Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 801: Chapter 502: Conclusion

“The Ancestor has arrived!”

A loud announcement echoed throughout the venue, silencing the discussions among the attendees.

Everyone stood up, daring not to speak further, even communication through divine senses ceased at that moment, each person focusing solemnly and waiting for the arrival.

It was no wonder everyone was so cautious; today’s event was no ordinary banquet, with their very lives and fortunes at stake. Any hint of disrespect could cost them not only their wealth but also their lives.

The crowd waited in silence and soon saw a figure approaching on clouds of fire, landing at the main seat.

It was a middle-aged man, his hair and beard unkempt, crimson as fire, his brows hinting at malevolence, exuding an undeniable aura of despotism.

It was none other than the newly advanced Mahayana of the Southern Sea—Old Ghost Chi Yan!

“How have I, an old man, deserved such honor that friends from all directions come to celebrate? I am truly ashamed, truly ashamed!”

Looking at the full hall of guests, Old Ghost Chi Yan burst into laughter, his demeanor unrestrained and free, yet with an undeniable authority, he waved his hand and said, “Please, take your seats without ceremony!”

“The Ancestor is too modest!”

“How can we not celebrate when the Southern Sea has produced another Mahayana True Immortal?”

“I have long heard of Senior Chi Yan’s fame, and seeing him today, indeed he lives up to it.”

“From now on, the Southern Sea needs more than ever your care and that of Red Flame Island.”

“…”

The crowd lifted him high with flowery palanquins of flattery, sparing no praise.

Chi Yan enjoyed the adulation, his face brimming with smiles, feeling utterly pleased with himself.

Such is a great man!

A hundred years ago in the cultivation realm of the Southern Sea, three Mahayana factions existed together. Although he was a Nascent Soul Cultivator and not light in influence, sometimes he still had to look up to others and watch their expressions.

Fortunately, the unpredictable occurs. First was the life-and-death struggle between the South Sea Sect and Mysterious Yin Island, where two Mahayana Ancestors perished together. Then came the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion imposing its will upon the Southern Sea. The duel in the Ruins of Return claimed the life of the foremost Nascent Soul Cultivator, Li Cangwu, instantly sweeping the high-end combat power of the Southern Sea cultivation realm.

This incident also drew out a person from the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion, who in a second duel at the Ruins of Return, struck down the Nine Heavens Sword Disciple and the previous Saintess, causing heavy losses for the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion, which significantly altered the situation and cultivation realm dynamics in the Southern Sea.

Among the three factions in the Southern Sea, the only Mahayana, Elder Lady Li of Bright Moon Pavilion, remained uninvolved in worldly affairs and the conflict. Below Mahayana, the most top-tier Nascent Soul individuals, with Li Cangwu dead and the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion departed…

He sat on Red Flame Island doing nothing and became the new number one of the Southern Sea, further supported covertly by Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion to break through his limitations, solidifying an Immortal Opportunity and stepping into the Mahayana Realm, thoroughly intimidating the Southern Sea.

Isn’t his life’s journey clever and miraculous?

Today, the South Sea Sect is fragmented, the location of the Ten Thousand Swords Pavilion unknown, Bright Moon Commerce Guild also withdrawn from the conflict, distancing itself from the turmoil. This left Red Flame Island supreme in the region, making him the undisputed leader of the Southern Sea. When his word was passed, cultivators from all over the Southern Sea came to pay homage and present valuable gifts as a sign of allegiance.

How could one not be intoxicated by this feeling, this taste?

Chi Yan sat down, cultivators feasted, and after three rounds of drinks and tasteless dishes, it was time for the true purpose of this night’s banquet.

Chi Yan put down his wine cup, dropped his gaze, swept it over those present, and then spoke.

“Since the South Sea Sect and Mysterious Yin Island started their conflict, our Southern Sea cultivation realm has constantly been in chaos, never peaceful, causing immense harm to our cultivators. You, my fellow Daoists, must have a deep understanding of this!”

“Now, fortune has smiled upon me, advancing into the Mahayana realm, I must rely on this amidst the chaos…”

Amid dignified airs, his true cunning nature showed.

“Here it comes!”

“Hmph!”

“Just as expected!”

“There are no good banquets, no good meetings!”

“Those Holy Land Immortal Sects, isn’t controlling the Central Plains enough that now they even want to dominate this Southern Sea?”

“With this going on, how are we Loose Cultivators supposed to survive in the future?”

“Are we only to be driven like hounds by the likes of Red Flame Island?”

“This Old Ghost Chi Yan really is determined to be a lapdog for the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion.”

“A dead rabbit still needs its hound; with the style of those Holy Land Immortal Sects, as glorious as he is today, so will he regret tomorrow.”

“If it can’t be helped, we’ll just leave for far-off lands. There must be a place to live in the vast lands.”

“The four corners of the world, controlled by Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion in the Southern Sea, the extreme northern region as the ultimate desolate lands, and both the Eastern Abyss and Western Barbarians falling to the Buddhism and Confucian Gate respectively, also threatened by demons eyeing fiercely, soon to erupt into major conflict again…”

“In such chaotic times, where can we go?”

“Hmph, if it is inevitable, I’d rather take my family to plunge into the Endless Sea, for the world is vast and surely has a place for us to live.”

While Chi Yan spoke from above with hollow sympathy, eloquently spouting nonsense, the cultivators gathered felt as if they were swallowing flies, extremely uncomfortable.

The Four Wilds Frontier of the Northern Domain was originally a place left by the Central Plains Immortal Sects, the Ten Great Holy Lands, for Loose Cultivators to reside.

After all, Loose Cultivators are much like weeds, extremely resilient, impossible to eradicate entirely. It isn’t beneficial to suppress them forcefully as it can cause great harm, and an unexpected backlash might occur any day.

Thus, the Central Plains’ great Holy Lands graciously allowed the inhospitable Four Wilds Frontier for Loose Cultivators to survive, easing control while helping manage conflicts and eliminating risks. It even made repression convenient, and even Loose Cultivators themselves accepted these rules.

But now, this status quo seemed about to change.

The great Holy Lands of the Central Plains had begun to deepen their control over the Four Wilds Frontier. Not to mention the moves by the Confucian and Buddhist Gates in the Eastern Abyss and Western Barbarians, but also the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion, angered by the deaths of the current Sword Child and the previous Saintess, wielded their power over the Southern Sea.

Now they’ve even put forward Red Flame Island as a puppet, aiming to reorder Southern Sea’s state, intending to maintain full control.

How could the cultivators of the Southern Sea accept this?

It was enough to make offerings in the past, but now to carry the shackles and completely become mere dogs?