苏州哪里有站小巷的

True Man Changrong joined the alliance, and the strategic development was finalized.

The first matter could be considered complete.

As for the second matter…

Xu Yang lowered his gaze, glanced at the desolate ancient temple amidst the wilderness, then turned back to True Monarch Changrong and asked, “Brother Dao, was there any disturbance here just now?”

True Monarch Changrong nodded: “As Taoist Master anticipated, that Old Demon indeed had plans, but with the separation of the Dual Realm of Yin and Yang, coupled with the suppression of numerous formations, even with its ten thousand years of Taoist cultivation, it is powerless to do anything.”

Xu Yang smiled: “I thank Brother Dao for your efforts.”

“It is my duty, what efforts are there to speak of?”

True Monarch Changrong shook his head and added: “However, this infestation of ghosts from the Ghost Realm is always a severe hidden danger. Does the Taoist Master have a method to resolve it?”

Xu Yang smiled: “Naturally, there is a way, but as a newly advanced True Monarch, I need some time to consolidate my Cultivation Realm. Additionally, Guo Bei Academy needs time to process and digest after slaying tens of thousands of demons.”

“That is true.”

True Monarch Changrong nodded and asked: “When does the Taoist Master plan to take action?”

“In ten years,”

Xu Yang said with a laugh: “Ten years should be about right. By then, scouring the court and sweeping the den in one fell swoop, we will definitely root out this scourge, and perhaps even slay that Black Mountain Old Demon, eliminating a major disaster.”

“Ten years?”

True Monarch Changrong murmured and then nodded in agreement: “That is good. Adequate preparation ensures nothing will go wrong.”

This time, Guo Bei Academy’s slaying of tens of thousands of demons yielded an extremely astonishing harvest.

However, the world of Dao and Law differs from the modern Cultivation World.

In the Cultivation World, demon beasts are full of treasures, usable immediately upon slaying, broken down into various materials.

But in the world of Dao and Law, it is not possible for demons, because the Divine Soul Cultivation Method gathers them together, and demons devour living beings, inherently carrying the resentment of those beings, rendering the mana, souls, and physical bodies of demons, all of evil nature.

Ordinary people cannot eat them, and even prolonged contact can lead to infection by demonic and evil qi, resulting in a fall into demonhood.

Even cultivators can not directly use them as resources, as it would not only be of no benefit but would also damage the foundation of their cultivation and might even lead them down the path of evil.

They must be purified of evil qi through various methods before they can be utilized.

This is a colossal project.

Therefore, Xu Yang set a ten-year development plan.

Ten years should be enough for Guo Bei Academy to digest this batch of resources.

During this time, it can also develop and expand externally, further enhancing its strength.

By then, sweeping away the Ghost Realm will be easy, and they could even consider the Black Mountain Old Demon’s territory.

An old demon that refuses to die is a thief!

Such ancient demons are exceptionally troublesome, like centipedes that are hard to kill even when cut into pieces!

Throughout history, there have been Daoist Celestial Masters who have eradicated the Orchid Ghost Realm several times, but each time only a few hundred years of peace were gained, and after a few hundred years, the Ghost Realm would re-form.

The reason for this is that they never resolved the fundamental issue—the Black Mountain Old Demon.

Without the destruction of Black Mountain, the Old Demon remains alive.

If the Old Demon is alive, the Ghost Realm persists.

Eliminating this Old Demon of Black Mountain who has become a spirit is quite a difficult task.

Even for a Daoist Celestial Master, it is easier said than done.

But Xu Yang felt that he could give it a try.

Seeing Xu Yang’s intention to eliminate the Black Mountain Old Demon, True Monarch Changrong also said: “If ten years from now, the Taoist Master can remove that Black Mountain Old Demon, a stable world can be expected soon afterward.”

Xu Yang nodded: “I will certainly do my best!”

In this world where Dao and Law are revered, although there is no limit of Spirit Root physique, the requirements for one’s character are exceptionally high, especially for the Righteous Path and Righteous Skills, which cannot be achieved without great virtue.

In such a world, with such methods of cultivation, the environment created is naturally not as cruel as in the real Cultivation World. Whatever is done must have proper justification, or else it is regarded as the conduct of evil demons, and everyone would have the right to punish it.

Even in competing for the leadership of the Dao and the fortunes of that leadership, one cannot directly take over someone else’s territory; the competition must be for faith and worshipers, and it must be fair competition without resorting to trickery.

To put it simply, it’s about competing in serviceability.

Averting disasters, praying for blessings, slaying demons and exorcising ghosts, curing diseases, and saving people…

These are all responsibilities of the practitioners of Taoism and the main means of competition within it.

If Xu Yang can remove the Black Mountain Old Demon, his prestige in the Taoist community will reach its peak. Coupled with the influence of Guo Bei Academy, as well as his abilities as a Daoist Celestial Master, the world would not be far from unification, with little resistance to expect.

After all, competing for the dragon is about the inheritance of the Dao and competing for fortune for development. One wouldn’t jeopardize the entire inheritance of one’s Dao for a temporal opportunity for development.

That would be to neglect the essentials for the sake of the trivial.

Cultivators, valuing long life, can simply try again after several hundred years if they fail this time; there’s no need to risk their lives. Having set a period of ten years, Xu Yang finished the second matter for his visit.

Finally, the third matter, which was also the most important one.

Xu Yang asked: “Brother Dao, were you watching the battle just now?”

True Monarch Changrong nodded: “Aside from a few disturbances from the Old Demon, I have been observing the rest of the time.”

Xu Yang spoke in a deep voice, “Brother Dao must have seen the Blood Armored Sky Dragon that broke through my Thunder Purgatory and encircled the city with its iron walls.”

“Hmm!”

True Monarch Changrong showed no surprise, “Does the Taoist Master know the origin of this demon?”

Xu Yang shook his head: “I do not know, but based on my speculation, it must be the very force behind the scenes that instigated the myriad of demons to attack, aiming for Guo Bei Academy.”

“Oh?”

True Monarch Changrong arched an eyebrow, “What’s this all about?”

“I don’t know the specifics,”

Xu Yang said solemnly, recounting the incident: “On a whim, I activated my Spirit Eyes Mysterious Light and peered into the land of Mount Mang, where the demons gathered; the Chu Family Wolf, the Sword Demon Ape, and the Shocking Thunder Jiao, three demon kings broke through to become Demon Emperors simultaneously with Monarch Xunlong, who was originally a Blood Centipede, banding together various demons with the intent to target Guo Bei Academy.”

“Three demon kings turning into Demon Emperors at once?”

True Monarch Changrong frowned and said, “Is it a coincidence, or…”

“I had my suspicions at that time, and now it seems even less like a coincidence.”

Xu Yang nodded, “It must have been the Blood Armored Sky Dragon that secretly assisted and orchestrated it from behind the scenes.”

“This…”

Upon hearing this, True Monarch Changrong was also filled with shock and doubt: “Could the Blood Armored Sky Dragon truly have helped demon kings ascend to become Demon Emperors, and to break through three at once?”

“This… This is no ordinary demon.”

“Indeed!”

Xu Yang nodded, his voice grave: “Ordinary demons certainly do not have this ability, not to mention ordinary demons, even the Black Mountain Old Demon such an age-old demon would find it difficult to cultivate Demon Emperors in quantities.”

True Monarch Changrong’s eyebrows were tightly knit, his eyes filled with disbelief as he looked at Xu Yang: “Does the Taoist Master mean to say that the strength of the Blood Armored Sky Dragon is even greater than that of the millennium-old demons?”

Xu Yang shook his head: “Its strength may not be far off, but its unique abilities are far beyond what other old demons can achieve.”

In this world, there is a method that involves feigning genuine cultivation, which involves amassing a following.

It could be called creation itself.

But it also has its flaws: it can only be cultivated to the sixth realm at most.

Daoism tops at True Monarch, and demons at the title of Emperor.

Be it human or demon, righteous or wicked, it is the same with no exceptions.

Even for the Black Mountain Old Demon, a being of a millennium, it possesses but the cultivation of a Demon Emperor.

It is only because the demon was born uniquely, as the spirit of the Black Mountain, with an extremely long life, nearly immortal; thus, after living for thousands of years, its mana and Taoist cultivation far exceed that of ordinary Demon Emperors. Hence, it is specially categorized among the millennial old demons.

Just as the Black Mountain is, other millennium-old demons are the same, all at the rank of Demon Emperor, yet none has broken through.

The sole exception is the legitimate human cultivator!

The Righteous Path allows human cultivators to break through the limitation of the sixth realm by means of grand rituals such as the Luotian Dajiao or Water-Land Dharma Assembly, becoming the sole Seventh Realm cultivators of this world.

They are known as — Daoist Celestial Masters!

Since the founding of the Chen Dynasty more than three hundred years ago, there have been five Great Rituals; thus, theoretically, there should be five Daoist Celestial Masters.

Why do I say theoretically? Because Daoist Celestial Masters have the capability to break through the realms and ascend to the Upper Realm in pursuit of the Longevity Dao Fruit.

Therefore, these Daoist Celestial Masters should have ascended after completing their ritual duties, exterminating demons, and quelling natural disasters. They are not likely to stay in the human realm for an extended period, as doing so would gradually erode their cultivation, making ascension impossible if they lingered too long. Unless, once again, a Great Ritual was performed to replenish it.

The Great Ritual is the only way to break through the sixth realm and achieve the status of a Heavenly Master.

Beyond that, no matter how much you cultivate, you cannot surpass the sixth realm.

Over the years, Xu Yang collected Daoist practices from all over the world, traditions from various factions, and found that, whether cultivation techniques or cultivating skills, they all ended at the Golden Core realm. Beyond Golden Core, everything was erased without a trace.

At first, Xu Yang also found this puzzling but later uncovered the truth with deeper investigation.

It turned out to be the doing of the Ancient Immortal Gods.

As the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit fell dormant, and the Ancient Immortal Gods broke away from this realm, they could not bear to see the path of cultivation come to an end. Hence, they established the Divine Soul Cultivation Method. Using a false method of cultivation, they relied on the Power of the Souls of All Beings in place of the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirit as sustenance for cultivation.

But as with everything, there are pros and cons. The Divine Soul Cultivation Method’s biggest drawback is its slow progress.

The higher the realm, the slower the cultivation. At the level of True Monarch, without millions of years of accumulation, one cannot hope to become a Heavenly Master.

But which True Monarch cultivator has millions of years of lifespan?

Faced with the impetus of life and death, some may despair and turn to demons, pursuing extremes, devouring the living beings of an entire realm to achieve their own Dao fruit.

The Ancient Immortal Gods naturally could not allow such a thing to happen.

Therefore, when they broke away from this realm, they took with them all cultivation methods beyond the Golden Core, regardless of whether it was a cultivation technique or a cultivating skill, whether it involved the Yuan Spirit or Divine Soul. Anything that pertains to beyond the Golden Core was taken away, leaving nothing in the human realm.

For the Immortal Gods, it was not difficult. Even Xu Yang could investigate the Three Realms with his Heavenly Eye, let alone the great immortals and gods. They took away all methods beyond the Golden Core, leaving only the Great Ritual as the sole means and hope of ascension, to prevent future generations from venturing into extremes.

Their intentions were painstaking indeed.

But it also caused suffering for Xu Yang.

Whether it was the “Xuanyuan Divine Sword Jue,” the “Xuanming True Person’s Ghost Controlling Method,” or the most relied upon “Nine Heavens’ Responsive Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable Jade Shu Sutra,” they all had only practices up to the Golden Core realm.

Moreover, he was very interested in and wanted to obtain the False Cultivation Skill, but the core essence of it was also taken by the Ancient Immortal Gods, leaving behind only the system built by this method — which is the various Taoist True Scriptures — to prevent someone from researching the Divine Soul Cultivation Method beyond the Golden Core.

Immortal Gods are indeed Immortal Gods, meticulous in their planning, leaving Xu Yang with no recourse.