Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 404 A Battle of Desperation

In the quiet room of the Yellow Springs Palace, candlelight flickered and the aroma of tea wafted through the air.

Chen Ye lightly twirled the jade slips containing intelligence reports sent back from various places, and the heavy expression that had been on his brow for days finally eased.

The "great reshuffle" plan in the Central Plains was proceeding unexpectedly smoothly. The cultivators he dispatched swiftly and precisely controlled the situation in each prefecture and county with overwhelming force.

During this period, only a minor incident occurred—a high-ranking official, whose family was in discord and who had just fallen ill due to the invasion of evil spirits, was taken advantage of by his long-held resentment by his family members, who directly poisoned him and took his life.

And the person in charge of this matter was none other than Yu Shenxing.

When Chen Ye received this reply, he couldn't help but sigh, wondering if his elder brother was born with some kind of curse star in his destiny, as he always seemed to encounter all sorts of bad luck.

He could only reply with advice: since it's a family scandal, just make it public, deal with it strictly according to the law, and then support the deputy to take the position.

In any case, it's all about replacing people, whether it's retiring due to illness or being killed, as long as there isn't too much turmoil.

In addition, most prefectures and counties made rapid and unstoppable progress.

Even a cultivator who has just condensed their Qi Sea, once they master magic, becomes someone whose power is beyond the reach of ordinary people. Moreover, the cultivators Chen Ye sent this time were all at the Tongxuan Realm, with sword cultivators from the Qinghe Sword Sect assisting them as well.

Even if the Soul Master had three or five demons hiding in the shadows, the result would be the same. They would either be caught and killed the moment they appeared, or they would be so frightened that they wouldn't even dare to show their faces and would flee thousands of miles away.

On the second night after the plan was implemented, news arrived from the capital as expected: the emperor, having just recovered from a serious illness, had a profound awakening and issued an edict to pass the throne to the eighth prince. He himself would go to a mountain to "seclude himself in seclusion and cultivate himself," and from then on, he would not concern himself with worldly affairs.

Everything was unfolding perfectly according to the script Chen Ye had written.

He picked up his teacup, took a satisfied sip, and felt a great weight lifted from his shoulders.

"Since everything is going smoothly, why did you ask me to do this divination?"

A cool voice rang out beside him, interrupting Chen Ye's thoughts.

He turned his head and saw Mo Suixin sitting upright, her clear eyes filled with seriousness and incomprehension.

This very morning, before dawn, Chen Ye knocked on her door. Mo Suixin thought he had gotten himself into a lot of trouble, daring to knock on her door at this hour. But Chen Ye pulled her out for one thing only—divination.

Chen Ye knocked on the door early in the morning to make sure that Mo Suixin hadn't used up all three of her chances for the day.

Mo Suixin's innate supernatural ability is extremely powerful, almost to the point that his words become law.

Therefore, Mo Suixin was well aware of its significance and never used it lightly, because once the divination involved life and death, even a great cultivator at the Dao Integration Realm would not escape its prophecy. If the divination indicated death, even a Great Luo Golden Immortal would find it difficult to defy fate.

Therefore, in her daily practice, she only divined trivial matters such as "what is the weather like today" and "what to eat for dinner," and never took the initiative to pry into the fortunes of those around her.

This change of dynasty was a momentous event for the Yellow Springs Sect. She only divined some related miscellaneous matters and did not directly predict good or bad fortune.

But the first thing Chen Ye asked her to do after capturing her today was to inquire about her life or death.

He asked her to divine the fate of a woman named "Princess Hongyu".

Mo Suixin did not recognize this person. She sat quietly beside Chen Ye, listening to him calmly recount how he met the woman, their entanglement, and their reunion and schemes in the capital.

The twists and turns of the past made Mo Suixin's heart tighten.

This woman's fate was too tumultuous. From birth, she was not in control of her own destiny, forced step by step toward the abyss, with death looming at every turn.

Just hearing about her life story, Mo Suixin felt that this girl wouldn't survive.

as predicted.

After finishing the divination, Mo Suixin raised her head and told Chen Ye in an almost apologetic tone: "The divination indicates... she is doomed to die."

Mo Suixin casts three divinations a day. Although two of them are guaranteed to be correct, as a diviner, one must regard each divination as the will of Heaven; otherwise, one loses the qualification to divine. Therefore, even with just the first divination, she has no doubt about the result.

But this doesn't make sense.

Now that the situation is largely settled, good news has arrived from the capital. With the "assistance" of the ghost soldiers, the Eighth Prince is preparing to ascend the throne in a daze. Once the dust settles, Princess Hongyu should have regained her freedom, so how could she be dead?

"Could it be... that the restrictions on her body cannot be lifted? When the Soul Lord discovered that his plan had been exposed, he was so enraged that he took her with him and perished together?" Mo Suixin felt that this might be the only plausible explanation.

She was about to say a few words of comfort to Chen Ye, suggesting that perhaps this calamity was destined to befall him.

Chen Ye remained noncommittal about the result, simply saying calmly, "Then, please divine the fate of another person."

Mo Suixin asked in confusion, "Who should I count as?"

"Ye Chen."

Is this the demon who's been causing such a stir in the cultivation world lately, challenging both the Mirage and Heavenly Heart sects? Mo Suixin didn't understand, but she still did as she was told. In her view, Ye Chen was strong, but no match for Chen Ye. Chen Ye's current cultivation level couldn't be judged by ordinary standards; if Ye Chen dared to challenge him, he would undoubtedly be defeated and die.

Soon, the results of the second divination came out.

As expected, this was also a sign of certain death.

Seeing this result, Mo Suixin felt somewhat relieved, at least this divination was logical.

However, just as she breathed a slight sigh of relief, Chen Ye put down his teacup, the bottom of which made a soft sound as it hit the table.

Chen Ye looked at her and slowly made his third request.

"The third hexagram."

"Consider my life or death."

"No!" she blurted out, her voice trembling slightly. "It doesn't count!"

Seeing her intense reaction, Chen Ye actually laughed.

"What, are you afraid that this third divination will also reveal the word 'death'?"

Mo Suixin wasn't fooled by this kind of provocation. She just stared at Chen Ye and asked with a serious expression, "What exactly did you discover? Is there anything between us that we need to hide?"

In the art of divination, it is extremely forbidden to divine about oneself, and even more so to divine about one's closest relatives or friends. The karmic connections are too deep; once one tries to peek into them, it is very easy to invite unpredictable divine retribution and calamity.

Chen Ye couldn't possibly be unaware of this principle.

Chen Ye explained, "There's nothing to hide. You know, I can now trace cause and effect. Yesterday, when I wanted to find the location of the Soul Lord, I discovered that he had divided himself into hundreds of thousands of parts, which were scattered all over the world."

"Although he was seriously injured before, he must have some unique skills to become the leader of the Demonic Sect. I don't know what he plans to do, but his soul has merged with that of mortals, which means he has the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent mortals in his own hands and turned them into his protective charm."

"Now that I have selected these people, I think this demon must have sensed it. However, I have no knowledge of his methods, so I would like to ask you to perform a divination, just in case."

Mo Suixin retorted, "Why would you need to personally deal with a demon in the Returning Void Realm? There are Supreme Elders and the Qinghe Sword Sect Leader. You can also invite cultivators from the Yunlu Immortal Sect to help at any time. What does it have to do with you?"
"All you need to do now is wait at the Yellow Springs Sect. As long as you don't leave the house, how can they possibly come knocking on your door?"

The Yellow Springs Sect is now a major sect in the world. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Mo Suixin and her disciple Pang Duoduo, the sect's protective formation is becoming stronger every day. Not to mention a mere Soul Venerable, even if the remaining Venerables joined forces to attack, they could not harm Chen Ye in the slightest.

As long as Chen Ye stays hidden inside the Yellow Springs Sect, he will have nothing to worry about.

Chen Ye countered, "Do you think that by imprisoning Princess Hongyu and Ye Chen in the Yellow Springs Sect, they can escape their calamity? I am currently in the vortex, and the key to the final battle between the righteous and demonic paths rests on my shoulders. How can I possibly escape?"

Mo Suixin did not answer; she knew it was impossible.

Fate is unpredictable; life and death sometimes defy all reason.

When Mo Suixin predicted that Lu Xingzhou was in mortal danger, no one believed that a cultivator at the Dao Integration Realm could be in danger.

It wasn't until Lu Xingzhou escaped back to the Incense Burning Sect with serious injuries that everyone believed in Mo Suixin's abilities.

That's fate; no one can escape it.

But precisely because of this, Mo Suixin was even less able to predict Chen Ye's fortune.

What if the divination results in an extremely unlucky omen? Wouldn't that kill Chen Ye?

Mo Suixin bit her lower lip tightly, her face full of anxiety: "Since you know the risks involved, why insist on divining life and death? Just assume you're going to win, and then proceed with caution and careful planning. Don't take any risks whatsoever! The Yellow Springs Sect has only just gained a foothold. If anything happens to you..."

"The way you're talking doesn't sound like a diviner at all," Chen Ye shook his head, interrupting her. "If fate is predetermined, accept it calmly. That's the mindset a diviner should have. Besides, the Yellow Springs Sect no longer needs my constant attention. Whether I'm the sect leader or not makes little difference."

"How is this possible?!" Mo Suixin exclaimed in shock.

In this vast northern frontier, every inch of land and every brick of this powerful sect was built by Chen Ye single-handedly. The entire Yellow Springs Sect revolves around him as its absolute core. If anything were to happen to Chen Ye, the sect would inevitably fall apart and its empire would crumble.

Chen Ye laughed and said confidently, "You think that's not right? Then let me ask you, if something really happened to me, do you think these hundreds of city gods would be willing to relinquish their divine positions, return to the mountains and wilderness, and become those muddle-headed ancestral spirits again?"

Mo Suixin was taken aback upon hearing this. After pondering for a moment, she finally shook her head slowly: "Most likely... no."

Although Chen Ye set many rules, the benefits were obvious. The people of the Northern Frontier were united in their devotion, and the pure and powerful incense offerings that gathered there awakened the intelligence of those ancestral spirits who were originally as ignorant as wild beasts, allowing them to taste the flavor of wisdom.

Who would willingly retreat from civilization to barbarism?
Even the most ancient ancestral spirit, the White Bone Taoist, was unwilling to return to that state of ignorance, let alone the other city gods.

Even the strictest rules of the Yellow Springs Sect are still much better than the tribal priests banging on the heads of ancestral spirits during their sacrifices.

Moreover, most City Gods have long been accustomed to a leisurely life. As long as there is enough incense offering and prayers, they would rather play cards or chess with their colleagues or travel around. A few ambitious individuals may want to seize power and profit, but most City Gods would never want to return to the days when they even had to care about the birth of livestock.

Whether Chen Ye is present or not, this City God system will continue to operate on its own, relying on its internal logic.

Mo Suixin was still somewhat unwilling, as if refuting Chen Ye would weaken the ominous signs in his destiny. She tried to argue, "What about the others in the sect? Your disciples, the many elders who came because of you—they are the true pillars of the Yellow Springs Sect!" "My disciples, Fang Hao is already capable of handling things independently and doesn't need my teaching; as for the remaining two, it doesn't matter who teaches them," Chen Ye's tone remained confident. "As for the elders, do you think they would leave even if I weren't there?"

"The three of them, Fu, Lu, and Shou, can no longer return to Baihai Valley; can you and your master return to Fenxiang Sect? Can the Mirage Demon Clan return to Mirage Tower Sect?"

"The disciples of the Yellow Springs Sect have long been rooted here. The rules here have been established, and we each perform our duties and complement each other. Because the rules here are better than elsewhere, life in the Northern Frontier is more peaceful than anywhere else. Therefore, even if I am gone, the disciples of the sect will not leave, and the Northern Frontier will not abandon the Yellow Springs Sect."

"As long as the Yellow Springs Sect continues to measure good and evil according to the will of the people; as long as this set of rules is implemented without compromise, the Northern Frontier will forever be a paradise where good and evil are rewarded accordingly. Who would want to leave? And who wouldn't want to do everything in their power to maintain this paradise forever?"

His words resonated powerfully, echoing in the quiet room.

This is what Chen Ye is most proud of, not because he built the Yellow Springs Sect with his power and prestige, but because both mortals and cultivators recognize the rule of karmic retribution.

If this system is accepted by everyone, then it can be passed down indefinitely, and it doesn't matter who is missing.

Mo Suixin was speechless, and finally could only grit her teeth and ask, "So, you really want to go and die?!"

Seeing her eyes redden and her stubbornly holding back tears, Chen Ye's heart softened, and he quickly stepped forward to comfort her: "Don't overthink it, I'm not tired of living yet. I only asked you to tell my fortune to get an extra layer of insurance. How could I take such a risk so easily? I'm still thinking about ascending to immortality with you."

"Hmph, you're just a liar!" Mo Suixin snorted coldly and turned her head away. "I can't argue with you."

Chen Ye sighed inwardly. He wasn't deliberately courting death, but rather, having reached a level of cultivation where he had a vague sense of the secrets of heaven.

What lies ahead is a tremendous turning point, and perhaps this battle between good and evil will come to an end.

But he couldn't understand how he could lose when he had such a huge advantage.

Even if the Soul Lord had some backup plan, at the last moment, he could easily sacrifice those hundreds of thousands of mortals to directly obliterate the Soul Lord's hundreds of thousands of divine souls along with their hosts. He was originally a demon, and never considered himself a saint with womanly compassion; in crucial moments, he was more ruthless than anyone else.

In terms of combat strength, if Youluozi and Feilian dare to make a move, Qu Heng and Yuji will be there to deal with them, and there will be a large number of righteous cultivators to help them. They will be able to beat the demonic sect to a pulp.

In terms of survival, he possesses the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts, making his physical body indestructible. Who could kill him? Even if he were crushed into dust, he could instantly regenerate. Unless he is captured alive and his soul and spiritual energy are gradually eroded over a long period of time, he is simply unkillable.

Chen Ye's spiritual energy is unusually vast. Even a being like the Demon Lord Wujiu would need a year and a half to kill him, and even then, it would be necessary to ensure that Chen Ye could not escape.

This... the advantage is definitely in my hands!
But the thought of "the advantage is in my hands" made Chen Ye's heart skip a beat for no reason. Impulsive decisions never work, so he could only prepare for the worst.

The Yellow Springs Sect and the Northern Frontier are indeed no longer a cause for concern for him. The order he personally established already possesses the power to sustain itself.

Seeing that Mo Suixin was still sulking, Chen Ye had no choice but to soften his tone and say gently, "It was my fault. I shouldn't have forced you to calculate my life or death. Let's try to divine from a different angle. Elder Mo, please calculate whether my trip will be successful."

Mo Suixin looked up at him: "What did you wish for?"

"I want to resolve the troubles of the Demonic Sect once and for all, to avoid future problems."

"You're greedy," Mo Suixin glanced at him and said irritably, "I don't think it will work out."

"If it doesn't work, then next time." Chen Ye smiled nonchalantly. "Anyway, the advantage is in my hands."

Seeing him like this, all of Mo Suixin's anger finally turned into a helpless sigh.

“Alright.” She sat down again, picked up the divination sticks, and said, “I will cast this divination for you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, her expression suddenly turned serious.

Spiritual energy swirled around her fingers, and the surrounding light seemed to dim slightly.

Chen Ye had seen Mo Suixin perform divination before, but the scene before him was somewhat unusual. Could it be that there was a difference between using force and not using force in divination?
Unfortunately, after becoming the sect leader, Chen Ye never seriously studied divination again, and could only be an observer at this point.

Mo Suixin sat upright on the futon, her eyelids lowered, and the worldly air around her quickly faded away. She seemed to no longer be herself, but transformed into a white jade statue listening to the will of heaven.

There were no elaborate spells, nor dazzling spiritual light.

Several jade sticks danced between her fingers, drawing mysterious trajectories.

Only when a fine layer of sweat appeared on Mo Suixin's forehead did she throw down the jade slip in her hand.

Chen Ye glanced at it and saw that among all the jade slips, only one was facing up, with four large characters written at the top: "Superb Fortune".

The following commentary reads: "The dragon returns to the vast sea, in accordance with the will of Heaven. All things will be permitted, and wishes will be fulfilled."

Mo Suixin opened her eyes, as if she had expected this outcome, and said calmly, "You can rest assured, everything went smoothly on this trip, and all your wishes came true."

Chen Ye immediately breathed a sigh of relief, as if the gloom that had been weighing on his heart had dissipated considerably.

"It seems that destiny is on my side."

Mo Suixin also laughed and said, "I didn't expect that such a greedy wish could be fulfilled. However, I have exhausted a lot of energy this time and need to go into seclusion for a while. Don't ask me to tell your fortune for a while."

Chen Ye quickly said, "Get some rest, leave the rest to me."

Mo Suixin, pale-faced, took her leave and returned to the thirty-first floor of the Yellow Springs Palace.

The Yellow Springs Palace has thirty-three levels. The top level is Chen Ye's residence and also the place where the sect holds meetings. The second level belongs to the Supreme Elder Qu Heng, and Mo Suixin and her disciple Pang Duoduo reside on the thirty-first level.

Given their cultivation and contributions, no one felt there was anything wrong with it.

As soon as she returned to her quiet room, Mo Suixin felt weak and almost couldn't stand up.

Just then, Pang Duoduo appeared and helped her up.

The moment Pang Duoduo touched Mo Suixin's hand, her expression changed drastically, and she hurriedly asked, "You've used up your only chance to change your fate in this lifetime?!"

Mo Suixin nodded and said, "I had no choice but to change his fate."

Pang Duoduo asked with a stern face, "Do you know the price?"

Mo Suixin said nonchalantly, "It's just that I can no longer use this innate supernatural power. It doesn't mean I can't do divination anymore."

Pang Duoduo sighed, "The ability to divine all things in the world without suffering any backlash is a supernatural power that even I envy. And you just throw it away like that."

Most diviners have short lifespans and difficult fates, simply because predicting the future comes at a price.

When one's cultivation level is low, even a skilled diviner will immediately suffer a backlash. Just like when Su Chunyi recklessly divined the whereabouts of a Void Returning Realm cultivator, he immediately fainted.

However, Mo Suixin's daily three divinations are an exception; he can divine whatever he wants without any backlash.

As long as one does not abuse the method and is given time to act according to one's whims, one will become the most powerful diviner in the world.

But now, Mo Suixin has given up this supernatural power in exchange for a chance to change her fate.

She didn't know what the previous divination would have yielded, but she had to make sure this divination resulted in the best possible outcome.

Seeing Pang Duoduo's pitying expression, Mo Suixin smiled and said, "Back then, when Su Chunyi sensed that he was in danger, he immediately left his body and traveled thousands of miles to come. Now that I also know that he is in danger, am I not as good as Su Chunyi? Master, you always laugh at me for not knowing how to compete with Su Chunyi, but now that I have really taken action to compete, you are unhappy?"

Pang Duoduo reached out and nudged her apprentice's head with her finger.

"Other people can return to their bodies after their souls leave them, but you can't get your supernatural powers back once they're gone."

Mo Suixin said, "Su Chunyi has been through thick and thin with him and they knew each other before. I originally had no chance of winning, but now I have a better chance."

Looking at her stubborn disciple, Pang Duoduo couldn't help but point out, "Do you think your master doesn't know? Whether Su Chunyi is there or not, you will change his fate. You're just afraid that something might really happen to him... Never mind, you made your own choice. Just don't come crying to me later."

Mo Suixin didn't refute this time, but simply nodded and said, "Of course not. Master, I've grown up. I'm no longer the lonely and tearful orphan I used to be. Besides, he won't betray me. I've already considered that."

Pang Duoduo scolded, "You've broken all the rules you shouldn't have, you deserve this calamity. But Chen Ye is indeed a sentimental person, it's just that he can't let go of Su Chunyi."

"Of course I know, at worst..." Mo Suixin gritted her teeth and said, "At worst, we'll just give in. Back then, didn't Sect Leader Lu want to take you as his concubine? Even the Sect Leader of the Incense Burning Sect has three wives and four concubines, so cultivators don't mind this."

"Pah, does Lu Xingzhou even deserve it?" Pang Duoduo cursed.

Lu Xingzhou and Pang Duoduo had known each other for many years. Although they were fellow disciples, they had no romantic feelings for each other. Lu Xingzhou was always thinking about how to balance the various forces within the sect, and his proposal to marry Pang Duoduo was just one of his methods.

Not only Pang Duoduo, but all his legally wedded wives were connected to powerful figures from various clans. Every marriage was an unspoken alliance.

Pang Duoduo naturally understood this and naturally wouldn't agree.

This incident caused quite a stir back then, preventing Pang Duoduo and Lu Xingzhou from speaking to each other for decades.

However, cultivators do not have such restrictions, as they all come from ordinary people and their marriages are largely the same.

Thinking of this, Pang Duoduo couldn't help but chuckle to herself. For cultivators, the path to immortality is long and arduous. Love is mostly a luxurious embellishment, not a necessity. Eighty percent of cultivators eventually return to solitude, accompanied only by the Dao and the Dharma.

She originally wanted to say a few words to Mo Suixin, advising her not to surrender before the battle even began, and how could she be willing to become a subordinate before the battle even started? But seeing her apprentice's expression, Pang Duoduo knew that this time she was really going all out, betting everything on it.

That's good, otherwise, Pang Duoduo estimated that her apprentice would have no chance at all.

Pang Duoduo felt sorry for her apprentice, so she said to Mo Suixin, "Never mind, go and rest. I'll take over this matter."

Upon hearing this, Mo Suixin asked nervously, "Take over? Does Master have some kind of premonition?"

Pang Duoduo nodded and reminded her, "Have you forgotten the divination I performed before? The merging of good and evil will cause upheaval. Now it seems that it perfectly corresponds to your divination today. The sect leader is the key to this merging of good and evil. Even if he can achieve everything, the world will still be in chaos."

(End of this chapter)