Volume 1, Chapter 49 – Fushan’s Deterrence

After arriving at the square outside the hall, he took a deep breath. His body abruptly expanded, and he instantly returned to his true form.

He became the grayish-brown giant ape that stood more than a hundred feet tall, like a small mountain!

“Roar!”

A roar filled with suppressed excitement echoed through the Yaochi Immortal Palace, causing the spiritual mist to churn.

He took a single step, and the ground trembled slightly. His figure shot into the sky like a cannonball, smashing through the clouds as he sped toward the first location Gu Han had given him:

The Feiyun Sect!

Just how terrifying was the speed of a late-stage Mahayana demon king traveling at full strength?

He practically shrank the earth beneath his feet, crossing mountains and rivers in an instant!

In less time than it took to drink a cup of tea, Fushan’s figure, resembling an ancient demonic mountain, descended above the gates of the Feiyun Sect.

The Feiyun Sect was situated amid a sprawling mountain range. Its main peak towered into the clouds, surrounded by drifting mist, while pavilions and towers could be faintly seen within.

Its Sect-Protecting Grand Formation emitted a faint flowing radiance, giving the place the air of an immortal abode.

At that moment, however, unease and panic permeated the entire sect.

Perfected Yunhe’s life tablet had shattered, throwing the sect’s upper echelon into turmoil. They were urgently discussing how to respond, while the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation had already been raised to its highest state of alert.

“What is that?!”

“Why… why did the sky turn dark?”

“A demonic… demonic beast! It’s enormous!”

“Enemy attack! Activate the formation! Notify the elders and the Ancestor!”

The moment Fushan’s colossal body, which obscured nearly half the sky, appeared above the Feiyun Sect, the entire sect plunged into utter chaos.

Warning bells rang without pause. The formation’s barrier rapidly lit up, and countless disciples panicked.

Some low-level cultivators were so overwhelmed by the terrifying pressure that they collapsed directly onto the ground.

Fushan looked down at the Feiyun Sect, where everyone acted as though facing a mortal enemy and the entire place was in disorder. A trace of disdain flashed through his enormous, bell-like eyes.

“Hmph.”

Two thick streams of white vapor blasted from his nostrils. They swept across the mountain gates like twin hurricanes, causing the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation’s barrier to shake violently.

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Then he slowly raised his right arm, which resembled a pillar supporting the heavens, and clenched his five fingers into a fist.

He used no elaborate divine ability and circulated no spiritual power. It was simply the most basic of attacks, a light punch.

He gently brought it down toward the Feiyun Sect’s grand formation, which was said to be capable of withstanding a full-powered strike from a Spirit Transformation cultivator.

Yes, in Fushan’s opinion, this truly was a “light” punch.

He had used less than ten percent of his strength.

But in the eyes of everyone in the Feiyun Sect, that punch seemed like the collapse of the heavens and the fall of the stars!

Boom!

An indescribably thunderous explosion erupted!

Heaven and earth lost their color. The sun and moon seemed to go dark!

The sturdy barrier of the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation was as fragile as an eggshell. The instant Fushan’s fist touched it, spiderweb-like cracks spread across its surface.

Then it shattered with a deafening crash!

It dissolved into countless motes of light that scattered across the sky!

The remaining force of the punch continued onward, brushing past the edge of the Feiyun Sect’s main peak.

It did not strike the peak directly, but the terrifying pressure of the punch and the slightest graze from its edge were enough.

Crack! Rumble!

A mountain beside the main peak, nearly a thousand feet tall, instantly collapsed, shattered, and turned to dust!

A vast cloud of smoke and dust surged into the sky like an enormous mushroom cloud!

The earth shook and the mountains trembled. The entire Feiyun Mountain Range quaked!

Although the main peak had not been directly struck, it still shook violently, and countless enormous cracks split open across the mountain.

Numerous palaces collapsed. Countless cultivators spat blood as they were sent flying backward, as though the end of the world had arrived!

One punch! Just one light punch!

The Sect-Protecting Grand Formation was broken, and a mountain peak had been destroyed!

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Fushan withdrew his fist and blew away the nonexistent dust on his knuckles. His voice boomed like a great bell and spread throughout the entire Feiyun Sect.

“Listen well, Feiyun Sect!”

“I am Fushan, an elder of the Inspection Hall of the Yaochi Immortal Palace!”

“Your sect was blind enough to offend the majesty of my Immortal Palace. This is merely a minor punishment and a stern warning!”

“Should you dare make the slightest move again, or scheme behind our backs…”

A fierce light erupted from his enormous eyes as he swept his gaze over the deathly silent members of the Feiyun Sect below, every one of them pale as dirt.

His attention lingered especially on the several Spirit Transformation auras hidden deep within the sect, all of which were now trembling in fear.

“The next time I come, I won’t stop after demolishing a single mountain.”

After saying that, he paid no further attention to the deathly silence below or the countless gazes filled with despair and terror.

He turned and once again tore through the sky toward his next target, the Qingshan Sect.

Only after Fushan’s terrifying figure had completely disappeared beyond the distant horizon did sobbing, screaming, and disbelieving cries of those who had narrowly survived begin to rise throughout the Feiyun Sect.

The sect’s Ancestor, an elderly man at the peak of Spirit Transformation, staggered out of his secluded cave dwelling with a face as pale as paper.

He looked at the devastated mountain gates and the missing peak, then sensed the terrifying demonic power lingering in the air, which made even his soul tremble.

“Mahayana… demon king… Yaochi… Immortal Palace…”

The old man muttered to himself. Then he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and hoarsely roared at the equally pale elders around him.

“Pass down my orders! Seal the mountain! Close the sect! No disciple is permitted to leave! Immediately! Right now!”

“And… prepare an apology gift and send it to Qingyang City at once! Hurry!”

Not long afterward, a similar scene played out above the mountain gates of the Qingshan Sect.

This time, however, Fushan used a different method.

He extended two fingers and uprooted one of the Qingshan Sect’s black towers as easily as picking up a pebble.

Then, before all the cultivators of the Qingshan Sect, he kneaded it into a ball as though it were mud and casually tossed it into a distant ravine.

He likewise left behind the name “Fushan, Elder of the Inspection Hall of the Yaochi Immortal Palace,” along with a warning.

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By the time Fushan returned to the Yaochi Immortal Palace, swaying along in complete satisfaction, news had already begun to spread.

The Feiyun Sect and Qingshan Sect had seen their mountain gates destroyed and had been forcefully warned by a Mahayana demon king from the Tianjue Mountain Range, who claimed to belong to the “Yaochi Immortal Palace.”

Like a force-twelve hurricane, the news swept wildly across the entire Great Yan Dynasty with ten or even a hundred times the speed and force of the incident in Qingyang City. It then continued spreading toward the other parts of the Southern Region!

This time, no one dared question the heritage or strength of the Yaochi Immortal Palace!

If it could subdue a Mahayana demon king from the Tianjue Mountain Range and make him an elder, then what kind of existences were its Palace Master and Vice Palace Master?

A great hidden sect! A supreme Dao lineage! Absolutely not to be provoked!

Countless forces paled upon hearing the news and placed the “Yaochi Immortal Palace” at the very top of their lists of powers that must never be offended.

At the same time, even more curious, reverent, and even yearning gazes turned toward Qingyang City.

They turned toward the ongoing “spirit testing” that might change the destinies of countless people.

In an incomparably forceful and domineering manner, the Yaochi Immortal Palace had officially branded its name onto the map of powers within the Southern Region!

Its first display of might had already shaken every direction!

Inside the main hall of the Immortal Palace.

Gu Han raised her eyes toward the sea of clouds beyond the hall, and the smile on her lips deepened.

[Ding! Evaluating completion of the quest “Thunderous Counterattack, First Display of Immortal Might”…]

[Evaluation complete: Perfect! The Host’s subordinate, “Fushan,” exceeded the requirements of the deterrence mission. His approach displayed strong “personal characteristics,” and the results were outstanding!]

[The Feiyun Sect and Qingshan Sect have completely lost the will to resist. The threat level of the associated karmic ties has fallen to 0.01%. The reputation of the Yaochi Immortal Palace has soared throughout the Southern Region!]

[Quest reward issued: Innate Spiritual Root, Enlightenment Tea Tree! It has been stored in the system warehouse. Please check it, Host.]

[Additional reward: one handful of Nine Heavens Xirang, which can be used to nurture the Enlightenment Tea Tree.]

“Not bad.”

Gu Han was in an excellent mood. With a thought, she summoned the rewards.

A small tree about three feet tall appeared before her. Its entire body was lush and emerald green, natural Dao patterns covered its leaves, and it radiated a hazy glow of Dao resonance.

Beside it appeared a clump of soil shimmering with nine-colored light.

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The Enlightenment Tea Tree! Nine Heavens Xirang!

As Gu Han gazed at the two priceless treasures, she could almost see the glorious future in which the disciples of the Yaochi Immortal Palace attained enlightenment beneath the tree, broke through their bottlenecks, and advanced by leaps and bounds.

“System, place the Enlightenment Tea Tree and the Nine Heavens Xirang at the core intersection of spiritual power and Dao resonance within the Yaochi Immortal Palace.”

[Understood! Scanning for the optimal location… Location locked: the island at the center of Yaochi Lake… Fusing the Nine Heavens Xirang… Planting the Enlightenment Tea Tree… Infusing innate spiritual essence…]

Under the system’s operation, the soil in an area of the island at the center of Yaochi Lake, already rich in spiritual power and Dao resonance, quietly transformed into Nine Heavens Xirang shimmering with a faint nine-colored radiance.

The Enlightenment Tea Tree was planted within it. It rapidly took root, and its branches and leaves unfurled.

In an instant, a profound and mysterious aura of enlightenment gently spread outward with the island at the center of the lake as its origin.

The spiritual power of the immortal-grade spirit vein intertwined and fused with the Dao resonance of the Enlightenment Tea Tree, imperceptibly elevating the entire Yaochi Immortal Palace’s “Dao environment” to a higher level!

Everyone cultivating within the Immortal Palace, whether Li Hanyi, Yun Miaoyi, Mo Lin, Die Wu, Gu Luoli, or A-Yao, felt their minds become clear at that moment.

Their spiritual awareness reached an unprecedented state of clarity, and many obstacles in their cultivation seemed to show faint signs of loosening!

“This is…”

On Snow Moon Peak, Li Hanyi lowered her sword and looked toward the island at the center of the lake. A trace of surprise flashed through her cool eyes.

“What a profound aura! It seems capable of helping others attain enlightenment!”

Inside the Alchemy Pavilion, Yun Miaoyi stopped recording and sensed the change with delight.

“Hehe, the Palace Master brought back another good treasure!”

Fushan had just returned and was changing back into human form, preparing to report to Gu Han. When he sensed the aura, he grinned.

Gu Han stood within the main hall, her divine sense perceiving the “Dao resonance environment” throughout the Immortal Palace, which had quietly improved because of the Enlightenment Tea Tree.

She then thought of the disciple recruitment proceeding steadily in Qingyang City, as well as the enormous waves that must already be surging through the outside world.

She knew that the great vessel known as the Yaochi Immortal Palace had officially set sail.

There might still be storms on the road ahead, but the view from the summit was already within reach.

“Next…”

“It is time to carefully plan the future of the Immortal Palace.”