Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 387 Founding a sect

All three were stunned by his words and stood silently. Zhao Qi was the first to react, looking Li Wuxiang up and down, wanting to reach out and touch him, but seemingly hesitant: "What you're saying, did you really see it, or are you just guessing? Or is it half true and half just guessing?"

“I saw it. I saw most of it. I can also be sure about the parts I didn’t see. It’s like I’ve never seen a wolf before, but today was the first time I saw one. I saw it kill a sheep and eat the carcass, so I guessed that this thing might also eat people.”

Zhao Qi was about to speak when Li Guichen interrupted him: "You mean to say that those who ascended to the Mysterious Realm of the Xuanjiao lost their self-awareness?"

"Correct."

"But the Xuanjiao sect will still have their patriarchs manifesting divine powers to bestow supernatural abilities."

"Yes. But he's no longer the patriarch, but rather the patriarch transformed from the Xuanjiao Emperor. I never said that the ideas of those six emperors were unchanging. I think that as more and more people ascend, they also embrace more and more ideas. But these things are just new insights for them. The initial Dao Integration cultivators may have had a greater influence on them, but the influence will become smaller and smaller later on."

Li Guichen nodded: "I understand. I believe you. So, after telling the three of us all this, what do you plan to do? Go find Mei Qiulu?"

Li Wuxiang shook his head: "No, let's not look for her yet. I need to explain things to you first."

“Senior Sister Mei, it might be difficult to tell her. Also, when I left the Great Tribulation Mountain, I felt that she was going through a tribulation. I need to know how she is now before I can think about how to tell her. She is a Yang God, which is considered a living immortal. She knows these things... The difference between a living immortal and the Xuanjiao Emperor is actually not that far.”

“Li Guichen, you understand my thoughts best, because you know where I came from. I guess you don’t have any particular reverence for the Xuanjiao Emperor.”

Li Guichen nodded: "What you said isn't wrong."

Li Wuxiang looked at Zhao Qi: "And you, now that you're the Blood God, you shouldn't be too afraid of them, right?"

Zhao Qi glanced quickly at the sky first, then whispered, "Yes, that's right."

Li Wuxiang then looked at Xue Baoping: "Then you'll be even less afraid."

Xue Baoping smiled and nodded: "Mm."

Li Wuxiang let out a breath and said seriously, "When I left the Great Calamity Mountain, I hadn't decided what I wanted to do. At that time, I wanted to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage so that I could travel around and see the world."

"But now that I understand these things, I know my idea is doomed. It doesn't matter for ordinary people in the world. One, two, three generations, or even dozens of generations, they may not see the worst outcome. But the four of us are going to cultivate and truly live as long as heaven and earth. If things continue like this, what awaits us is a dead end. No one in this world can escape it."

“It’s been almost a year since I woke up, and I’m slowly realizing that I didn’t come here by accident. Someone brought me here, probably Li Ye. Perhaps he sent me here to save the world.”

"Haha, you..." Zhao Qi laughed twice. But seeing that Li Guichen and Xue Baoping both looked very serious, he awkwardly scratched his face and pretended to frown. "Ah, you've figured it out? That's good, that's good. You're here to save the world."

Then he looked at Li Wuxiang and said, "Really, I really agree with what you said. I'm serious, I'm not making fun of you."

Li Wuxiang nodded to him: "So when I left Dajie Mountain, I said I wanted to become the sect leader of the Sword Sect, but later on the road I felt that this was not urgent, because outside the religious area there is only the Blood God Sect as a threat. Senior Sister Mei is now invincible in the world, so I can just do a little something for her."

"But now that I know all this, I feel that I can't trust or trust anyone except myself. If I really want to start my own sect, I don't want to see people outside the diocese fighting and killing each other again. That's no different from suicide."

"As for this sect, I trust the three of you. I am the sect leader, and the three of you are all Grand Sword Masters. Below you are Sword Masters, Sword Masters, Sword Bearers, Sword Wielders, and Sword Heroes—if there are many people, we can set up further levels, such as Sword Attendants and Sword Apprentices. We four can discuss the various rules and regulations of the sect later. I'll ask you first, are you willing?"

Zhao Qi looked at the two of them and asked, "So what are we going to do? Are we going to attack the Xuan Cult?"

Li Wuxiang smiled and said, "Of course not now. But that's our ultimate goal. We have to wait."

Zhao Qi breathed a sigh of relief: "Oh, no problem then, I'm the Great Sword Master now!"

Li Guichen thought for a moment and nodded: "A person always needs something to look forward to in life. Now that my family has been found, it's good to have something to look forward to. I have no problem with it."

Li Wuxiang looked at Xue Baoping. Xue Baoping hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay, me too."

Li Wuxiang laughed again and sat down cross-legged on the ground: "Then this place will serve as the Sword Sect's training ground. This place was created by Xu Zhen's supernatural powers, but its current form is not very suitable, and it needs to be modified further. You all meditate first and guard your divine senses, while I renovate this place. It's not good for people to see things in the heavens, so we need to figure it out slowly. I should also do less of this kind of thing in the future. Supernatural powers are actually a kind of entering into delusion, and I'm afraid that I will become like Xu Zhen in the future."

The three of them sat down and closed their eyes as he instructed. After a quarter of an hour, when they heard Li Wuxiang say it was done, they opened their eyes.

Actually, not much has changed—the azure sky overhead still obscures the view, but if you look closely, you can still see three stars and four wispy clouds on the summit. Everything in Jinshui Town has been preserved, including the solitary peak, but now green grass has spread across the ground, reaching all the way to the horizon. Clumps of green trees dot the grass, and a few flowers dot the landscape.

This scene brought a hint of joy to Xue Baoping's face. Zhao Qi slammed his fist into his palm and said enthusiastically, "Great! This really looks like a blessed land! Shall we start taking on disciples now? How? We need to think about how to test them first. For example, I could pretend to be an old man, walk around the street, and fall down. Let's see who helps me up—"

Li Wuxiang smiled and said, "Don't rush. Before accepting disciples, we need to think about what we can offer them."

"Since it's a sword sect, we'll teach the sword scripture, specifically the Great Calamity Sword Scripture. I possess the fortune of a Great Calamity True Monarch, so the tribulations of those who cultivate the Great Calamity Sword Scripture are no problem for me. Actually, I wanted to keep people in this dojo until they've cultivated their Golden Core before releasing them."

“To cultivate the Great Calamity Sword Scripture, one needs good aptitude—Li Guichen, you helped Bao Ping reshape her physical body, you can do that. Zhao Qi, you have a solidified Blood God True Spirit, you can do that too, right?”

Zhao Qi frowned and thought for a moment: "I need to think about it some more. My mind is still a bit hazy about what happened when I was the Blood God. But don't worry, I'll think about it quickly and I'm sure I can contribute!" Li Wuxiang cupped his hands in thanks to him: "Thank you for your trouble, Great Sword Master Zhao."

"So, joining the Sword Sect will allow you to undergo a complete transformation and directly cultivate towards the Golden Immortal realm. That's good. But I obtained the Great Tribulation Sword Scripture through a shortcut, and my becoming a Nascent Soul cultivator was also a shortcut. To be honest, I don't know how to teach others. Bao Ping, you don't have any cultivation right now, so I'll start teaching you. Once you've achieved that, you'll know how to teach others. You taught the people in the town when you were in Jinshui, so it shouldn't be difficult."

Xue Baoping nodded first: "I have no problem with that. However, I may... still need to go to the Eastern Continent."

"Did your master send you?"

"Ah."

Li Wuxiang always wanted to understand everything, a habit he felt stemmed from his past life. People in this world knew so much, but they were used to it and didn't see it as a problem. In his past life, however, people had a considerable understanding of the world they inhabited, even extending their vision beyond the deep universe and the workings of the universe. Therefore, they found it difficult to tolerate feelings of uncertainty.

But now Li Wuxiang knows he must try his best to restrain the urge to control everything. Otherwise, as the leader of a sect, he will eventually be exhausted.

He smiled and said, "Alright, I won't ask any more questions. I also need to talk about the Eastern Continent—now that we've solved the problem of what we can offer to beginners, the next thing we need to figure out is what to do. To solve this, we need to know who our opponents are besides the Xuanjiao Emperor."

“The first one is the Blood God Cult.” Li Wuxiang glanced at the three men’s expressions. “Do you consider them enemies?”

"Yes! We must count!" Zhao Qi immediately declared. "The Blood God Cult has wreaked havoc on the world, turning people into half-human, half-ghost beings. I was almost harmed by them too—my true form is still in the Crimson Heaven. I am irreconcilably opposed to them!"

After saying this, he noticed that Xue Baoping and Li Guichen were looking at him, so he raised his hand and said, "I swear to God, I didn't do any of those things before. My mind is still foggy, I..."

Li Wuxiang smiled at him: "Brother Zhao, don't be anxious. With our friendship, nothing is insurmountable. You used to be the Blood God, but there's no need to worry about the past—do you really think the Blood God Cult is so heinous?"

Zhao Qi was stunned: "Huh? Or what?"

Li Wuxiang shook his head: "I don't think they are any good now, but I can actually understand their original intentions. We just saw that thing and heard it speak—it might be the Great Lord Taizhuo. We don't know what it is or where it came from, but we can be sure that the Blood God Cult and the Blood God in the Crimson Heaven are just its puppets. If the Blood God is a true immortal, then this Great Lord Taizhuo is like a Golden Immortal, like the Eastern Emperor Taiyi."

"Siming Zhenjun is Li Jiaotu. I've told you about this before. Siming Zhenjun and the Thirty-Six True Immortals are somewhat similar to the Six Great Emperors of the Xuan Sect—they are no longer mortals, but have been possessed by destiny. However, the Six Great Emperors of the Xuan Sect do not consider themselves human, but Siming Zhenjun and the Thirty-Six True Immortals do consider themselves human, only their thoughts are stuck three thousand years ago."

"Now we know why the Six Great Emperors and the Netherworld Mother suppressed Donghuang Taiyi back then. Because Taiyi cannot be considered a part of this world; he created the destiny of humanity. This destiny of humanity he created could even destroy this world—"

Zhao Qi was taken aback: "Huh? What do you mean?"

Li Wuxiang thought for a moment and said, "Let me give you an example. In the future, more and more people will cultivate and reach the level of Senior Sister Mei. Then, thousands of Yang Gods will fight a great battle for several years. Their supernatural powers of moving mountains and filling seas will destroy almost the entire world."

“If we don’t fight, we’re all just ordinary people—Zhao Qi, look around the world now. Near any town where ordinary people gather, can you not see any big trees? Haven’t many lands been leveled, and even some mountains been bulldozed? As the population grows, mountains, rivers, animals, and vegetation are all destroyed, and the foundation of those six great emperors will be gone.”

Zhao Qi frowned: "But that's not necessarily true—"

He paused after saying this, falling silent. His mind was clear; he knew this was not the time to argue. If he were one of the six Great Emperors of the Xuan Sect, he would nip the threat in the bud, even if there was only a slight possibility of such an argument.

"Okay, go on."

"Taiyi has been suppressed, and the true spirits of the Thirty-Six True Immortals, such as Li Jiaotu, will also be eliminated by the Six Great Emperors. Li Jiaotu and Siming Zhenjun can no longer be considered human; rather, they are unyielding beings who possess the Dao of Fate. They want to deal with the Xuan Sect, struggle to survive, and become stronger, so they do things like descending to earth and transforming into Blood Gods."

"They may be our opponents in the future, but we can unite now. But we must figure out exactly what the Great Lord Tai Zhuo is. To find out, we need to go to Senior Sister Mei."

“Find Senior Sister Mei and go with her to the Blood God Sect’s lair. We’ll observe the situation and see if we can use her supernatural powers to figure out what Tai Zhuo is up to. Also, Bao Ping, could you ask your master?”

Xue Baoping hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll give it a try."

Li Wuxiang clapped his hands: "Alright. First, go to the Blood God Sect and see how to deal with them. As for the second, see if we can find another helper."

"If Xu Zhen is right, when Taiyi attained enlightenment, Xihuang Gouchen also attained enlightenment. Taiyi represents the destiny of humanity, while Gouchen represents the destiny of the demon race. I don't know what Taiyi or the Ninth Prince were thinking back then, but now Gouchen can be considered a potential friend of ours."

"The demon race was originally a creation of this world, but after the six departments of the Xuan Sect wiped out the human race, the next step should be to wipe out the demon race. And now they have their own emperor, and they also have their own settlements and cities in the Eastern Continent. Once the human race is all dead, they will be no different from the human race, and they will be slaughtered sooner or later."

“Taiyi knows what the Six Great Emperors are, and Gouchen should know as well. I suspect he may have been preparing for war all these years. So, the second point is that we need to find the Western Emperor Gouchen—Baoping, your master wants you to go to the Eastern Continent, but don't rush. After you resolve the matter of the Blood God Sect and reach the Nascent Soul realm, we'll go to the Eastern Continent together.”

"Next come the cultivators of the Xuan Sect." Li Wuxiang paused for a moment. "This is the most difficult. Once they understand what their Great Emperor is, they will naturally switch sides. But getting them to understand is the hardest part... The Great Emperor of the Xuan Sect is just common sense to them. It's already difficult to persuade someone to change a small opinion, but now we want to overturn their entire world. For this, we still need people—"

Li Guichen said, "Lou He."

Li Wuxiang shook his head: "He won't do. He's already registered with the Xuan Sect, and he's considered a heretic. He's been outside for so long, and from the Xuan Sect's perspective, his mind has been corrupted. He can't go back. We need to find someone new from within the Xuan Sect, someone who can persuade us. And even if this person isn't high-ranking, they must come from a high-ranking position within the Xuan Sect. They can't climb up slowly like Lou He used to think."

“Li Guichen, you’ll be in charge of this matter then—if Zhao Qi can’t remember, you teach him how to use the power of the Fate Master, and then you go over there.”

(End of this chapter)