Chapter 120: Cleaving the Dao Sect with a Single Blade

Beiluo, Lakeheart Island.

Ni Yu's cloth pouch bulged at her waist as she hummed a light-hearted tune, cheerfully preparing green plum wine for Lu Fan. From time to time, she plucked a sugar-coated Qi-Gathering Pill from her pouch and popped it into her mouth with satisfaction. So long as the pouch remained full, her heart remained untroubled.

Lu Fan paid no attention to the Spirit Pressure chessboard. The Longmen Secret Realm had now been activated—more refined, more complete than the initial Wolong Ridge Secret Realm. As these cultivators grew, so too did Lu Fan. If the Wolong Ridge had merely been a trial run, then the Longmen Secret Realm was the evolution born from its lessons. The Eight Dragon Gates—each one an enhanced version of the Wolong Ridge—were distributed across the Great Zhou, granting more people the opportunity to condense and gather Qi.

Even Bawang's elite troops could cultivate by slaying the terracotta soldiers and refining their essence into Qi, from which Lu Fan could draw spiritual returns. Moreover, the spiritual energy released upon the death of these soldiers would nourish the dragon seeds within the gates, hastening their maturation.

But this was merely the beginning.

The second purpose of the new secret realm was to aid cultivators like Bawang, who had reached the bottleneck of the Qi Pill Realm, in breaking through. The resulting spiritual storm triggered by advancing to the Body-Hidden Realm was the true reason Lu Fan combined the dragon breeding grounds with the secret realm. Such storms could accelerate the evolution of the dragon seeds into true celestial dragons.

Thus, Lu Fan divided the Longmen Secret Realm into three stages. The first involved ninety-nine terracotta soldiers designed to forge entry-level cultivators. The second was a palace atop a floating island, guarded by two pinnacle Qi Pill manifestations formed from condensed mist, meant to pressure experts like Bawang into breaking through. Here, pill rewards were also available—beyond the common Qi-Gathering Pills Ni Yu popped like candy, Lu Fan had refined "Body-Forming Pills" based on the Dao Altar, crafted for those unable to surpass the Body-Hidden barrier.

For cultivators with potential, however, Lu Fan preferred they refrain from using pills. Hence, he constructed a third stage. If the twin guardians could not induce a breakthrough... then the slumbering Dungeon Overlord within the grand palace would await them.

…

South Prefecture, Great Marsh.

Tang Xiansheng dared not enter the Longmen Secret Realm himself—he feared death. Instead, he dispatched his eldest son Tang Baiyun and Tang Yimo to lead five thousand soldiers into the realm.

Though Tang Yimo had obtained immortal fate, this was his first time entering a secret realm—just like a maiden ascending her bridal sedan. Tang Baiyun had never set foot in one at all. Their experience would prove far more brutal than that of the Dongyan River cultivators.

When the eerie terracotta soldiers abruptly opened their eyes, the South Prefecture troops were petrified. The moment a soldier drew its blade and cleaved a man in two, Tang Baiyun's forces fell into complete chaos. His face turned pale with terror. Inanimate terracotta figures coming to life and killing—such horror was beyond comprehension. Lacking coordination and unity, the troops suffered heavy casualties.

Outside, Tang Xiansheng's face darkened as he watched blood-drenched soldiers flee the secret realm in terror.

"Third Brother, what do we do?" he asked grimly.

Within the realm, Tang Baiyun, clad in military garb and panic-stricken, sought to cling to Tang Yimo. Though he envied and despised Tang Yimo's immortal fate, in this moment, the cultivator alone could offer protection.

Tang Yimo spared him only a glance before channeling his cultivation technique and darting forward, engaging a terracotta soldier in fierce combat. Within a few strikes, he shattered the soldier with a single punch. A thread of spiritual energy surged into his body, and he was momentarily stunned.

"These soldiers are the immortal opportunity," he said coldly. "Slay them, and their essence shall become your own."

With that, he leapt like a tiger into the enemy ranks, slaughtering to harvest Qi.

If he wished to break through his second meridian, he needed to accumulate enough energy. Understanding this, Tang Baiyun hesitated only briefly before issuing orders. The five thousand soldiers began to regroup into battle formations to fight the enemy. Despite his earlier cowardice, Tang Baiyun had the mettle of a future clan leader.

When a terracotta soldier was crushed, Tang Baiyun seized the moment—his blade flashed, smashing the figure's skull. Spiritual energy flowed into him. His eyes lit up.

Immortal fate!

It was real!

Elated, Tang Baiyun ordered his men to overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers while he hung back, finishing off the wounded and harvesting their essence. Blood ran like rivers behind the Dragon Gate; of the five thousand South Prefecture troops, countless lay dead. The stench of blood choked the air.

…

After a tranquil night's sleep, dawn's first light painted the eastern sky. Nie Changqing opened his eyes, clear and lucid like a sky freshly washed by rain. He rose unhurriedly, washed, packed his belongings, and retrieved a cloth to carefully polish his butcher's knife. Then, draped in a white robe, he shouldered his bundle and stepped out of the inn, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Save for the somewhat incongruous blade at his waist, he looked every bit the wandering scholar with a story to tell.

The sleepy inn attendant was wiping down tables when he saw Nie Changqing descend the stairs. His eyes lit up, and he greeted him warmly.

"Sir, your letters were all delivered to the Dao Sect yesterday," he said. "Are you heading to Tiandang Mountain?"

Nie Changqing nodded without a word.

The long street of Nanjing City remained shrouded in morning mist.

"What business do you have at the Dao Sect, sir? Visiting family?" the attendant asked. "It's still quite dark—mind the road ahead."

Nie Changqing paused at the threshold, smiled faintly, and walked into the hazy street, his figure soon swallowed by the dawn.

…

As the unshackled sun rose above the horizon, casting its golden light upon the land—

At the foot of Tiandang Mountain, Nie Changqing stood in his white robe, clutching his butcher's blade. He lifted his gaze to the ancient stone steps that wound up the mountain and closed his eyes. A gentle breeze stirred his hair. In that moment, memories from five years ago surfaced—running breathlessly up those steps, full of youthful hope.

At the summit, the soft murmur of Daoist chants drifted down like spring water, echoing through the woods.

He opened his eyes and saw, as if in a dream, boys and girls playing on the stairs. That year, he and she had descended together to serve the Dao Sect. A year later, he had fled down the same steps, drenched and desperate, cradling an infant in his arms. The closing mountain gate had felt like a blade, severing every hope he had left.

For five years, he had wandered in sorrow—hiding, surviving. Once unrestrained and carefree, he had been a farmer, a fisherman, a woodcutter in the deep mountains, even a vagabond on the streets. But the Dao Sect always came for Nie Shuang, trying to steal away the last light in his life.

So he hid, again and again.

Each time Nie Shuang cried for her mother, Nie Changqing's heart shattered anew.

Five years had carved wind and frost upon his face. The hand that once held a killing blade now gripped a butcher's knife.

And now, he had returned to the place where it all began.

Five years of tempered resolve.

Nie Changqing… ascends once more.

He stepped forward onto the stone stairs.

Spiritual energy from his Qi Pill Realm surged with emotion, blowing dust and fallen leaves from the path ahead.