"The grand trend?" Xiao Junmo frowned.
Elder Guanxing continued, "Precisely. A grand trend, one that exists in the shadows of destiny, seems to have vanished."
"Hah! What grand trend?"
"As long as I, the Sect Master, remain, the Azure Cloud Sect will continue to shine! Furthermore, I am about to truly step into the Saint Monarch realm!"
As his voice fell, a wave of Saintly might rippled outward. This was no ordinary Saint Lord Realm aura; it was an aura that had accumulated to a critical point, undergoing a qualitative transformation. It is said that once a practitioner reaches the Peak Saint Lord Realm, if they cannot break through to the next level, they will remain stagnant, yet their power will continue to grow. Once that accumulation reaches a certain threshold, the transformation occurs. A Peak Saint Lord at this stage is known as a Saint Monarch. Below the Saint Monarch, all are merely ants.
"Elder Guanxing, I have another disciple named Jiang Fan. He is also a peerless prodigy, and he is about to break through to the Heaven Realm!"
"With me and such monstrous disciples at the helm, the future of this world will still belong to our Azure Cloud Sect!"
Thunderclaps erupted from the empty air as Xiao Junmo finished speaking. Elder Guanxing nodded and said no more. Looking at the current state of things, the Azure Cloud Sect’s strength was indeed top-tier. On the surface alone, they possessed Sect Master Xiao Junmo, a Half-Step Saint Monarch. Even among the other Holy Lands and powerful clans, the strongest experts were at most in the late stage of the Saint Lord Realm. If Xiao Junmo successfully reached the Saint Monarch realm in the future, the hegemony of the Azure Cloud Sect would remain unshaken for the next hundred years.
Elder Guanxing left the grand hall. After a moment of thought, he vanished from where he stood. There were things he could not speak aloud, or he would suffer a terrifying backlash—for instance, the fact that the disappearance of that grand trend might result in the Azure Cloud Sect failing to survive a coming catastrophe. A great disaster was destined to arrive.
...
At this moment, Chu Yuan was still within the territory of the Ancient Sword Dynasty. In a teahouse, he sat alone, drinking. In his mind, he was allocating points.
"System, add all Demon Path Points to my physique."
[Ding! Consumed 1500 Demon Path Points. Demon Sealing Immortal Physique progress increased by 6%! Current progress: 20%!]
An illusory panel appeared before Chu Yuan.
[Host: Chu Yuan]
[Cultivation: Peak Heaven Realm, Ninth Layer (99% progress; reach 100% to break through to Saint Lord Realm)]
[Physique: Demon Sealing Immortal Physique (20% progress; 2 abilities unlocked)]
[Cultivation Method: Azure Cloud Scripture (100% progress)...]
[Supernatural Powers: Cicada Sheds Its Skin, Great Desolation Sky-Imprisoning Finger, World in the Palm...]
[Demon Path Points: 0 (Obtain points through evil deeds)]
[Assessment: The host's "fame" for evil has spread across the world!]
After the progress of the Demon Sealing Immortal Physique reached 20%, it had actually unlocked a second ability! Chu Yuan looked inward and sensed a powerful new ability; it was like a natural supernatural power of his body, ready to be unleashed at will.
"In my previous life, I only unlocked one ability—the function similar to the Human Emperor Banner. I never imagined I would unlock the second one so easily now!"
Chu Yuan was curious. He had previously known he hadn't fully mastered this physique, and he had no idea what other abilities it held. Now, he would finally see. As a thought crossed his mind, an ancient, dark mirror appeared out of thin air in his consciousness. The moment it appeared, Chu Yuan understood how to use it as clearly as if it were a natural instinct.
"It’s an ability to transfer negative effects!"
Chu Yuan’s eyes flickered, showing a hint of shock. The mirror in his mind was the second ability of the Demon Sealing Immortal Physique. Any person Chu Yuan had laid eyes on could be projected onto this mirror with a single thought. Then, any negative effects Chu Yuan suffered—including incoming attacks—would be transferred to the target within the mirror. It sounded truly heaven-defying!
He immediately wanted to test it. Just then, a clamor rose from below the teahouse.
"Stop! You little brat!"
"You're the one who bought that piece of Demon Spirit Wood from the merchant, aren't you?"
Several aggressive Azure Cloud Sect disciples intercepted a suspicious figure in a black robe. The figure stopped and turned around. "I bought it. Is there a problem?"
"Heh, you dare ask if there's a problem? I had already reserved that Demon Spirit Wood! Who gave you the right to buy it?"
"Hand it over immediately, and I might just overlook this! I'll let you go!" the lead disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect barked. Behind him, two female disciples stood in support.
Chu Yuan didn't recognize this lead disciple. Given the size of the Azure Cloud Sect, he was likely just an outer disciple.
"Why should I give it to you? I spent hundreds of High-Grade Spirit Stones on this. Besides, I bought it from a street stall—does anyone reserve things at a street stall?" the black-robed figure muttered, lowering his voice. He then turned to walk away.
Suddenly, the Azure Cloud Sect disciples struck, grabbing the black-robed figure, and the two sides immediately became locked in a scuffle. Their fight drew a crowd of onlookers, and the story behind the conflict began to spread: the figure had bought a piece of wood, and the sect disciples had taken a liking to it and decided to steal it—simple as that.
"They're disciples of the Azure Cloud Sect! If he provokes them, he's in real trouble."
"Sigh, such bad luck. Getting targeted by people from the Azure Cloud Sect just for buying something. If it were me, I’d just take the loss and hand it over."
"That guy in the black robe is stubborn, actually fighting back."
"I bet the outcome will be that he gets a beating for nothing and loses the item anyway. Everyone knows how those people from the Azure Cloud Sect operate—completely arrogant and unreasonable, relying on their sect's backing."
"Hush! Fellow cultivator, you can't say that out loud!"
The crowd whispered among themselves. Chu Yuan, having locked onto a target, immediately decided to test his new ability on that lead disciple. With a thought, the disciple’s image appeared in the mirror within his mind.
He then took out a pill. "Demon Burning Pill."
The effect of this pill was simple and brutal: after consuming it, one could convert their vital energy into Demon Path power, sacrificing a massive amount of life force in a short time to gain a surge of demonic strength. He swallowed it.
The pill entered his stomach, but Chu Yuan’s body showed no sign of distress. Instead, a surge of demonic power condensed within him. Chu Yuan lowered his gaze to the Azure Cloud Sect disciple below. Sure enough, as the disciple was fighting, he suddenly coughed up a spray of blood and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"Is he faking it?" The black-robed figure stopped, frowned at the disciple, and then turned and fled quickly. The crime of killing an Azure Cloud Sect disciple in public was one he could not afford to bear.