Dao Cheng Gui Xian

Chapter 428 The Essence of War, A Powerful Lineup

After Li Wushou followed Sha Xiu to two cities...
The primordial spirit, carrying the formless golden elixir, transformed into the form of a hungry ghost and arrived at the easternmost edge of the Yan Yang Mountains.

Here, the earth is scorching endlessly. Dozens of miles to the east, in the scorched land, one can see the Domain River gushing forth from an unknown place underground, separating the two domains.

With the five elements' Daoist essence flowing around him, amidst countless earth flames, Li Wushou walked as if on flat ground. After venturing more than ten miles in, he came to see a purple flame rooted in the magma pool.

As Li Wushou approached, Zi Yan materialized, revealing himself to be Daoist Zi Zhen.

"I've met the mountain master!"

Li Wushou waved his hand and sat down on the lava behind him.

Lava surged and gathered behind Li Wushou, forming a lava throne. The moment Li Wushou sat down, the flames dissipated, and the throne shimmered like crystal.

At the same time, four incense sticks were placed around the two people, burning and creating a fragrant mist that intertwined to form a net of incense that enveloped the surroundings.

Since it involved the Great Venerable Yanwu and the Abbot of Xuanhuang Temple, Li Wushou felt it would be more prudent to meet with Daoist Zizhen in person.

On the other side, Master Zizhen was quite amazed by what he saw.

This was the first time he had ever seen the mountain lord use the Five Elements techniques.

The Mountain Lord's control over fire seemed far more skillful than his own, even more effortless and graceful.

Moreover, this method of sealing the heavens and earth seems to be a divine method, right?
He became increasingly curious about the origins of the mountain lord!
Could the mountain lord really be some reclusive great master?

While they were still marveling at the sight, they suddenly heard the mountain lord speak softly and ask:
"Tell me, what are Yanwu and Xuanhuang's plans regarding the Sealing Spirit Path?"

Upon hearing this, Daoist Zizhen cupped his hands in greeting. He was prepared for this question, so he answered directly:
"Reporting to the Mountain Lord, the Great Venerable Yanwu and the Abbot of Xuanhuang Temple should have contacted the Sparrow Venerable privately, but it seems that it was not a pleasant encounter. The decree issued by the Great Venerable is that we should join forces with the Xuanhuang Territory to attack the Fengling Path. Anyone outside the Sparrow God Mountain lineage who surrenders will not be killed!"

After saying this, Daoist Zizhen began to explain in detail the situation before and after the Great Venerable Yanwu issued the edict.

After a long pause, Li Wushou gave a soft "oh" and fell into deep thought.

Li Wushou was actually somewhat surprised, as the two Venerables had contacted the Sparrow Venerable privately.

However, the Sparrow Lord was just as tough as Li Wushou had imagined!
While the edicts of Yanwu and Xuanhuang seemed very forceful, they were still somewhat unclear.

It seems that Yanwu and Xuanhuang are not sure if they can defeat the Sparrow Lord, and they are also afraid that the Sparrow Lord will give up the Sealing Spirit Path and then lead his subordinates into the Holy Domain to hunt down others in the Central Domain.

However, including the Queshen Mountain lineage on the kill list reveals Yanwu and Xuanhuang's murderous intent.

Once the two obtain the coordinates of the Mahjong Master's sacred domain, they will certainly not show any mercy.

This conclusion can also be drawn from the information relayed back from Li Xing.

It is said that Yanwu and Xuanhuang contacted Wu Zhuangyuan in private, but Li Xing is not sure how Wu Zhuangyuan replied to Yanwu and Xuanhuang. The order he received was only to guard the border between Fubo Domain and Fengling Path.

He did not order Li Xing to intervene in the Central Domain's invasion of the Sealed Spirit Path.

So, is Wu Zhuangyuan also waiting for an opportunity to lock down the coordinates of the Mahjong Saint Domain?

Or is it that Scholar Wu is too preoccupied with Wu Qinghe's matter to care about anything else?

By comparing the information from both sides one by one, Li Wushou gradually figured out the thoughts of Yanwu and Xuanhuang.

Since the two of them had privately met with Sparrow Lord, they must have already questioned him about the matter of the Flaming Sun Mountains. In fact, this was not a big deal for either of them.

Although a Nascent Soul cultivator is hailed as a great power in a region, it only concerns the dignity of the Venerable One, and does not yet reach the point of life and death confrontation.

Therefore, Yanwu and Xuanhuang's main concerns were still about the Immortal Mountain, the Great Heavenly Venerable, and the Earth Mother Venerable!

Li Wushou was unaware of the details, but judging from the results, Yanwu and Xuanhuang had essentially confirmed the connection between Que Zun and Bulao Mountain.

Li Wushou speculated that the reason why the Sparrow Lord acted this way was related to the Dao-merging shackles mentioned by the Immortal Lotus Lord.

When Li Wushou was collecting information about the Sparrow Master, he discovered that, in fact, whether it was Wu Zhuangyuan, Yan Wu, or Xuan Huang, their reputations of the Sparrow Master were all rather poor.

He's either paranoid or insane.

For this reason, many people in the Three Realms have reservations about the Sealing Spirit Path and have always kept their distance. After all, a madman with no logic is not someone worth provoking.

All of this is closely related to the method of sealing spirits!

As the pillar of the Spirit Sealing Path, the Sparrow Lord must have suffered greatly as a result.

Her desire to break free from this influence and constraint must have reached a point of madness.

The abilities of the Great Celestial Venerable and the Earth Mother Venerable of Mount Immortality are unknown, but judging from their titles, they must be related to heaven and earth.

If the two of them can help the Sparrow Lord break free from this constraint and give him hope through the spirit-sealing experiment under his command, then given the Sparrow Lord's stubbornness, making such a decision seems to be only natural!
Therefore, the Central Domain and the Sealed Spirit Path have essentially broken off all pretense of civility.

This is fundamentally different from what Luanxuan and others predicted!

As for how far the war will develop, it depends on whether the Central Domain can lock down the Sacred Domain of the Sparrow Lord during the subsequent invasion.

Once a lock is established, the war will inevitably escalate and reach the Venerable level!
At that time, there will inevitably be a frenzied extermination of the Sparrow Lord!

If it cannot be locked down, then the final outcome will be as Luanxuan and the others predicted.

Having grasped this point, Li Wushou had a clearer plan on how to advance the situation.

Without clarifying this point, he dared not act recklessly. Otherwise, after stirring up a storm, he would find that Yanwu and Xuanhuang had no intention of killing him at all, and that the two had put on a show and retreated back to the Central Region. Wouldn't that leave him to be the target of the Sparrow Lord's attention?
He didn't want to be targeted by a Grand Venerable, especially a deranged one!

Composing himself, Li Wushou asked Zizhen again:

"Who is officially leading the Yanwu Territory and the Xuanhuang Territory this time?"

Master Zizhen had obviously also collected information on this issue.

Upon hearing this, he quickly replied:

"Reporting to the Mountain Lord, the Yanwu Territory is under the command of Dao Yan, a powerful figure under the Great Venerable. Dao Yan is the strongest person in the Yanwu Territory below the Great Venerable, one of the top Nascent Soul cultivators in the world, who controls the Nine Paths of Flame and has created the Nine Flame Dharma Realm. He is only one step away from the Great Venerable and is no less than the Blood Buddha!"
The Xuanhuang Territory is overseen by Huang Shigong, the master of the Xuanhuang Temple. Huang Shigong, like the powerful Dao Yan, is one of the strongest Nascent Soul cultivators below the Great Venerable level. It was once said that of the Dao of the world, which is 1/10 of the earth's essence, the master of the Xuanhuang Temple possesses eight dou (a unit of dry measure), Huang Shigong possesses one dou, and all others in the world share the remaining dou.

"As for the other Nascent Soul cultivators, I have already registered them. The Mountain Lord may view them in detail."

After saying this, Daoist Zizhen took out a piece of human skin with a little incense ash stuck to it from his bosom and respectfully handed it to Li Wushou.

Li Wushou took it and quickly glanced through it.

It was filled with the names of many powerful beings, the techniques they were proficient in, and even detailed records of those who possessed world treasures comparable to Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

This made Li Wushou nod in agreement!

Master Zizhen was very meticulous in his work, and apart from the talisman enthusiasts, he was the person Li Wushou found most convenient to use.

It was worth it for him to give the incense ash and human skin to the other party!
On the one hand, it was to protect him, and on the other hand, it was to prevent him from being discovered by Yanwu Dazun.

It's best to be cautious about spying on people right under the nose of the Great Venerable Yanwu!

He didn't want Daoist Zizhen to perish so easily.

A quick glance revealed that, based solely on the registered Nascent Soul cultivators, the combined number from the two territories had reached sixteen, with eight from each of the Yanwu and Xuanhuang factions.

On the Yanwu frontier, Wu Xia and Zi Zhen were also among those listed.

This does not include dozens of Nascent Soul True Monarchs, as well as a number of top True Monarchs who possess World Treasures comparable to those of the Divine Transformation Realm!

After reading it, Li Wushou erased the contents of the human skin and handed it back to Zizhen.

Seeing this, Zi Zhen added:
"This is just the vanguard of the Central Domain. The decree of the Two Venerables is to open the western and northern gates of the Sealed Spirit Path. Subsequent forces will enter the Sealed Spirit Path, gradually clear it out, and head straight for Sparrow God Mountain!"

Li Wushou nodded slightly, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

This lineup is truly impressive and terrifying!
The Central Domain truly lives up to its reputation as a domain with two supreme rulers; its foundation is profound!

(End of this chapter)