Shen Wutian's Plan

[Help him? Even your Eye of Insight couldn't see through Shen Wutian's realm. How could someone of your power help such a strong cultivator break through?]

[Just then, Shen Wutian's sinister laughter echoed.]

[Then he said: "The Shinto, finally I've met someone who has cultivated the Shinto."]

[Hearing this, you frowned, thinking that the elders' assessment must have been a trap all along.]

[Was it because you practiced Shinto and were seen through by Shen Wutian's clone puppet, Shen Wuyou, that you were brought here?]

[Was their purpose to use your unique Shinto practice to help Shen Wutian break through?]

[Your guess was only half right. It was indeed because of your Shinto practice that Shen Wuyou chose you.]

[But you didn't know that you originally came here just for the elders' assessment.]

[This assessment itself was also Shen Wutian's way of checking for Shinto practitioners.]

[It wasn't just you - all others who participated in the elders' assessment were treated the same way.]

[If participants didn't practice Shinto, they would be marked with a seal, allowing Shen Wutian to control them when needed.]

[And once someone who practiced Shinto was found, Shen Wutian's plan would succeed.]

[What Shen Wutian hadn't told you was that he had obtained an ancient evil art in this ancient relic.]

[His current cultivation strength was thanks to this evil art.]

[But until now, he hadn't completely mastered it.]

[To truly practice it, he needed to use a real Shinto cultivator's Nascent Soul as a guide to remake himself.]

[So initially, Shen Wutian didn't know you practiced Shinto!]

[It was only after you entered the side hall that he discovered you were practicing the ancient Shinto.]

[At that moment, Shen Wutian was ecstatic.]

[After hundreds of thousands of years of planning, he had finally found someone who truly practiced the way of God. He was about to perfect his evil skills.]

[This was why he had talked to you so patiently - he was simply too excited.]

[He finally saw hope of escaping the fairy world powers' control.]

[While you were still thinking, you saw Shen Wutian muttering something.]

[After his muttering, people began rushing into the side hall one after another.]

[Time passed slowly. After half an hour, the side hall was full, with crowds even spilling outside.]

[You couldn't count how many people had gathered. You roughly estimated at least hundreds of thousands.]

[More importantly, each person had strength above the fifth level of tribulation.]

[This again shocked you - such was the might of the Xianlin Sect headquarters.]

[So many masters hidden here.]

[Just a few of them could have wiped out all the local immortal cultivators in the southern region long ago!]

[However, you knew this wasn't the time to dwell on such thoughts.]

[You needed to know what exactly Shen Wutian planned to do.]

[You had only suspected Shen Wutian meant you harm - not knowing he practiced evil methods, you couldn't guess his intentions.]

[Soon, there was no need to guess anymore.]

[The scene before you was shocking enough.]

[You watched as these masters above the fifth level of tribulation began committing suicide one by one.]

[After they died, their souls and blood gathered toward Shen Wutian.]

[At this moment, Shen Wutian looked at you with a smile, asking whether you would do it yourself or have him do it.]

[By now, even if you were stupid, you had figured some things out.]

[This must be what Shen Wutian called breaking through.]

[However, his breakthrough required not just your death, but the deaths of tens or hundreds of thousands of masters above the fifth level of Tribulation - all becoming nutrients for his breakthrough.]

[Now you understood why the Xianlin Sect headquarters hadn't sent masters to suppress the local immortal cultivators in the southern region.]

[Because these masters were all needed for Shen Wutian's practice.]

[In this ancient land, so many Tribulation masters could go unnoticed, but if released, the powers in the sky would likely not allow Shen Wutian to continue his schemes.]

[When Shen Wutian saw you weren't responding, he no longer hesitated and moved to capture you directly.]

[You felt your soul and flesh being pulled apart.]

[After a long time, you gradually lost consciousness.]

[Your one-time talent "Substitute Doll" activated.]

[Your form in Shen Wutian's grasp disappeared, replaced by a rag doll!]

[Looking at the rag doll in his hand, Shen Wutian's face turned stern with fury.]

[However, he didn't stop his actions. Though you escaped with the substitute doll, he still obtained some of your Shinto blood and soul!]

[He would try to use this small amount of Shinto essence.]

...

[In the fifty-third year, you slowly awakened.]

[You didn't know how long you'd been unconscious, nor where you were.]

[But you knew you must have escaped from Shen Wutian.]

[When the substitute doll activated at the end, you had felt something.]

[You rubbed your heavy head and began checking your situation.]

[You found yourself in a simple wooden house. Its owner seemed not to be wealthy.]

[You thought you might have been rescued by someone kind-hearted while unconscious.]

[Before you could think further, a simple and honest boy came in from outside.]

[Seeing you awake, he was overjoyed!]

[After asking questions, you gained a general understanding of the situation.]

[This boy was called Liang Dahu, a young hunter.]

[He had found you unconscious in the wilderness and carried you back.]

[According to Dahu, you had been unconscious for half a year.]

[During this time, he and his younger sister had taken turns caring for you.]

[For this, you were naturally grateful.]

[Afterward, you also asked where this place was.]

[Dahu told you this was Qingliang Mountain, territory of the Cangyun Sect.]

[You were confused hearing this. What was the Cangyun Sect? You had never heard of it before.]

[Suddenly, you thought of something, and your eyes lit up!]

[You thought perhaps you had turned disaster into fortune and escaped the South Territory.]

[The more you considered it, the more likely it seemed.]

[After all, Dahu appeared to be an ordinary person, yet could freely speak the sect's name. This would be impossible in the South Territory.]

[In the South Territory, ordinary people who knew about immortal cultivators would be killed by the Xianlin Sect's immortal slaves.]