Lu Qinglian pouted. In the past, whenever her master obtained a Demon Core, he would give it to her to consume, but now that he had taken Ning Qianqian, a descendant of the Dragon Emperor, under his wing, in order to hasten the awakening of her Dragon Emperor Bloodline, Lu Changsheng had almost always given the Demon Cores to Ning Qianqian.
“The king is dead, run for your lives!”
Seeing the Divine Ape King slain and even his Demon Core consumed, the lesser demons of Mount Dong’ao scattered like macaques fleeing from a fallen tree and frantically ran in all directions.
The number of Demon Monkeys that died under the swords of the five Daluo Golden Immortals was in the hundreds of thousands.
“Return.”
Lu Changsheng held five Talismans, recited a Mnemonic Verse, and the five Daluo Golden Immortal puppets returned to their talismans.
Lu Changsheng put away the Zixiao Immortal Sword and the World-Ending Black Lotus.
The World-Ending Black Lotus grew somewhat stronger after devouring the Demonic Qi of the Divine Ape King.
With the crisis in Yun Cang Country averted, Shangguan Zhao’er used a magical formation to bring back the citizens, and Lu Changsheng transmitted his voice to the entire city, “I am the Sect Leader of Mount Shu, Daoist Changsheng. The Demon Monkey has been eradicated by me, you may all rest assured.”
The citizens of the city, having suffered countless deaths and injuries from the Divine Ape King’s assault, were survivors after a calamity. Learning that the Sect Leader of Mount Shu had taken action and eliminated the Demon Monkey, they bowed in deep respect and kowtowed their gratitude, “Thank you, Immortal, for your rescue.”
Seeing the capital of Yun Cang Country in ruins, Lu Changsheng felt helpless.
He had not practiced the “Eternal Holy Scripture” for long, his ability to predict the future was still imprecise, and he could not foresee the exact timing of the calamity that befell Yun Cang Country, inevitably arriving a step too late.
Perhaps this was destiny.
“Is there any surviving royalty in Yun Cang Country?”
Lu Changsheng knew that this city needed to restore order as soon as possible.
The emperor of Yun Cang Country and the imperial palace were destroyed, the emperor, and numerous princes and princesses met tragic deaths.
A peak Unity Realm prince stood out from the crowd and said, “Daoist Changsheng, I am the Seventh Prince of Yun Cang Country. When the tragedy struck, I was outside in a tavern and thus managed to escape calamity.”
“From this day forward, you are the emperor of Yun Cang Country. I will arrange for some Mount Shu disciples to help you maintain order so that Yun Cang Country does not fall into chaos.”
Now a seventh-tier Daluo Golden Immortal and Sect Leader of Mount Shu, a single word from Lu Changsheng would be enough to appoint or dismiss an emperor of the secular dynasties.
Yun Cang Country was within the sphere of influence of Mount Shu, providing Qi Destiny and cultivation resources to the sect, and Lu Changsheng could not allow the country to descend into chaos.
The Seventh Prince knelt down respectfully to Lu Changsheng, “Daoist Changsheng has rescued the multitudes from peril, I will construct a Daoist Temple for you, burning incense and bowing daily without interruption.”
Lu Changsheng nodded.
He was not one for fanfare by nature, but the Heavenly Earth Mystical Yellow Exquisite Pagoda required a vast amount of unseen merit. Having the whole of Yun Cang Country revere Mount Shu daily would provide him with a continuous supply of such merit.
Chen Yi lay motionless on the ground, his heart filled with despair. When he heard of Lu Changsheng’s origins and witnessed his nemesis, the Divine Ape King, being slain on the spot by Lu Changsheng, a faint glimmer of hope sparked in his hollow eyes.
Struggling, he dragged his nearly empty shell of a body to Lu Changsheng, and knelt with a thud, “I am Chen Yi, a scholar of Yun Cang Country. My parents, my teacher, and my childhood sweetheart were all killed by the Demon Monkey. I beg the honored Immortal to use your Divine Skills to bring them back to life; I am willing to serve you like an ox or a horse.”
Lu Changsheng placed his hand on top of Chen Yi’s head and used his Divine Skills to read Chen Yi’s memories, a torrent of twenty years’ memories flowed in.
Twenty years ago, Chen Yi was born into a learned family in the capital of Yun Cang Country. On the day of his birth, numerous heavenly phenomena such as celestial sounds and Celestial Maidens Scatter Flowers appeared in the sky above the city.
At the age of five, his parents took Chen Yi to play at Jinshan Temple, where the Abbot recognized his Wisdom Root and wished to take him as a disciple, but his parents refused.
In the same year, due to the Chen Family’s close proximity to the Prime Minister’s Residence, Chen Yi encountered the Prime Minister’s procession while playing and caught the eye of the serving prime minister, who took him in as a disciple. From then on, he and the Prime Minister’s daughter, Wen Qingqing, grew up as childhood sweethearts.
At the age of ten, under the Prime Minister’s recommendation, Chen Yi entered Yun Cang Country’s top academy for studies and cultivation, soon standing out from his peers.
By the age of twenty, Chen Yi had excelled in his examinations and was about to marry Wen Qingqing, when life was at its most promising, the Divine Ape King launched a surprise attack on Yun Cang Country, killing his parents, his mentor, and his beloved, turning joy into sorrow.
After reading Chen Yi’s memories, Lu Changsheng couldn’t help but sigh softly; the agony this man must be enduring seemed immense.
It was truly too painful.
Exchanging a glance with Shangguan Zhao’er, Lu Changsheng shook his head gently, “They were utterly destroyed by the Divine Ape King, their Three Souls and Seven Spirits dispersed, returned to the Netherworld. I am powerless to do anything…”
“Is that so?”
As Chen Yi’s last hope shattered, the light quickly faded from his eyes.
He had no more attachment to the things of this world and only sought a quiet place to end his life.
Continue your adventure at empire
“Cough cough, however, my current inability does not mean I will be powerless in the future. According to a record in the Sacred Place, beyond the Immortal Realm, there are places like the Demon Realm, the Netherworld, the Blissful Realm, and the three thousand minor worlds. If you can make your way into the Netherworld and find their Three Souls and Seven Spirits, perhaps they can be brought back to life…”
Just as Chen Yi was enveloped in despair, Lu Changsheng mentioned an ancient book he had seen in the Holy Land of Tai Hua.
The Scripture Pavilion of Tai Hua’s Holy Land held value not only in its various Sacred Tier and Emperor Tier Cultivation Techniques but also in its vast collection of books. These books recorded rumors and secrets of all realms, with only a few words about the Netherworld, yet confirming there was indeed such a place where souls find their final refuge.
The individuals killed by the Divine Ape King were all of low cultivation, and if one were to resurrect them, the difficulty would presumably be barely anything.