This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 200 Zhong Bai's Great Gain, Karma Draws Heavenly Punishment

Seeing the Tenth Patriarch leave like that, Zhong Bai was slightly stunned for a moment.

Holding the jade bottle in his hand, Zhong Bai gently brought it to his nose and inhaled. A pure demonic aura mixed with a heavy smell of blood rushed into his nasal cavity.

"This is the essence blood of the Yamata no Orochi!"

Zhong Bai smiled. This was perfect timing for him, since his physical body hadn't improved much since he used up the Kui Niu's essence blood. Now, with the complete Yamata no Orochi essence blood, Zhong Bai's divine sense detected 100,000 drops. This amount was definitely enough for Zhong Bai to cultivate the Shangqing Dragon Elephant Technique to the fourth level.

After the initial joy came a frown and a sigh.

The sea breeze blew all around, and Zhong Bai's Taoist robe swayed slightly with the wind. At the same time, a black line emerged from the corpses of the dead beings on the Eastern Sea, sweeping towards Zhong Bai.

"In the end, I've been burdened by karma..."

Zhong Bai smiled wryly, but he never regretted what he had done.

He raised his head slightly and saw black smoke billowing from the void and landing on him. In an instant, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around Zhong Bai seemed to have encountered its nemesis and all moved away from him.

"Is this the effect of karma? Even the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is unwilling to approach me?"

Even though Zhong Bai knew this outcome beforehand, it was still somewhat unbelievable.

"Fine, let's try to see if the exorcism point can attract the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to flow into the body."

[Consume 10 Demon Extermination Points to exchange for 10 days of Divine Firmament Five Thunder Technique cultivation]

[Remaining Demon Extermination Points: 1500 million]

[Karma Value: 3000 million]

[Do you want to use exorcism points to clear your karma? Clearance ratio: 1:1]

[My Demon Extermination Value has exceeded 10 million. Do I need to spend 10 million to upgrade the panel?]

Just as Zhong Bai was about to test it out, the unchanging data on the demon-slaying panel changed. The panel, which originally only showed demon-slaying points, now displayed a line of data for karma points, and there was even an option to upgrade the panel...

Without regard for anything else, the moment Zhong Bai began to consume the 100,000 demon-slaying points, the surrounding spiritual energy that had previously repelled him began to surge in continuously. However, the spiritual energy that had been unimpeded before was now only half able to pass through the karmic seal around Zhong Bai, which caused Zhong Bai to quickly open his eyes and stop the experiment.

"Half of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is blocked by karma outside the body. No wonder those old guys in the Taoist and Buddhist sects are willing to get involved with this stuff."

Just as Zhong Bai was muttering to himself, dark clouds surged into the void above his head, making the already dark void even more gloomy. Crimson lightning bolts coiled in the void, and Zhong Bai felt as if his body was being locked onto by heaven and earth.

"Damn it, could this be divine punishment?!"

Before Zhong Bai could confirm, a scarlet bolt of lightning streaked across the void and struck Zhong Bai directly on the head. The Gold-Eating Insects that had been sleeping on Zhong Bai's head every day flew a hundred meters away, fearing that they would be taken away by the lightning that fell on their master's head...

boom!
A charred figure fell straight down from the void, crashing heavily into the sea and creating waves. Zhong Bai, covered in dust and dirt, stood up from the water and looked around at himself, finding himself utterly filthy.

"Hiss, this bolt of lightning is almost as powerful as the last two bolts during the Three-Nine Heavenly Tribulation!"

Zhong Bai was somewhat startled, but he was not injured. He had simply not noticed the lightning strike and was thus struck down from the void. Now, mentally prepared, Zhong Bai looked up and saw another crimson bolt of lightning locking onto him. With no chance of escape, Zhong Bai began to circulate the Golden Light Divine Mantra to bless himself.

As the lightning struck, a beam of light spread outwards from the sea. Zhong Bai coughed slightly, and the crackling electricity still flowed through his body. Fish lay dead on the surface of the sea beneath his feet.

"This lightning bolt is at least twice as powerful as the last one!"

Zhong Bai's estimation was accurate; indeed, the third heavenly punishment lightning bolt was already falling.

Another stream of light spread outwards, and this time Zhong Bai finally frowned.

"Each bolt of lightning is twice as powerful as the last one. God, you're really playing hardball!"

After cursing and swearing, the fourth bolt of lightning struck Zhong Bai. After enduring it, Zhong Bai's aura became somewhat unstable.

Fortunately, his physical body was comparable to that of a Golden Core True Monarch, and with his own Golden Core Peak True Essence, he was not injured.

The fifth and sixth bolts of lightning struck in quick succession, and after being hit by the lightning, blood began to seep from Zhong Bai's mouth.

"There are three more Heavenly Punishments to come; I wonder if we can withstand them."

With a deep sigh, Zhong Bai's expression turned solemn. The seventh bolt of lightning struck, no longer scarlet, but a purplish-gold color. With a deafening boom, the seawater around Zhong Bai exploded, and Zhong Bai, in the center, trembled as he knelt on the sea surface. Drops of scarlet blood flowed from Zhong Bai's fingertips, and his body was marked with bloodstains from the lightning strike.

"Come again!"

Enduring the pain, Zhong Bai stared straight at the sky. Although his body was injured, the falling lightning presented him with a good opportunity to temper his physical body, albeit a dangerous one. The eighth bolt of lightning was brewing, and Zhong Bai didn't intend to confront it head-on like the previous ones. The seventh bolt had already injured his body; he couldn't afford to be reckless.

"Golden light possesses spirit and nature; it transforms into a lotus to protect the body!"

Golden rays gathered from Zhong Bai's body and transformed into a golden lotus flower above his head. At the same time, lightning struck, and the purple-gold lightning collided with the lotus flower, splashing outwards like liquid into the sea.

The lotus flower on Zhong Bai's head quickly shattered into ashes.

The golden light within his body blocked the eighth heavenly punishment. Zhong Bai took a deep breath, and the thunder seal in his dantian appeared above his head.

"Divine Firmament, Divine Firmament, the Five Thunders are profound and mysterious, the Upper Clarity has the art of swallowing divine thunder!"

Within the Divine Firmament Five Thunder Seal, a profound and mysterious aura surged forth. The moment the last divine lightning bolt of heavenly punishment fell from the void, a scarlet lightning bolt within the seal acted as a guide, drawing it directly into the seal. However, the seal's light clearly dimmed, and Zhong Bai was jolted, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"That was close!"
Fortunately, the Divine Firmament Five Thunder Seal could absorb and refine the Heavenly Punishment Thunder; otherwise, the only way to safely overcome the crisis would have been to summon the Kui Niu Drum Mark.

Zhong Bai was somewhat relieved. At the same time, the exorcism panel in front of him, which originally showed 30 million karma points, now only had 20 million left. One heavenly punishment had washed away 10 million of Zhong Bai's karma. This was only because Zhong Bai's physical body and supernatural powers were strong. If it were any other Golden Core Peak cultivator, they would have been dead long ago.

"Tsk, if we can survive the Heavenly Tribulation next time, we won't need to use Demon Extermination Points to offset it."

Unfortunately... this divine punishment was merely a common attack from heaven and earth; the next one will likely be much more difficult.

Zhong Bai shook his head. There were many Daoist elders who, like him, survived the Heavenly Punishment, but almost no one was willing to go through it again. The power of the second Heavenly Punishment was ten times that of the first. To put it bluntly, the Heavenly Punishment was meant to annihilate its target.

"I don't want to think about these things. The punishment comes every ten years. When the next heavenly punishment comes, I will have already gone to the new world. If I can reach the mid-to-late stage of the Nascent Soul Dao Lord realm by then, I might be able to withstand it again!"

The lightning in the void gradually dissipated, and Zhong Bai, after surviving the heavenly punishment, did not choose to leave. Instead, he sat cross-legged in the void and began to heal his injuries.

Three days later, Zhong Bai slowly opened his eyes, looked at the vast sea around him, and the spirit sword beneath his feet disappeared from the spot with a whoosh.

It's been quite a while since I left Maoshan; it's time to return.

......................................................

Maoshan.

More than half a month has passed since Zhong Bai left. Although a group of elders and Shi Jian, the designated next sect leader, are handling affairs, Zhong Bai still cannot be away for too long.

The reason is simple: a month ago, when Zhong Bai obtained the Soul Devouring Banner, Ming Wanqian and the elders of the other two pavilions all chose to send their souls to serve in the underworld instead of waiting for their lifespans to run out, as that would damage their souls and be detrimental to ghost cultivation.

Therefore, Maoshan currently only has Xuanmingzi, a Golden Core True Monarch, in charge. Although it is no weaker than other top Buddhist and Taoist sects, the value of Zhong Bai's return is different.

A sword light came from the east...

Inside the main hall, a group of elders were discussing a major event that had recently come to light.

"News from the mountain says that the entire country of Japan has been submerged, and countless lives have been lost..."

After listening to Master Qian Yuan's account, the elders' expressions turned strange.

Everyone knew that their sect leader had taken the Soul-Devouring Banner to Japan. Although they were unsure whether their own sect leader had done it, based on their understanding, they were almost certain.

"Ahem, Uncle-Master Qian Yuan was just a Japanese. He's dead, so be it. Anyway, he was always a wolf with ulterior motives towards Kyushu."

After Shi Jian finished speaking, he did not continue the discussion on this topic; they were all well aware of the situation.

Just then, the sword light fell, and Zhong Bai walked slowly into the main hall with steady steps.

When everyone turned around, what they saw first was not Zhong Bai's face, but the overwhelming karmic force rushing towards them, with billowing black smoke. Even though Qian Yuan Zhenren and the others already knew that the destruction of Dongying was inextricably linked to Zhong Bai, they were still shocked when they actually saw this karmic force surrounding them.

"We pay our respects to the Sect Master!"

After a moment of stunned silence, they bowed.

After all, Zhong Bai is still the head of Maoshan Sect. Seeing the elders being so polite, Zhong Bai smiled faintly and said, "Please rise, elders. There's no need to be so polite. My arrival seems to be very timely."

Just now I heard Master mention Japan. That's right. Japan's number one sacred mountain erupted, the earth shattered, and after the towering tsunami hundreds of meters high, almost no living beings could survive.

However, to be more specific, the number of Japanese who died should exceed thirty million…

Zhong Bai spoke calmly, but those who heard him were shocked. Clearly, their guess was correct.

(End of this chapter)