Chapter 518 - 513: Behind the Scenes

The High Priest is dead!

Countless gazes in the Holy City looked at the dissipating dark clouds in the sky. Strangely, there was no sadness in their hearts. In the past, the High Priest was the totem of the Sea Divine Country.

But through this battle, they learned the cruel truth; the High Priest was not the savior of the Divine Country, and the sea monsters were actually his pets.

They personally witnessed the terrifying abilities of the High Priest during this battle, wondering how Li Fan alone could kill the Yinglong Demon Emperor, yet the High Priest couldn’t?

There can only be one possibility.

As Li Fan had said, the High Priest nurtured demons who preyed on humans, and people still worshipped him like a god.

Yet the young Sword Cultivator slew the sea monsters and killed the High Priest.

The three living emperors of the great dynasties were also shocked, but there was a slight bit of relief too.

At least they could live.

With the divine sword piercing his body, Li Fan’s strength rapidly declined, blood overflowing from the corners of his mouth, making him appear extremely exhausted.

"Kid, you’re impressive. With that last strike, you’ve reached the Half-Saint Level, surpassing us old Daoists in such a short time." Shi Dao Ren approached Li Fan. In the previous battle, they all ascended and unsheathed their swords, but as top-ranked Sword Saints, they didn’t even have the opportunity to strike before being suppressed by the High Priest.

"What was that power just now?" Gu Qingyang exhaled deeply. He, like Shi Dao Ren, was directly suppressed and couldn’t even qualify to intervene.

"It possessed the power of a Saint, but likely didn’t belong to him." Zuo Canglan gazed upwards at the vanishing figure. If it had been the High Priest’s own strength, they’d all be dead.

"If the Transformation Realm can embody the Dao, then it’s highly possible the High Priest fused with a strand of the Transformation Realm’s power, or perhaps another possibility exists." Shi Dao Ren frowned: "I hope it’s not so."

"There’s a chance." Zuo Canglan naturally understood Shi Dao Ren’s underlying meaning, saying, "Da Li, Ten Thousand Buddha Temple, Taiping Temple—there are hidden secrets steeped within, perhaps related to this."

"In that case, we must further delay our return." Shi Dao Ren replied, "At least wait for a Saint to emerge."

Having said that, he looked at Li Fan and said, "Kid, come with me."

Shi Dao Ren turned and headed toward the sky above the Great Priest Mansion, with Li Fan following.

A moment later, Shi Dao Ren paused and looked down, speaking aloud: "We come from beyond the Sea Divine Country, as Sword Cultivators of Li Mountain, our mission is to slay demons and rid evil. This child, Li Fan, the current Sword Master of Li Mountain, declared there were demons, and under his command we traveled thousands of miles to slay demons and remove those hypocrites. From now on, there shall be no demonic plague in the Sea Divine Country."

Then he looked at the three emperors and said: "You three once aided a tyrant, but considering you did so out of necessity, I pardon your lives. You are responsible for cleaning up after the Sea Divine Country, and you shall organize Cultivator legions on each island, using all the cultivation resources of the Divine Country’s dynasties to train sea cultivators, so that if demons threaten, they will dispatch Cultivator legions to eliminate them."

"Yes." The trio, now subdued, dared not refuse.

"We should check the Great Priest Mansion for any treasures." Shi Dao Ren whispered to Li Fan, before descending.

"Why leverage my name?" Li Fan asked as he caught up.

"’Tis a world where destiny is advocated. Shifting the Sea Divine Country’s people’s faith from the High Priest to you is naturally advantageous, whether it’s logical or not worth a try."

Shi Dao Ren smiled at Li Fan and said, "Do I speak rightly?"

"The pesky Daoist has done correctly. If there is fate, you are most likely to attain the Dao, so naturally raise your name. Besides, the people always admire extraordinary individuals, while we old chaps cannot attract their discussion." Zuo Canglan followed along.

"Old Blind Man, seems we’re in harmony on this."

"I am not blind now." Zuo Canglan replied to him.

The group arrived at the ruins of the Great Priest Mansion. Among the vast ruins, a palace stood relatively intact, its entire structure gleaming a dark gold hue, reminiscent of a treasure.

"Truly magnificent." Shi Dao Ren exclaimed as he stepped inside.

The palace was grand; entering its depths they saw a Taiyin Array within the grand hall, chilling and forbidding.

"Is this the cultivation technique used by the High Priest?" Several raised their heads, observing countless characters as if about to leap forth; at the center position was a bright moon.

"Taiyin Moon God Revelation Scripture." Zuo Canglan muttered as he fixed his gaze on those characters: "It should be the cultivation method the High Priest used. This is his cultivation dojo."

"Lu Yuan, you should try cultivating." Li Fan turned to Lu Yuan, whom he had intentionally brought here for this cultivation method.

"Me?" Lu Yuan, now also a Seventh Realm Great Cultivator, stepped forward, accepting the treasure handed by Li Fan: "Inside here is a Saint’s treasure; it should be suitable for your cultivation."

Lu Yuan hesitated but then gently nodded and accepted it. She moved forward to the center of the formation and sat down, saying, "Then I’ll give it a try."

"Hmm." Li Fan nodded, and Lu Yuan closed her eyes, letting her Divine Sense flow outward.

"Should we leave first?" Gu Qingyang suggested.

"No rush. We’ll cultivate here and observe any changes." Shi Dao Ren focused on Lu Yuan, and Zuo Canglan seemed to understand Shi Dao Ren’s intentions, nodding: "Let’s cultivate here for some time."

Thus, everyone sat down cross-legged and began cultivating here.

Several days later, a stronger Power of Taiyin surged, wrapping around the entire palace. The formation appeared to be activating, and above seemed to have the heavens swirling.

At this moment, Lu Yuan’s body trembled endlessly as if struggling.

"Enter the formation." Shi Dao Ren shouted, quickening the reactions of others whose Primordial Spirits reached towards the moon overhead, Li Fan followed suit.

"Boom..."

A horrific suction force ensued, the Primordial Spirit seemed to traverse boundless space, in the next moment standing in a different domain.

Zuo Canglan, Xuanyuan Sword, and the others’ Primordial Spirits were present.

The moon hung in the sky, yet a shadow clung to it — a human figure.

Below, Lu Yuan’s Primordial Spirit struggled desperately.

"Release her." Zuo Canglan commanded coldly.

"She is merely a cultivator in the Initial Realm of the Seven Realms, through her this seat can achieve the Dao." The shadow’s voice sounded: "It’s her honor, and beneficial to you all."

"Previously, was it you who lent power to the High Priest, rendering him a mere puppet in the Divine Country?" Shi Dao Ren targeted the shadow.

"Though your ranks aren’t weak, not one of you is in the Saint Realm. I can aid you, she might become your ally in the future." The shadow continued.

Zuo Canglan and others silently pondered for a moment.

Li Fan remained silent too.

"I invite you here to give you a chance." The shadow spoke again, seeing their silence.

"Let’s work together to obliterate it."

Shi Dao Ren seemed to resolve something internally, suddenly speaking, as Zuo Canglan and Xuanyuan Sword reacted quickly, Primordial Spirits morphing into swords, charging straight at the moon.

Li Fan also took action, conjuring swords from his Primordial Spirit, beams of light piercing the shadow on the moon.

"You dare!" The figure roared furiously, moonlight cascading down, but the sword beams persisted, led by Zuo Canglan and Xuanyuan Sword’s Primordial Spirits, breaking through the shadow, followed closely by other sword beams.

"Boom..."

The shadow underneath the moon was annihilated, yet the moon remained, the world seemingly transformed into the Taiyin Realm. Lu Yuan broke free and saluted everyone: "Thank you, elders, for your intervention."

"Should be completely destroyed now." Shi Dao Ren stated.

"How did you discern this?" Li Fan asked.

"The High Priest’s death before seemed incomplete; felt like something was amiss. The formation during Lu Yuan’s cultivation appeared peculiar, so I left a mind alert. As expected, ’he’ was still alive, albeit this ’thing’ remains unknown — definitely not a Primordial Spirit of the Transformation Dao Cultivator from years past, possibly merely a remnant consciousness striving to return."

Shi Dao Ren explained: "Have any of you connected this with something?"

"The Buddha Son of the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple is said to be a rebirth of Buddha himself. Perhaps the Ten Thousand Buddha Temple is likewise?" Li Fan mused, recalling the eccentricities during battle with the Buddha Son.

"For the Sea Divine Country alone to be so, Da Li’s depths surely mirror that." Shi Dao Ren seemed to talk to himself, gazing at the moon: "This is the Transformation Space of the Transformation Realm; cultivating here might offer insights. If the other revives entirely, could he envelop the Sea Divine Country with a thought?"

Li Fan now seemed to link another matter, his brows furrowing, heart instinctively skipping a beat.

He once practiced the Nine Heavens Profound Slaughter and Great Dao Sword Scripture, borrowing the Divine Sword, sensing the Star Divine Sword beyond the heavens.