Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

Chapter 867: Chapter 535: Settled_2

“…”

“…”

“…”

Such a posture rendered the crowd silent, and then they all knelt in unison.

“Please, Sword Master, punish us!”

The Nine Immortals kneeling to ask for forgiveness was a scene that, if seen by the outside world, would surely shock many to the core.

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How could such dignified beings from the Calamity Realm, Immortal Gods, kneel before a mortal?

Where was the pride of the Calamity Realm Immortals and Gods?

Where was the backbone of the Immortal Gate Holy Land?

“There is no need for that.”

Xu Yang shook his head and said softly, “In my life, I have always differentiated clearly between gratitude and grudges. If others do not offend me, I do not offend them, and I do not judge others’ intentions. The affair of the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion is just that—a matter of the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion!”

After saying this, he gestured with an open hand to help the crowd rise.

Such words and such a gesture deeply relieved Mysterious Mechanism Child and the other nine Calamity Immortals.

Being powerful beings from the Calamity Realm, why would they kneel if they had any other choice?

It was truly because there was no other way.

The tragic state of Qi Zhengming, like a nightmare, was vivid in their minds, causing lingering fear.

Even a True Immortal had died a horrific death; how much worse would it be for them, these Calamity Immortals?

Moreover, this man acted swiftly and decisively—having just killed Qi Zhengming, he then attacked the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion, extinguishing its sect and lineage, turning this Immortal Gate Holy Land with hundreds of thousands of years of history into just that—history.

His actions were resolute, his methods ruthless, completely in line with the nature of a “Sword Cultivator”!

As allies of the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion who had joined them in the Southern Sea, if they did not wish to follow in the footsteps of Qi Zhengming and the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion, they had no choice but to lower themselves and ask for forgiveness.

After all, this man was extraordinary, not of ordinary Holy Land origin, unchecked by the Upper Realm. As seen from the annihilation of the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion, the deterrence of the Ancient Masters of various sects was limited—if they did not want to end up like the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion, they had no choice but to bow their heads.

Fortunately, although this man acted recklessly, destroying the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion on a whim, his current behavior showed no signs of intending to completely dominate the Northern Domain. Thus, there was still some room for maneuver in this situation, or at least a delay could be managed.

“I understand your intentions,”

Xu Yang spoke calmly, “Still the same words—In my actions, I have always differentiated clearly between gratitude and grudges. If others do not offend me, I do not offend them, and the Wandao School upholds righteousness and maintains integrity. As long as you do not cross the Thunder Pond, this Northern Domain is vast enough to accommodate various paths and cultivations!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Upon hearing this, the crowd remained silent until Mysterious Mechanism Child finally responded, “Such magnanimity from the Sword Master shames us. The Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion was exceedingly overbearing, and its destruction is karma’s cycle. In the future, the Northern Cultivation Realm will surely regard the Wandao School as the leader, striving for a harmonious and prosperous world!”

To his words, Xu Yang neither agreed nor disagreed, simply chuckling, “You flatter me greatly, Daoist Mysterious Mechanism.”

…

Moments later, the crowd departed, leaving Xu Yang alone in the hall, his expression quite playful.

In the center of the Northern Domain, among the Celestial Gate Holy Lands, ten sects have stood side by side for nearly a million years.

Even if there emerged a prodigy attaining True Immortality and overpowering the ten sects, the overall balance could not be overturned to unify the Northern Domain.

There are two reasons for this—first is the balance of power, and second is the restraint from the Upper Realm.

The first needs no further explanation; each great Holy Land has a long heritage and profound potential. Although there are differences, these are not drastic. Even a Nine Tribulations True Immortal cannot forcibly annex others for fear of mutual destruction, an unprofitable outcome.

The second is simpler—each of the ten great Holy Lands has its Ancestors who are True Immortals from the Upper Realm, and even Earth and Heavenly Immortals. The Lower Realm Tao Lineage has a heavy responsibility of continuously providing talent and resources to the Upper Realm.

In this way, how could the ancestors from the Upper Realm allow the Tao Lineage of the Lower Realm to be eradicated?

You are a True Immortal and powerful, and if you have the guts to destroy my sect in the Lower Realm, you’d better have the guts to dispute it with me in the Upper Realm.

Unless there is a great disturbance in the Upper Realm and all the founding sect masters perish, the Northern Cultivation Realm will always consist of ten sects standing together, this balance being mandated by the Upper Realm according to rules set by the Heavenly Immortals and Earth Immortals; such rules cannot be broken by a mere Human Immortal.

Therefore, even with prodigious talents who attain Ninth Calamity True Immortal within the Ten Great Holy Lands, they can only let their sect flourish temporarily. Before their Ascension, they might suppress various other sects and temporarily exert control for tens of thousands of years, but afterwards, they must revert to normal; completely razed temples or cut off anyone’s lineage and unify the Northern Cultivation Realm are fundamentally impossible.

But now, Xu Yang has broken these rules, not satisfied with merely slaying Qi Zhengming, a True Immortal; he also seized the base of the Ninth Heaven and severed the inheritance of the Sword Pavilion, making it the first saintly immortal sect to be exterminated in hundreds of thousands of years.

Undoubtedly, he and the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion have forged a deadly feud, and upon Ascending to the Upper Realm in the future, he must face pursuit from the Sword Pavilion’s founding masters.

The other great Holy Lands don’t know from where he derives his confidence to commit such an outrage against the order of the world; does he not intend to Ascend later?

Incomprehensible; but whatever the reason, he has done it.

A character fierce enough to slay a True Immortal and disregard the threats from the Upper Realm is truly too much for the other great Holy Lands to provoke; they can only come seeking peace, even considering conceding benefits and reluctantly acknowledging him as the leader of the Northern Domain.

However, Xu Yang did not proceed opportunistically; after all, this “Lord of the Northern Domain” is just an honorary title, and without real power, it is meaningless.

Now, with the aid of the Nine Ceremony Great Formation, he is invincible in the Northern Domain, but one person cannot govern an entire realm; a thousand years in the mortal world is too brief. Even having taken down the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion, the might of the Wandao School isn’t enough to swallow the entire Northern Domain and be the sole monarch.

He still needs time, he still needs to develop, to totally convert the base of the Ninth Heaven Sword Pavilion into the strength of the Wandao School, before he can contemplate unifying the entire Northern Domain.

Before this, Xu Yang does not plan on direct conflicts with the great Holy Lands. After all, immortal sects of Holy Lands have long and profound inheritances, even without a Nine Tribulations True Immortal like Qi Zhengming, there are still several Seventh and Eighth Calamities.

He knows it himself; the Nine Ceremony Great Formation isn’t easily relocated. If a group of Calamity Realm powerhouses were determined to guerrilla against him, he wouldn’t have much of a choice and would likely end up overwhelmed and beleaguered.

Therefore, swallowing up the Northern Domain isn’t a good choice at the moment; he must spend some time to develop until the Wandao School’s power has increased.

At that time…it won’t necessarily require martial power to conquer.

Xu Yang is a peace-loving individual; as long as they do not obstruct his own development, the vast Northern Domain can accommodate a few sects without much trouble.

In the World of Dao and Law, the Wandao School, from its establishment, also allowed the three teachings of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism to exist independently under its governance, and it only over thousands of years with the passage of time and the evolution of eras that they subtly integrated into the Wandao School.

No choice, if you’re not part of the Wandao School, you couldn’t recruit anyone, how could the Tao Lineage continue.

The World of Dao and Law is thus, and the present world is similar; it isn’t always necessary to resolve issues through martial power.

Of course, he isn’t abandoning the use of martial force to resolve issues either.

No matter what, the unification of the Northern Domain and the governance by the School is an inevitable outcome.

As for the issues of the Upper Realm…

Xu Yang has also conducted investigations; the practice of “Dark Path Cultivation” is prevalent in this world, as in the Lower Realm so in the Upper Realm, exactly speaking it’s as in the Upper Realm so in the Lower Realm, as the upper beam is unstraight so the lower beam is crooked.

So, whether you make enemies or not, do you think by not contending or killing and being a good person, upon Ascension to the Upper Realm you’ll live in peace and not be troubled?

Don’t be joking.

As long as you are a cultivator from the Lower Realm, after Ascending to the Upper Realm, you would inevitably experience a “social beating”, if not reduced to a slave or miner, then getting coerced into becoming a high-class thug is almost unavoidable.

This can be seen in the Earth Immortal Realm, where without the protection of a founding master sect, cultivators Ascending from the Lower Realm are generally conscripted into the army, becoming part of the Celestial Soldiers to fight against demons.

With the Earth Immortal Realm like this, how about the current True Immortal Realm…

Isn’t it really about getting caught to mine?

To avoid this situation, one could only join one of the great Holy Lands and Ascend to the Upper Realm “with status”.

This path, though viable for Xu Yang, isn’t appealing to him; after all, Ascending “with status” isn’t much better, still having to submit to the exploitation by Upper Realm’s ancestors, he would rather rely on his own strength.

So, whatever the ancestors of the Upper Realm, if offended, then offended; the Northern Domain must be taken no matter what, and as long as the power is sufficient, upon Ascension, it’s still uncertain who will be troubling whom.

Beyond that, the matter of Ascension still has a lot of maneuvering room.

After all, the Northern Domain is part of the Lower Realm, but the Lower Realm is not limited to the Northern Domain!