Jingzhou, Inner Layer World.
After enduring the ravages of various factions, the ecological environment had become an absolute mess.
In the southwest, all the vegetation was covered with eyeballs. In the north, white bones had piled up into mountains. In the east, corpse oil constantly bubbled up from the ditches.
All these strange phenomena originated from the invisible influence of various techniques on the Inner Layer World.
As the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage drew nearer, the various factions became increasingly frenzied, even committing inexplicable acts that harmed others without benefiting themselves.
They seemed to have no logic at all, but how many cultivators actually cared about logic? They were all lunatics.
Xiao San'er and Zhou Wu had descended into the Inner Layer World together, and more than half a month had unknowingly passed.
The two of them were collecting Gu in a relatively remote region of Jingzhou. They had no intention of plucking a tooth from the tiger's mouth by provoking the various factions.
On one hand, Xiao San'er was helping his elder brother Zhou Wu obtain Blood Crystals in preparation for advancing to the Yin Difference realm. On the other, he wanted to come into contact with more Weird Objects and find a way to improve the Weird Embryo Artifact.
The Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators in the Inner Layer World had already formed a considerable force. They communicated with one another and could transmit information through the Immortal Key.
The two suspected that the factions of the Deeper Layer World were secretly stirring up trouble in the Inner Layer World, trying to encourage more cultivators to take the risk of ascending.
Such an obvious scheme was surprisingly effective against this group of lunatics.
Many cultivators appeared calm and composed on the surface, but deep down they were thorough opportunists who acted in extreme ways.
Moreover, most of the cultivators who came to Jingzhou seeking opportunities had already been stuck at their bottlenecks for hundreds of years. If they could not break through soon, their chances would only become slimmer with the passage of time.
Xiao San'er sighed. According to the information received through the Immortal Key, some factions had begun slaughtering one another simply to obtain an opportunity to ascend.
In a few more days, killing might become the dominant theme of the Inner Layer World.
Fortunately, none of this concerned them. Xiao San'er knew exactly how much he was capable of.
Although he had luckily advanced to the Yin Difference realm, all his abilities lay in artifact refinement. Even his techniques were designed to support artifact refinement, so he was genuinely weak when it came to fighting enemies.
The cicadas continued chirping in the mountain forest, with Gu mixed among them.
Distinguishing Gu was no easy matter, but for the two of them, they had long since become proficient at it.
Xiao San'er had already deployed magical artifacts throughout the mountain forest, so there was no need to worry about unfamiliar cultivators approaching. He therefore chatted idly with Zhou Wu.
Zhou Wu was only a few years older than Xiao San'er, but their appearances were completely different.
Xiao San'er still looked to be in his early twenties, whereas Zhou Wu's temples had already turned white, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes revealed a profound air of weathering.
As they chatted, the conversation eventually turned to the difficulties faced by the Restraint Officers' Hall in the Inner Layer World.
Even though most of the Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators had already ascended to the Deeper Layer World, while the remaining Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators were also hurriedly preparing to ascend and had not shown themselves for a long time.
The Restraint Officers' Hall was still being driven back step by step by the Yang Spirit realm cultivators stationed in the Inner Layer World.
The cultivators who accepted missions outside varied greatly in strength. They could not display the overwhelming momentum they had shown in the Surface Layer World, so naturally the Heavenly Court was looked down upon.
Some factions even regarded the Heavenly Court as a complete joke and paid no attention to the rumors at all.
Zhou Wu asked worriedly, "San'er, quite a few fellow cultivators have died, haven't they?"
"Actually, the casualties aren't that high. But I've heard that one faction deliberately imprisoned dozens of cultivators to force the Heavenly Court to act. We don't know what happened to them."
"Do you know where they are being held?"
Zhou Wu was somewhat worried. Among the cultivators who had descended into the Inner Layer World, quite a few were acquaintances of his, and they all had wives and children waiting for them at home.
Xiao San'er could not help complaining, "Brother, stop worrying about that. If you can't advance to the Yin Difference realm within a hundred years, breaking through your bottleneck afterward will become extremely difficult."
Seeing the anxious expression on his younger brother's face, Zhou Wu could only smile bitterly.
He did not care in the slightest whether he could advance to the Yin Difference realm. He had already lived beyond the age he had originally expected, and it was easy enough to foresee the day when his body and Dao would perish.
Even if he died, Zhou Wu had no intention of transforming into a zombie. An immortal lifespan was not necessarily a good thing. It was more like a curse.
But thinking that his death would indeed be somewhat cruel to Xiao San'er, he nodded and said, "All right. I should at least give it a try."
"Yes. There definitely won't be a problem."
Xiao San'er smiled. Among the body-martial cultivators of Longevity Village back then, Zhou Wu could actually be considered one of the outstanding ones.
It was just that Zhou Wu's ambition was neither high nor low, and he had always treated cultivation with a laissez-faire attitude. As a result, his progress gradually fell behind.
After receiving Zhou Wu's answer, Xiao San'er felt much more at ease.
Xiao San'er held a magical artifact and performed the Sightless Technique, while Zhou Wu cooperated with nimble and agile movements. Their efficiency in capturing Gu was extremely high.
Now that Dream City had been perfected by Ren Qing, it had become much more user-friendly.
Normally, if a Weird Object had never been recorded by the Great Dream Weird Dao, the Blood Crystals it was worth generally ranged from five to ten times the normal value.
The two chose to sell unique Gu to the Great Dream Weird Dao, while using duplicate varieties for artifact refinement.
Jingzhou truly was a treasure trove where gold could be found everywhere. Not to mention Weird Objects, even some ordinary plants were being frantically purchased by Dream City.
After working for several days, the Blood Crystals they earned were even greater than what they could make through alchemy and artifact refinement.
However, the area of the mountain forest was ultimately limited, and the Gu could easily be completely harvested. Xiao San'er thought it was about time to change locations.
Just as they were preparing to leave, their footsteps suddenly stopped.
The Immortal Key hanging against their chests emitted waves of warm light, then transmitted some information to them. It was clearly an order to assemble.
The condition for the Immortal Key to issue orders was that one first had to possess an immortal office.
Xiao San'er possessed the Ghost Immortal Office, so the one who could transmit an order to him had to be the Human Immortal Office.
Xiao San'er behaved unusually and immediately turned around. "Let's go. We'll take a look first."
Zhou Wu asked in confusion, "The gathering point should be the faction imprisoning our fellow cultivators, right? Are the seniors planning to make a move?"
"I'm not sure, but we definitely can't miss it. We might even get a share of the spoils."
As Xiao San'er spoke, he took out a disc-shaped magical artifact. The two quickly stepped onto it and transformed into a streak of afterimage flying toward their destination.
At that moment, all the Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators in the Inner Layer World followed the information in the order and gathered toward the destination.
What had actually attracted the Restraint Officers' Hall in such numbers was a valley wrapped in thorns.
More than a dozen cultivators wore Daoist robes in the style of the Heavenly Court. They were bound by thorns and hung upside down in midair, with blood continuously dripping down.
Apart from them, there were also several hundred rogue cultivators. Their flesh was already covered in blood and wounds, and their mental states were on the verge of collapse.
The faction that controlled the valley was called the Temple of Suffering.
It appeared to be a Buddhist faction, but the techniques it possessed were more closely related to the Daoist tradition. Even so, its members dressed awkwardly like Buddhist monks.
The head of the Temple of Suffering in every generation was given the Dharma name Suffering Monk, while the disciples were called Suffering Disciples.
Although there was no Heavenly Aberration realm cultivator stationed there, they possessed quite a few Yang Spirit realm cultivators, a total of seven.
They not only dressed as monks, but also bound thorns around their joints. Every movement produced indescribable agony.
Their backs were covered in countless scars caused by whipping.
Suffering Monk appeared to be seventy or eighty years old. He had white hair but no beard, and he clutched a string of lumps of iron in his hand. Sharp barbs pierced his palms, causing fresh blood to flow continuously.
The technique of the Temple of Suffering, Crossing Suffering, was extremely unusual. Its creator had indeed originated from Buddhism, and it could assist cultivation by absorbing the suffering of others.
Every morning, they tortured one another during their morning lessons. At night, they tortured the cultivators they had imprisoned.
At first, the Temple of Suffering did not dare offend the Heavenly Court. According to rumors that had circulated for a long time, the Heavenly Court had more than one or two Heavenly Aberration realm cultivators under its command.
But after making contact with them, they discovered that the Heavenly Court did not seem nearly as terrifying as they had imagined.
Suffering Monk decisively captured dozens of Heavenly Court cultivators, hoping to use them to cultivate his technique. He had not expected things to go against his wishes.
He squeezed the lumps of iron hard, and the pain caused an expression of enjoyment to appear on his face.
What Suffering Monk enjoyed most was the howling that echoed through the valley. The vigorous vitality of the rogue cultivators ensured that they could be tortured over and over again.
Yet the Heavenly Court cultivators showed no reaction whatsoever. Every one of them wore an absent-minded expression, as though their minds were wandering beyond the heavens.
It was not that they were immune to torture. They had long since transferred their souls into Dream City, so they could not feel anything happening to their bodies.
Even if Suffering Monk became enraged and killed them, their souls could still travel to the Yellow Springs. Becoming Ghosts afterward was still better than having their bones buried in a foreign land.
Moreover, the higher-ups of the Restraint Officers' Hall had already explicitly stated that they would come to exterminate the Temple of Suffering.
The disc-shaped magical artifact silently stopped beside the valley. Xiao San'er and Zhou Wu chose to wait there while also setting up some sealing formations.
Before long, dozens of people arrived one after another, immediately joining in the construction of the formations.
Gu Immortal did not possess an Immortal Key, but Han Li had informed him to go to the valley.
He deliberately arrived more than half an hour late. Only after seeing that the situation was relatively safe did he reveal himself and join in constructing the defensive line.
By the time the formation had begun to take shape, Suffering Monk had already noticed the Heavenly Court cultivators outside the valley.
However, the missions issued by Ren Qing did not restrict cultivation levels at all, resulting in even Half-Corpse realm cultivators participating. The scene appeared extremely absurd.
No one would believe that the Heavenly Court, whose reputation had become so prominent, was actually composed of a bunch of weaklings.
Suffering Monk was filled with disdain and had no intention of attacking. He planned to fish out the big fish behind the Heavenly Court first.
What he did not know was that once Xiao San'er and the others began setting up the formation, the defensive system that the Restraint Officers' Hall was best at had already taken shape.
Even with only a handful of Yin Difference realm cultivators and several dozen Ghost Envoy realm cultivators, they could withstand the firepower of Yang Spirit realm cultivators and even counterattack.
The Restraint Officers' Hall had another advantage. It could continuously replenish supplies through Dream City. When it came to prolonged warfare, no faction could compare with it.
Suffering Monk waited for a while and gradually realized that something was wrong.
Under the arrangements of Xiao San'er, the chief artifact refiner of the Restraint Officers' Hall, the defensive line outside the valley had already begun closing in like a cage. Large numbers of metal pillars stood in strange and mysterious formations throughout the area.
A faint mist enveloped the surroundings, and birds and beasts fled in all directions as though competing with one another.
Darkness had already enveloped the valley, leaving only the faint light produced by burning flames.
Suffering Monk's expression turned livid. The situation had developed beyond his expectations. If he did not take remedial action now, the formation might truly become established.
"Go cut off the Heavenly Soldiers' heads and refine them into Thorn Puppets. Then release them."
"Yes, Master."
The Suffering Disciples immediately agreed and hurried toward the center of the valley where the cultivators hung upside down. The foul smell of blood assaulted their senses.
Their expressions were filled with greed. They could feel their technique becoming more active.
The rogue cultivators trembled with fear, terrified that the Suffering Disciples would begin another round of torture. The whipping artifacts could amplify pain by more than a hundredfold.
The thorns binding them had already pierced deeply into their flesh, preventing their wounds from healing.
If one sensed their souls, one would discover that the souls of the rogue cultivators were unconsciously radiating an aura resembling blood-red mist.
As the cultivators of the Temple of Suffering breathed, the mist would automatically enter through their mouths and noses.
The dozens of Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators were all positioned toward the outer perimeter. The Suffering Disciples looked at them with intense disgust.
They showed not even the slightest reaction to pain. How could there be such freaks in this world?
The Suffering Disciples first verified their number. There were fifty-six Heavenly Soldiers in total. Their cultivation levels were generally low, making it difficult to imagine that they had come to the deeper levels of Jingzhou.
"Bring them all down. Remember, keep their bodies intact."
The senior Suffering Disciple examined them and then praised them. "Heavenly Soldiers really are excellent materials for refining Thorn Puppets. Their bodies have reached such a degree of mutation without losing control. That means their potential is limitless!"
"Uh, Senior Brother Bonan, could it be that the Heavenly Court has a high-level cultivator guiding them..."
"Shut up."
Bonan's expression turned cold. If Suffering Monk heard such words, the consequences would not be limited to whipping. They might even be forced to swallow several kilograms of iron lumps.
The pain of the flesh was nothing. The sensation of one's internal organs being twisted was what truly made life worse than death. In the end, even most of their cultivation would be ruined.
The other Suffering Disciples did not dare say another word. They hurriedly fetched iron rods and hooked the Heavenly Soldiers down.
One Heavenly Soldier after another was piled in the open space, scattered as casually as corpses in a mass grave. Carrion-eating maggots crawled all over their bodies.
"Senior Brother, the number is wrong."
After hearing this, Bonan asked, "What's wrong with the number?"
"Senior Brother, weren't there fifty-six bodies in total? We've already taken them all down, but it seems one person is still hanging there..."
He pointed upward.
Above the thorn-covered valley, a tall figure could vaguely be seen. It seemed to be watching its surroundings.
Bonan frowned and narrowed his eyes as he stared at the figure.
A sense of terror arose in his heart. He could not help retreating several steps, because the figure seemed to possess six thick arms.
"What the hell?"
Bonan blinked, but the figure suddenly disappeared.
The next instant, several Suffering Disciples were sent flying. A half-meter-wide crater appeared in the ground, and a man resembling a demon god slowly walked over.
Six arms and six eyes. Nearly three meters tall. Orange-red flames burned across his entire body. They were not the slightest bit hot, yet they made one's heart tremble with fear.
"I haven't appeared in the world for a long time. This is a good opportunity to stretch my muscles."
"What sort of insignificant fool are you?"
"The Heavenly Court."
Song Zongwu opened his mouth and forced several words through his teeth. "Fire Division, Star Lord Fire Virtue."
He vanished from where he stood and pressed a finger against Bonan's forehead.
The latter seemed to have been struck head-on by a battering ram. His mind went completely blank before he sank into endless darkness.
In the eyes of the others, Bonan's head instantly separated from his neck and smashed several people to death.
Song Zongwu moved back and forth across the battlefield. The ground was littered with the mutilated corpses of Suffering Disciples, yet not a single drop of blood stained his Daoist robes.
His expression was exhilarated as he unleashed the aura of his technique without the slightest concealment.
Counting the time he had spent inside the Stomach World, he had probably not fought for a hundred years. Every day, he had suppressed the injuries to his body and soul.
Being entangled by Karmic Fire was more terrifying than he had imagined. His body and soul were constantly at risk of mutation.
If not for Ren Qing's ability to transfer Karmic Fire, Song Zongwu estimated that he would have needed at least several hundred years of experimentation before he could barely suppress the drawbacks caused by Karmic Fire through the power of his immortal office.
After more than a decade of secluded cultivation, Song Zongwu had finally managed to maintain a balance with the Karmic Fire, preventing it from restricting his movements during battle.
He used the Immortal Key to transfer the severely injured Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators into the Stomach World.
"Quite a Star Lord Fire Virtue. Quite a Heavenly Court."
Suffering Monk's tone revealed neither anger nor joy. He directly plunged his arm into his chest and squeezed his heart, causing his qi and blood to surge violently.
In the center of the valley, which was filled with rogue cultivators, more than a dozen arms emerged from the ground.
One withered old man after another crawled out. All of them possessed Yang Spirit realm cultivation. Crimson ants covered their flesh inside and out, allowing them to experience unimaginable pain in both body and soul simultaneously.
"Wugou, why haven't you ascended yet?"
"Didn't we say before that you should not awaken us until we went to the deeper levels of Jingzhou?"
"Wugou, is it really necessary just for a cultivator who hasn't even reached the Immortal Wanderer realm?"
They were all elders of the Temple of Suffering. They had barely survived while searching for an opportunity to break through, but generation after generation had failed to find even the slightest hope.
Now their lifespans were already exhausted, and every awakening came at a considerable price.
This showed just how wary Suffering Monk was of Song Zongwu. Song Zongwu gave him a feeling that was fundamentally unlike someone of the same realm, which was why he had resorted to such a desperate measure.
Several Yang Spirit realm auras erupted. The Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators inside the defensive line naturally sensed them.
Gu Immortal became extremely vigilant, and the Gu inside his body writhed continuously in fear.
Yet when he looked at the surrounding cultivators, they all appeared completely unconcerned, as though they were not worried in the slightest that Song Zongwu might die here.
Boom!!!
The valley shook violently, sinking by at least a dozen meters and causing air to rush inward.
Song Zongwu's muscles tensed. He leaped into the air with both legs and grinned ferociously as he drove a heavy punch into Suffering Monk's abdomen.
Suffering Monk made no attempt to resist. He even deliberately spread his arms open.
He admitted that Song Zongwu's strength was far beyond that of an ordinary cultivator, which was why he had awakened the elders to reinforce him. However, his own technique would definitely make his opponent suffer a heavy loss.
Crossing Suffering could transfer the pain suffered by Suffering Monk to Song Zongwu.
Suffering Monk believed that Song Zongwu could not possibly kill him with a single strike. However, the pain reflected back to him would certainly make it difficult for him to move.
The moment the fist touched Suffering Monk, his internal organs tore apart, his blood vessels ruptured, and blood uncontrollably gushed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.
He had pushed Crossing Suffering to its limit and inflicted it upon the motionless Song Zongwu.
Yet Suffering Monk discovered that Song Zongwu merely raised an eyebrow. There was no other reaction whatsoever, as if he could not feel pain.
"How is this possible..."
"You probably don't know what it feels like to be entangled by Karmic Fire, do you?"
"I've been tortured by it for nearly a hundred years."
Suffering Monk's pupils widened.
The strange flames burning around Song Zongwu's fist burrowed directly into the flesh and bones the instant they touched his skin.
He let out a hysterical scream. Then his body actually became completely numb, while his three souls and seven spirits were gradually annihilated.
Right before the elders' eyes, Suffering Monk's soul scattered and he died.
The exchange between the two had lasted only a few breaths. From the outside, it looked as though Suffering Monk had deliberately presented his chest and abdomen to meet the attack, after which nothing else happened.
The Suffering Disciples looked intoxicated. The pain Suffering Monk had endured before his death was simply too intense, and they benefited tremendously from it.
The Grand Elder said coldly, "All of you, go tear apart the defensive line. Otherwise, prepare yourselves to swallow iron lumps."
The Suffering Disciples did not dare delay and rushed toward the formation.
The Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators were already prepared. Relying on the advantages of the terrain and formations, they engaged the incoming Suffering Disciples.
Boom, boom, boom...
Song Zongwu plunged downward and became entangled in battle with the six elders.
The Truth-Listening Technique granted him unparalleled perception. Combined with its enhancement of his body, it allowed him to temporarily display the power of a perfected Yang Spirit realm cultivator.
The Asura Dharma emphasized physical strength, relying on overwhelming force to break through all techniques.
Although the Buddhist techniques had already been erased, invisible remnants remained because of the Karmic Fire, becoming his third technique.
In terms of combat strength, Song Zongwu was unquestionably number one among all the Yang Spirit realm cultivators of the Restraint Officers' Hall.
Gu Immortal's lips moved slightly. He had now truly seen the Heavenly Court's foundations.
The Heavenly Soldiers remained completely at ease even while facing enemies several times their number, while Star Lord Fire Virtue was single-handedly crushing seven cultivators of the same realm.
"Star Lord Fire Virtue, the Temple of Suffering never intended to become your enemy..."
Crack, crack, crack.
Song Zongwu directly twisted off the neck of the elder who had spoken. He kicked the head like a ball, while his remaining arms effortlessly caught attacks coming from every direction.
It was not that he had no weaknesses. In fact, because of his techniques, his entire body was full of weaknesses.
The most terrifying aspect of Song Zongwu was that he could use those weaknesses to lure his opponents into attacking. His six arms formed an impenetrable web.
As the battle continued, the enemies became increasingly hesitant.
The Grand Elder swung his thorn whip, but his expression had become dull and rigid. Another headless corpse had collapsed beside him.
"Don't kill..."
Before he could finish speaking, Song Zongwu's hand had already seized his neck.
Every Yang Spirit realm cultivator of the Temple of Suffering had already become a corpse. They had all died in exactly the same miserable manner.
"Your techniques are quite good. There is definitely an immortal office cultivator in the Heavenly Court who will like them."
Song Zongwu laughed softly and threw the Grand Elder into the Stomach World's underworld, where he was subsequently imprisoned in the third-floor cells.
To prevent any techniques from being lost, he selected several Suffering Disciples at the Yin Difference realm. The rest were handed over to the Restraint Officers' Hall cultivators to deal with.
The cultivators surged into the valley like wolves and tigers. Resources from the Yang Spirit realm were already exceedingly precious.
Xiao San'er had no intention of fighting over them. He came to Song Zongwu's side and asked, "Senior Song, will you be stationed in the Inner Layer World of Jingzhou from now on?"
Song Zongwu remained tense, his six eyes solemn as he stood at the high point of the valley.
When he did not receive a response for a long time, Xiao San'er followed his gaze.
Within the clouds, he could vaguely see a shadow drifting up and down.
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. They really think we're easy prey."
A huge creature, flat like a manta ray, revealed itself. It was clearly the transformation of a Heavenly Aberration realm cultivator, and its body had already exceeded five hundred meters.
The cultivators in the valley were dumbstruck.
Song Zongwu, however, showed a look of regret.
"What a pity. I should have used the Yang Spirit realm cultivators of the various factions to practice first. Only after my essence, energy, and spirit reach their peak will I have a sliver of confidence against a Heavenly Aberration realm cultivator."
"Now... I don't have the slightest chance of winning."
Song Zongwu closed his eyes and communicated with someone. His thoughts traveled directly to Ren Qing in the Deeper Layer World.
After traveling for a long time, Ren Qing and the other three finally approached the location of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pilgrimage. Not far away, they could see a crystal-clear lake.
Seeing Ren Qing stop, Pig Daoist could not help asking, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
Ren Qing continued walking as though nothing had happened. However, the Ghost Shadow beneath his feet detached a small portion of its body and traveled from the Stomach World into the Inner Layer World of Jingzhou.
The manta ray cultivator shouted arrogantly, "The Dragon King of the Four Seas has appeared!"
"I want to see the inheritance of the ancient immortals and gods!"
A low roar came from above, and an even more enormous shadow enveloped the manta ray cultivator.
Yinglong stared at him coldly, displaying an incomparably imposing aura. The tenfold difference in size alone made it obvious that the manta ray cultivator could not possibly contend with him.
The dragon's head opened its enormous maw and swallowed the manta ray cultivator in a single bite.