and powerful figures.
Bai Ziyue watched, listened, and quietly closed his eyes, not engaging in cultivation.
During the journey, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi was sparse, making cultivation unsuitable.
As for the three Great Divine Techniques, although he also wanted to practice them to quickly reach the entry level, it wasn’t convenient to do so on the warship.
Thus, he once again focused his thoughts on the Dao runes.
Through this extended period of comprehension, the number of Dao runes he mastered had increased from merely two or three initially to thirty or forty now.
Moreover, as his grasp of Dao runes increased along with the enhancement of his realm, his comprehension speed of new Dao runes also accelerated.
He believed it wouldn’t take long for him to comprehend all one hundred and five Daoist texts completely.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, several days had gone by.
Bai Ziyue suddenly opened his eyes.
"Fellow Daoist Beiming, Master Panshan has something to say, and he asked me to invite you to his cultivation secret chamber,"
Master Pei approached and spoke to him.
"Alright!"
Bai Ziyue nodded, setting aside his cultivation, and followed Master Pei to the interior of the warship.
Upon entering the warship, it was apparent that the interior was significantly more luxurious than the exterior. Almost every corner was meticulously crafted and adorned with natural light-gathering spirit beads, emitting a gentle glow, brightening the entire inside.
They stepped into the cultivation secret chamber belonging to Master Panshan, spacious like an elaborate courtyard and it even had an alchemy room.
The air subtly exuded a unique, comforting aroma.
This was worlds apart from the outside.
"Everyone’s here, huh?"
Master Panshan glanced towards Bai Ziyue and the others, opened the sound insulation array within the cultivation secret chamber, and said, "In the past few days, I’ve been subtly probing together with several Seven-star Divine Realm powerhouses. Now that we are on the warship, Master Giant Axe and others haven’t attempted to overly conceal it, and the details of this mission have been revealed."
"What is it?"
Master Pei hurriedly asked.
"Are they planning to attack a sect?"
Master Zixuan had been pondering uneasily for a while.
"Of course not, within the Nine-star Daoist Palace, there are quite a few powerhouses like you and me who originate from sects.
The various sect forces are already wary of it, and the Four Great Immortal Sects would absolutely not allow a force that threatens their existence to emerge.
If the Nine-Star Daoist Palace dared to issue an extermination mission against any sect, it would surely provoke a backlash from various sect forces, who would unite immediately to act against the Nine-star Daoist Palace."
Master Pei quickly retorted.
"But the strength of the Nine-star Daoist Palace is immensely powerful, with its influence spread throughout the whole Heavenly Domain, reportedly having branches overseas. It’s likely there are plenty of Primordial Spirit Realm powerhouses among them, shouldn’t they not be overly concerned with the Four Great Immortal Sects in the Cloud-piercing Mountain Range, right?"
Master Zixuan argued indifferently.
"Do you think that super sects like the Celestial Spirit Sect and the Creation Sect would allow the Nine-star Daoist Palace to grow and pose a threat to themselves?"
Master Pei asked rhetorically.
"Enough, you can discuss this issue privately. Listen to me now."
Master Panshan shot a glance at the two before hastily speaking, "From Master Giant Axe, we’ve learned that our mission is a demon extermination task.
The target of the mission is the Soul-controlling Demon Monarch."
"Demon Monarch? A Golden Core Realm-level Demon Monarch?"
Master Gudu, who had remained silent, jolted in surprise.
The faces of the others also showed signs of shock.
A Golden Core Realm powerhouse was certainly not someone easy to deal with.
Even though they had three Nine-star Divine Realm powerhouses in their ranks, it might be difficult to withstand, right?
"But isn’t it the Soul-controlling Demon Monarch who supposedly fell a thousand years ago?"
Master Treasure Seizer suddenly asked.
A thousand years ago?
Fallen?
Master Gudu’s heart spirit relaxed, and suddenly he recalled having heard this name before.
"That’s correct, it is rumored that someone discovered the cemetery of the Soul-controlling Demon Monarch."
Master Rock nodded and continued, "Back in the day, the Soul-controlling Demon Monarch had made countless cultivators tremble in fear. Especially his soul-controlling techniques, which made many sect prodigies and veteran powerhouses surrender to him and act as his pawns.
If not for the intervention of two sect leaders from the Four Great Immortal Sects who severely injured him, it might have triggered a great catastrophe.
However, after the two sect leaders acted, it took nearly a hundred years before the news of the Soul-controlling Demon Monarch’s fall was confirmed.
Only then did all the cultivators in the Cloud-piercing Mountain Range breathe a sigh of relief, which shows the impact he had at that time.
Additionally, along with his fall, news spread that he had built a massive cemetery for himself.
He buried his lifebound dharma treasure, the Soul-controlling Banner, along with all his plundered spoils, various dharma treasures, and treasures gathered over hundreds of years, within his cemetery.
And our mission is to invade the cemetery, assist Master Giant Axe and others in seizing his lifebound dharma treasure, the Soul-controlling Banner.
This Soul-controlling Banner serves as the mission certification."
Hearing this, everyone felt a jolt of amazement and couldn’t help but ask, "What dangers lie within the cemetery?"
"Consider it, if you knew you were going to die, and spent nearly a hundred years constructing a cemetery for yourself, would you allow other powerhouses to easily infiltrate it?"
Master Rock squinted his eyes as he spoke.
"If it were me, I would surely employ various means to eliminate intruding cultivators one by one, exterminating them."
*Master Pei’s heart grew tense, and he quickly spoke.*
"So it is indeed fraught with danger.
*Certainly, strong powerhouses will fall.*
However, danger and opportunity often coexist.
The Soul-controlling Demon Monarch had once destroyed a sect guarded by a Golden Core Realm Master, taking all its millennia-old wealth for himself.
The treasures within, though not in heaps, are undoubtedly numerous.
There might even be spiritual objects capable of aiding Peak of Divine Realm powerhouses in breaking through to the Golden Core Realm level..."
Master Panshan looked at each of them, continuing, "Aren’t these treasures tempting to you?"