Chapter 157: Chapter 18 The Death of Ling Buyang
Night.
In the spacious conference hall of the Liu Clan, the lights were brightly lit.
Fate Master Ling Buyang sat upright in the room, surrounded by bright red cinnabar marks like amulets. Three Destiny Plates, representing heaven, earth, and man, were positioned around him. To the east, south, west, and north, the blood essence of four Primordial Beasts was placed—the Four-Corner Dragon Snake, Iron Teeth Dark Tiger, Azure-winged Mystic Bird, and Phosphorus Shell Black Turtle, representing the four great divine beasts, guarding all directions.
Biting his finger, Ling Buyang lightly touched it, and the three Destiny Plates simultaneously emitted a gentle light. The next moment, countless fragments of the heavens surged out.
With the protection of fate, his soul would be indestructible, and no one could harm him again.
After completing these tasks, he gently flicked a special long incense, which stood straight on a nearby altar and began to burn, emitting a light green smoke.
Ling Buyang instructed, “Protect this ‘Soulrouse Incense.’ Do not let it extinguish… Within an incense’s time, I will kill those two fellows and return with ease!”
“Yes!” Xu Xin and Liu Tianzheng simultaneously clenched their fists.
Soulrouse Incense, the anchor of the soul.
Normally, his Dharma Form wasn’t very strong; if his detached soul strayed too far, it was easy to lose oneself in the various worlds. With this anchoring object and guided by the power of destiny, he could easily return.
But if it were to extinguish, the Dharma Form wouldn’t be able to return within a specific time. Without the nourishment of a corpse, the soul would disintegrate, ultimately leading to a gruesome death.
“Go!”
After giving his instructions, Ling Buyang uttered a low shout. His body, seated cross-legged, did not budge, but a large figure abruptly emerged from behind him, identical to him but somewhat dim and invisible to the naked eye without the illumination of Heavenly Mandate Vitality.
It was precisely his Dharma Form, condensed from his Soul Power.
The moment the Dharma Form appeared, Xu Xin and Liu Tianzheng immediately felt their souls trembling deeply, as if they could hardly stand.
This was a kind of oppression coming from the soul, uncontestable unless one’s cultivation reached the required level.
Seeing their reaction, Ling Buyang nodded in satisfaction. His Dharma Form transformed into a cold gust of wind and flew out in the blink of an eye, vanishing from the spot.
“So powerful… that guy is definitely doomed!”
Liu Tianzheng then breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze flickering.
Although the Liu Clan had exhausted their fortune and sold off nearly all their assets, they were now deeply allied with Lord Ling. As long as Zhang Xuan was killed, upon the Fate Master’s return, the rise of the Liu Clan was merely a matter of time, and they could reach even greater heights.
With that, he was filled with confidence and anticipation.
…
Zhang Xuan looked at the over thirty cultivation manuals that Yu Longqing and Lu Mingrong had brought to the Library of Heaven’s Path and helplessly shook his head.
The Divine Soul Realm was already the most difficult boundary within the Ninefold Source Pool to cross, and with too few cultivation methods available, even with the orderly Heavenly Mandate, he couldn’t deduce the most suitable secret manual for himself.
It seemed imperative to seek more cultivation methods!
But in Baiyan City, the only significant collections of Divine Soul Realm secret manuals were in the School and the City Lord Residence. Even if families like the Mo Family, Liu Clan, and Wang clan could produce a few, their total would not exceed 50, still a drop in the bucket for him.
“Forget about practicing for now, let’s check on Sun Qiang first!”
Thinking this, he left his room and went to where Sun Qiang was practicing in the courtyard.
“Young Master!” Sun Qiang hurriedly stood up.
“Hmm, breaking through the Accumulative Phase so quickly and entering the Physique Realm, not bad…”
Zhang Xuan nodded, satisfied, then flicked his finger and two thousand strands of Heavenly Mandate Vitality entered his “Source Pool”: “Last time I forged a space for you, due to the insufficient Heavenly Mandate Vitality, it wasn’t fully consolidated, now it should be enough!”
These ‘Celestial Gods’ did not possess a Source Pool of their own, so to assist the other in cultivation, Zhang Xuan had specially created a small space within Sun Qiang’s body to act as a substitute for the Source Pool.
A space is a space, albeit not very large. The thousand strands of Heavenly Mandate Vitality absorbed last time were still not enough; now, with the strength infusion, three thousand strands of Yuan Power turned into a gigantic pillar, finally solidifying the space completely.
After doing that, Zhang Xuan handed over the methods he had written for the Muscle and Bone Realm, Viscera Realm, and Jade Bone Realm to Sun Qiang, again pointing his finger, and several strands of Heaven’s Path zhenqi flowed through Sun Qiang’s meridians into his body.
“Your meridians are still not quite adapted. If you struggle to break through during cultivation, mobilize my zhenqi to clear them…”
Zhang Xuan instructed.
With numerous crises in the Source World, to ensure that this steward could better assist him, it was essential to quickly increase his cultivation level. Clearing them with Heaven’s Path zhenqi was the best choice.
“Thank you, Young Master…” Sun Qiang was filled with excitement.
“Continue your cultivation!”
Without further ado, Zhang Xuan returned to his room, and the next moment, he had already appeared in the Suspended Realm.
Previously lacking in Heavenly Mandate Vitality, the Source Pools he opened for Nie Lingxi and others were only frameworks, not fully solidified. Now, with no shortage at the moment, it was the perfect opportunity to thoroughly solidify them, allowing for faster and better cultivation.
Not long after Zhang Xuan disappeared from the room, under the moonlit night, a chilly breeze blew by, and instantly, the small courtyard was enveloped in cold air. A faint shadow suddenly appeared.
“Zhang Xuan and that plump man, you are both going to die…”
Ling Buyang’s Dharma Form coldly hummed and glanced around.
The arrogant plump man, who had previously slighted him, was currently not far away cultivating, quickly forging the pure Origin qi into his meridians, flowing into his dantian.
“Hmm? Zhang Xuan is not here?”
After a brief survey, Ling Buyang frowned: “Consider today lucky. But first, let’s kill this fellow as a down payment!”
His gaze fixed on Sun Qiang, the Fate Master no longer wasted words. With a slight flicker, the enormous Dharma Form plunged into Sun Qiang’s corpulent body.
He had just confirmed again that this man’s cultivation had increased a bit, but it was still only at the initial stage of the Physique Realm. Such cultivation was nothing to him, nearly akin to picking a piece of food from his teeth; killing him would be easy.
At this moment, Sun Qiang felt dazed, as if he were in a dream, standing atop a mountain of gold, facing endless Origin Currency to spend. Just as he was about to splurge, a cold voice abruptly echoed in his mind.
“Fat man, dare to threaten me, today is your day of death…”
“Ah…”
Sun Qiang was stunned, and then he saw Ling Buyang’s tall frame, full of immense oppressive power, tearing towards him.
“Ling Buyang, you actually launched a sneak attack, you have no honor in martial arts… if you dare, let’s fight a real battle with real weapons…” Sun Qiang bellowed.
“Fight you? Are you worthy?”
Ling Buyang scoffed, his palm reaching out towards the fat man in front of him. Suddenly, he saw a massive object, as big as a mountain, smashing down towards him.
“This is… a Source Pool? How can there be such a huge Source Pool in the world?”
Ling Buyang was startled.
In the talented Zhou Yi Dynasty, he could be considered a genius, hence he was qualified to practice Mo Dao Destiny and become a true Fate Master. Even so, his Source Pool was only the size of a ping-pong ball, while the other’s… was like a mountain range!
Could it be… a First-grade Yuan Pool? No, a first-grade couldn’t be this large, it must be Saint-tier, absolutely Saint-tier, maybe even beyond!
Superb talent of the Holly-grade Source Pool, but just a subordinate…
Is it true?
Fear appeared in Ling Buyang’s eyes, he had initially thought that even if the other person was from a noble family, he should not be too strong, killing him quietly would not cause too much trouble.
But now, seeing how formidable a mere subordinate was, his thoughts wavered.
“Escape…”
His pupils constricted, no longer daring to make a move, he turned to leave.
Just then, several strands of zhenqi suddenly appeared before him, carrying the oppressive power of the Heavenly Dao, like a dragon descending from the nine heavens.
“What is this?”
Ling Buyang was stunned again, and then he started screaming in agony, “Ah, no, don’t, I surrender, I give up, I was wrong…”
The cries gradually diminished, the dragon in the sky shredded his soul into several pieces in a blink of an eye and gulped them down, seemingly still unsatisfied.
“Ah…”
Sun Qiang suddenly came to his senses, opened his eyes, and realized he was still sitting in the courtyard, his body completely drenched in sweat.
“Was this a dream?”
He looked around and found himself still practicing. Sun Qiang was slightly bewildered, but this confusion did not last long. He suddenly felt as if he had taken a potent tonic, the several strands of zhenqi left by his master in his body were quickly releasing a gentle and comfortable aura, nourishing his soul and helping to enhance his cultivation.
Sizzle!
Within a mere dozen breaths, he broke through the shackles of the Physique Realm, advancing to the Muscle Membrane Realm.
Half an hour later, the strength within him was completely dissipated. At this moment, his strength lingering and his soul power strong, he had surprisingly broken through the barriers of the Jade Bone Realm, reaching the Spirit Soul Realm, Eightfold Realm of Source Pool!
“This…”
Sun Qiang blinked.
When did cultivation become so simple?
“It seems… it’s not a dream, it’s real!”
Finally realizing, Sun Qiang swallowed his saliva, “Did I not only kill a Fate Master but also forge his soul?”
Such a scenario could only mean one thing… he had not only killed that expert in the Dharma Form Realm, Ling Buyang, but had also devoured his soul completely!
Dharma Form Realm, Ninefold Source Pool, his entire cultivation was within his soul, which he had consumed, akin to receiving a direct infusion of power in martial arts…
It was no wonder he was advancing so quickly.
“I am in the Divine Soul Realm now, and my master hasn’t reached it yet, heh heh!”
Realizing something, Sun Qiang smiled.
When his master sees his rapid progress, he will definitely be astonished, yes, maybe I’ll challenge him to a duel and shock him…
Liu Clan.
“Lord Xu Xin, you must put in good words for me regarding Lord Ling’s return this time, our Liu Clan has truly put forth our best efforts in supporting him…”
Liu Tianzheng bowed with folded hands.
“Don’t worry, after this incident, my status will certainly rise, and by then, your Liu Clan will undoubtedly skyrocket and become the largest family in Baiyan City!”
Xu Xin raised his eyelids.
“Thank you, Lord Xu…”
Liu Tianzheng breathed a sigh of relief.
Liu Mingyue, that girl, just wouldn’t listen. Now that your teacher is dead, you should return, right! I’ll make you understand that not listening to the old will suffer losses right before your eyes!
“You’re welcome… what? How could this be?”
Suddenly, Xu Xin’s voice rang out, filled with alarm.
“Lord Xu, what’s wrong?”
Seeing his unusual tone, Liu Tianzheng looked over with confusion.
Xu Xin’s trembling hand pointed forward, “The Soul Returning Incense… it’s extinguished!”
Liu Tianzheng quickly looked over and indeed saw that the Soul Returning Incense lit by Lord Ling just before leaving had extinguished unexpectedly, and his body, sitting upright in the middle of the formation, was motionless and had already stopped breathing.
“Lord Ling, he… he’s dead?”
As his pupils shrank, Liu Tianzheng felt as if he had fallen into an ice pit.