Chapter 576: 524: The Master’s Rules Must Be Followed
Chapter 576: Chapter 524: The Master’s Rules Must Be Followed
“What terrible luck!”
This was the only thought in Zuo Qiuhanyan’s heart.
Zuo Qiuhanyan was born into a minor force of the Demonic Way in the Sky Wasteland. Eventually, the force he belonged to was wiped out by others, leaving him as the sole survivor.
However, even though he escaped death, Zuo Qiuhanyan had no idea of avenging his people.
After all, the Demonic Way is fundamentally different from the Righteous Path. The Demonic Way is inherently oppressive. Zuo Qiuhanyan was humiliated by others in his own force. If it hadn’t been for his fear of the powerful people within the force, he would have escaped earlier.
Now that his force had been destroyed, it felt more like a release from bondage. He was more comfortable than ever before.
Utilizing the skills he obtained while fleeing, Zuo Qiuhanyan became an average independent practitioner, mingling in the Demonic Way. Through hundreds of years of cultivation, he managed to fortuitously step into the Sixth Level of the Spirit Realm, placing him second only to those who had reached the Sixth Level. Although he couldn’t act recklessly, his life was pretty decent as long as he didn’t offend the strong. He could rule a region and indulge himself.
However, fate is often unpredictable. Just a few years after finally working his way up, Zuo Qiuhanyan, who hadn’t yet had the chance to enjoy himself, made enemies with a Righteous Path cultivator over a treasure.
Although he defeated his enemy thanks to his superior skills, he still let his opponent escape.
After the man escaped, he called upon the experts of his sect for revenge. Several Sixth Level Spirit Realm experts chased after Zuo Qiuhanyan. With no way out, he ended up in a desperate situation, unexpectedly returning to the legendary Ancestral Land by chance.
However, despite surviving once again, Zuo Qiuhanyan was in poor condition. He had been severely injured by multiple adversaries of the same realm, and his power was greatly reduced after returning to the ancestral land and being rejected by its will. He could only muster less than one hundredth of his previous power, barely equivalent to the combat power of someone in the Second Layer of the Spirit Realm.
Fortunately, the revival of Heaven and Earth didn’t last long. His combat power at the Spirit Realm Second Layer still ranked him among the top. As long as he didn’t encounter unbeatable opponents like Pei Xuanjing or giants like Xue Wuheng and Zhao Baiyang, ordinary martial artists were no match for him.
During this time, Zuo Qiuhanyan had been focusing on healing his injuries. However, his injuries were indeed severe. If he wanted to recover quickly, he would need some rare spiritual medicine. Even though the ancestral land had awakened and had brought forth countless spiritual medicines and rare treasures, it wasn’t as if these were as common as cabbages on a street. At least not for a stranger like him to easily find.
Therefore, Zuo Qiuhanyan focused on Forbidden Places and Blessed Lands. With his power, there was hardly anyone who could resist him when he entered these places. The Forbidden Places and Blessed Lands he entered were ownerless. He didn’t even attempt to touch those that were forbidden and claimed by major forces.
“I don’t understand. Are the lives of some martial artists so valuable that they are worth you doing this? Can their value exceed mine to the point where you have to confront me to death?” Zuo Qiuhanyan looked at Pang Hong coldly, his eyes filled with confusion and incomprehension: “You should know that in the Sky Wasteland, even the major Righteous Path sects wouldn’t pick a fight with me over such matters.”
He, who was born into the Demonic Way, acted ruthlessly and decisively. He killed without mercy those who dared to fight him.
Although he had heard of the rules laid down by Pei Xuanjing, Zuo Qiuhanyan didn’t take them too seriously. To Zuo Qiuhanyan, who had crawled his way up in the harsh Law of the Jungle in the Sky Wasteland, this was nothing. Those people were just asking for death.
In his opinion, Pei Xuanjing, like those of the Righteous Path in the Sky Wasteland, was just trying to purchase people’s affection and establish a good reputation. He would not actually take action. As long as he didn’t antagonize the Taoist School and didn’t intentionally provoke them, they wouldn’t bother him.
But what Zuo Qiuhanyan didn’t expect was that these people were actually serious. The moment he had finished plundering from a Forbidden Place and stepped out, he was ambushed.
“Regardless of how things work in the Sky Wasteland, in this world, since my master has set the rules, you all can only comply. Those who willfully reject wisdom will inevitably face punishment.” Pang Hong’s stance was resolute.
Zuo Qiuhanyan was not the first person Pang Hong had met from the Sky Wasteland who, even after hearing about Pei Xuanjing’s rules, dared to ignore them. Each had their own justification, each had their own backing.
However, Pang Hong was decisive. No matter what thoughts or reasons you have, if you defy the rules set by our master, you will have to pay the price.
Those in the past who did not measure up were captured by Pang Hong. The unforgivable ones were immediately executed by Pang Hong on the spot – his attitude would not waver even slightly.
“A mere cultivator at the Spirit Realm Second Layer, had you not been sheltered by Pei Xuanjing behind you, you wouldn’t even have the right to speak on equal terms with me.” Zuo Qiuhanyan said disdainfully.
As a practitioner at the Spirit Realm Sixth Level, even in the Sky Wasteland where the strong abound, he considered himself a formidable elite. In his eyes, a cultivator at the Spirit Realm Second Layer was only slightly stronger than an ant.
What he was wary of was the peerless Pei Xuanjing, who had reached the Seventh Level of the Spirit Realm Sixth Level, the national mentor of the Great Ming, the head of the Shenxiao Sect, and the leader of the Taoist schools.
Were it not for him, the present Pang Hong would have no right to speak on equal terms with him, even though he had not yet regained his peak strength.
The two clashed after a disagreement.
At this moment, although Zuo Qiuhanyan had not yet fully recovered to the peak level, he didn’t think Pang Hong was worth mentioning at all. He was confident he could suppress him with a flip of his hand, even if Pang Hong potentially had some ace up his sleeve left by the peerless power, Pei Xuanjing.
Unfortunately, for him, Pang Hong’s combat power far exceeded his expectations.
As the only direct disciple of the peerless Pei Xuanjing, the training that Pang Hong received was far beyond his imagination. Apart from cultivating Pei Xuanjing’s Mysterious Skill, Pang Hong had also received inheritance from a Blessed Land in a Forbidden Place. Later, he received the genuine inheritance from the Shenxiao Sect’s Forbidden Place. Any of these would be an unattainable inheritance to many, but all of these were gifted to Pang Hong for his cultivation.
One could say that although Pang Hong was only at the Spirit Realm Second Layer, his actual combat power was much more. He might not even lose if he were to challenge a cultivator at the Spirit Realm Third Level.
More importantly, he was holding the Shenxiao Sword. This divine sword was initially forged by Pei Xuanjing from Purple Lightning Divine Gold and the spear from Ying Zhong of the Great River old country, alloyed with countless Mysterious Iron and crafted as a cooperative effort by the masters at Tiangong Workshop.
Originally, this divine sword was cast for Pei Xuanjing himself. But after it was successfully forged, he had already broken through to the Seventh Level of the Spirit Realm, and thereby, had learned how to forge divine weapons using the Power of Incense Fire. So, he gave up this divine sword, temporarily bestowing it on Pang Hong, his sect’s head, as his personal sword.
It could be said that now, with the Shenxiao Sword in his hand, Pang Hong was an unparalleled warrior who even had the ability to fight a cultivator at the Fourth Level of the Spirit Realm. This was the reason why Pei Xuanjing was confident in assigning Pang Hong to deal with the matter.
Before he met Zuo Qiuhanyan, many had already fallen to his sword, including a cultivator at the Fourth Level of the Spirit Realm. So, this was the reason why Pang Hong dared to confront Zuo Qiuhanyan in the first place.
Of course, Pang Hong could never have imagined that the man before him was not only a Fifth Level practitioner, but also a peak cultivator at the Sixth Level of the Spirit Realm.