Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 422 The Foundation of the Sect
Zhou Xiang was startled for a moment, then suddenly became alert.

He didn't want this kind of vigilance, because it was a desecration of the hard-won goodwill that had just arisen in his heart. But he wasn't stupid; he knew that the first two paths Li Wuxiang mentioned were for his own benefit. And this third one seemed to involve the struggle between sects across the world.

If someone offers several suggestions in succession, the last one is definitely the one that person cares about the most.

He sighed inwardly and said, "I am not a man of great ambition, and I am afraid I cannot do such a great thing. Divine Lord, if you and Sword Immortal Mei insist on forcing me to do it, I am afraid it will be difficult to succeed."

“We won’t force you. I’ll just tell you what we know, and then you can make your own decision. Whether to stay or leave, whether to do it or not, Senior Brother Zhou, it’s all up to you.”

Within the Myriad Transformations Formation, Zhao Qi's expression hardened, and he almost froze.

Li Wuxiang wants to talk about it now? About the Xuanjiao Emperor? And have these disciples come and listen too?
It was Zhao Qi who first suggested selectively having these core disciples of the sect listen to what was happening outside. His intention was partly because he was bored inside, and partly because he thought that letting these people hear more about Li Wuxiang's methods would make them understand that the Sword Sect Master was not only strong, but also a master of scheming, thus suppressing the restless thoughts in some people's hearts.

The last little bit was entirely something he wanted to learn on his own. It's one thing to have a good relationship with Li Wuxiang now, but he can't keep letting Li Wuxiang fool him all the time. He also needs to learn some self-defense skills.

But now you're asking them to listen to this?!
Zhao Qi stood still, turned to look at Xue Baoping sitting in the main room behind him, and found that she was also a little surprised.

The dark curtain at the entrance of the courtyard was still there, and Li Wuxiang did not seem to intend to close it.

Then he and everyone else in the courtyard heard Li Wuxiang's voice—

“This is what we know. Senior Brother Zhou, now imagine a large city with no city lord, but only six gang leaders who command their subordinate gang members.”

"The leadership of these six sects is not hereditary, but rather determined by merit. Whoever has the highest merit within the sect can rise through the ranks until they become the sect leader."

"The first person to become the gang leader was originally very kind and generous. After becoming the gang leader, he set many gang rules. These rules were extremely strict and ruthless, not only binding the gang members but also binding the gang leader."

"So, in the eyes of the gang members, this person completely changed after becoming the gang leader. He was originally kind, but now when enforcing the gang rules, he became clear about rewards and punishments and showed no mercy. Everyone said that this person was like a different person after becoming the gang leader."

Li Wuxiang paused briefly at this point. Zhao Qi heard Zhou Xiang ask, "Six gang leaders?"

Li Wuxiang said, "That's right."

Zhao Qi also spoke up at this moment: "Six gang leaders, six of them."

His tone turned sinister. He knew Li Wuxiang used this analogy instead of being direct because he was worried about attracting the attention of the Six Great Emperors of the Xuanjiao Sect. The Wanhua Realm was isolated from the world, but he wasn't sure if the Six Great Emperors' supernatural powers could interfere here.

The disciples in the courtyard noticed the change in his tone and began to ponder it.

Then four other people's expressions changed, as if they had come to a realization. Someone nearby noticed their expressions and went to ask them, but the four of them just kept their mouths shut and shook their heads.

Zhao Qi shouted in a low voice: "Think for yourself, don't ask! Think about those six leaders yourself!"

His words startled many of the disciples, but they seemed to understand at first.

Then Li Wuxiang continued, "After the first gang leader, others will naturally succeed in becoming gang leaders. At this time, the gang members will find that no matter what kind of personality a person has before becoming a gang leader, once they sit in that position and strictly abide by the rules of the gang, they will all become the same as the first gang leader."

“Before, you were called Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Wu, whatever. But once you reach that position, you’re left with only one name, one appearance, one personality—the gang leader. He’s just the gang leader, not himself anymore.”

He stopped there, and Zhou Xiang did not reply.

The disciples in the courtyard remained silent. The more astute ones had already figured it out when Li Wuxiang paused last time, and now a definite idea had formed in their minds.

However, this idea was so far-fetched and incredible that it was the best illustration of the word "unbelievable".

Those with slower cognitive abilities were still in a daze, only feeling that the sect leader had told Zhou Xiang a story that was neither exciting nor profound, and were still waiting for what would happen next.

Suddenly, someone clapped their hands and shouted, "Holy crap! Is this talking about the Six Ministries of Mysterious Sect?!"

It was Zhang San—he suddenly stood up and turned to look at Zhao Qi: "Master, is that right?! Holy crap, is the sect leader saying that everyone in their Xuan Sect who becomes a sect leader is possessed? Holy crap, that's so shady! What's wrong with you guys? Didn't you understand?!"

Chang Buqing couldn't hold back any longer and shouted, "Of course I'm not talking about the Six Department Leaders! Who possessed their bodies? Their first leader was the Six Department Emperors! If you're talking about possession, do you think it was the Six Department Emperors who possessed them—"

He froze at this point, his eyes widening, unable to utter another word.

Liu Jieling was initially stunned by his words, but seeing his hesitation, she immediately pinched her thigh hard and blurted out, "The sect leader is talking about perfection and advancement! The sect leader isn't talking about their leader, but the Six Great Emperors..."

"...Holy shit!"

A deathly silence fell over the courtyard. Zhang San was startled for a moment, then sat down abruptly, hunching his shoulders and muttering, "It wasn't me, it wasn't me..."

Before the two people outside could speak, Zhao Qi sneered, "What, are you afraid of mere mention of the Six Great Emperors of the Xuanjiao Sect within the sect's training grounds?"

"You are now disciples of the Sword Sect and also disciples of the Taiyi Sect, worshipping the Great Calamity Star Lord of our sect, and above you is the Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Are you going to cower in fear at the mere six Xuanjiao Emperors?"

Chang didn't speak up easily: "Master, we're not afraid, I just... I just..."

"Is it due to accumulated prestige?" Zhao Qi nodded slightly. "Why did I tell you all this? It's to sweep away the accumulated prestige in your hearts! When selecting people to join the Taiyi Sect, the first thing they look for is character. If it were in the past, none of you would have been able to catch the eye of those swordsmen!"

Although his words were harsh, none of the people present disagreed—everyone who roamed the martial world had thought about joining one of the Thirty-Six Sects and becoming a swordsman. If you couldn't go before, it meant you were truly not worthy of their attention.

"Now that our sect has taken you all in, why did we first have you stripped of your former cultivation? Why did we make you know all this? It's to temper your hearts, cultivate your courage, and ensure that you don't tarnish the name of swordsmen when you travel the world!"

"The Six Great Emperors of the Mysterious Sect, what a grand title! But they can't come to this world; what comes are merely true spirits! What, haven't you seen any spirits or true spirits with your own eyes these days?"

When he said this, all the disciples in the courtyard were stunned. They looked at each other for a moment, not knowing what the last sentence meant.

But Zhao Qi had already put his hands behind his back, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and floated into the air. His true spirit circulated, immediately manifesting the Blood God's dharma form surrounded by crimson clouds, his red hair rising like flames, and he fully unleashed his true power. He shouted, his voice seemingly coming from beyond the heavens: "Haven't you already seen me?!"

These days, the disciples only know that Zhao Qi, the great sword master, also has a very high cultivation level, so high that it is unfathomable. He is at least a Nascent Soul cultivator!
But now, seeing him like this and feeling the powerful pressure emanating from mid-air, they were all immediately stunned. Some of the less composed ones even went limp and collapsed to the ground, almost prostrating themselves in worship.

The aura emanating from him is truly inhuman!

Zhao Qi, the Great Sword Master… he's actually a true spirit descended to earth?! "The foundation of our sect far surpasses your imagination!" Zhao Qi roared. "Who else is afraid of the Xuanjiao Emperor?!"

For a moment, everyone was in awe, not daring to utter a sound—the so-called Six Great Emperors of the Mysterious Sect, as Great Sword Master Zhao said, were still in the Outer Heavens, in the Wonderful Realm! Yet, within our sect's dojo, there actually was a descended true spirit!?

Which deity's spirit descended to earth?

Or perhaps... looking at Zhao Qi's Dharma form, and remembering that the sect leader was formerly the Ranshan sect leader—was he the Siming Zhenjun?

And also... Xue Baoping, the Great Sword Master Xue, and Li Guichen, the Great Sword Master Li, what are their cultivation levels?!

But, but!

If Master Zhao is a true immortal incarnate, then who is the sect leader who previously said, "I was a little stronger than him back then"? And what is his cultivation level?!

Is he really a Nascent Soul cultivator?!

The courtyard was quiet. Zhao Qi smiled slightly, withdrew his Dharma form, and gracefully landed at the entrance of the main hall, walking inside with his hands behind his back.

None of the disciples dared to look at him anymore. They quickly and obediently sat down facing the dark curtain in the direction of the gate. The fear and panic in their hearts disappeared, replaced by a palpitation that filled their entire bodies!

Zhao Qi walked over to Xue Baoping and sat down on a chair. His face was ashen as he looked at the people in the courtyard and whispered, "Hey Baoping, do you think everything's alright? Since Li Wuxiang dared to let us listen in there, the Six Great Emperors shouldn't be able to see what's going on in there, right? They shouldn't be able to find me, right?"

Xue Baoping pressed her lips together and said, "Yes, it's alright, don't worry."

Outside the Wanhua Fang, Zhou Xiang remained silent.

Unlike the Sword Sect disciples who were waiting for Li Wuxiang to continue, what he had heard himself was enough to stir up a storm in his heart.

Because at that moment, he suddenly understood everything.

He understood why his father had stripped him of his cultivation four times when he was a child, and he also understood why his lineage had been trapped in Immovable Mountain for so long.

Actually, it wasn't always like this, being at the mercy of others... In the more than three thousand years of history, the Zhou family had several opportunities to turn the tide, to be resourceful, and to use others' strength to their advantage, so that a member of the clan could once again take over the position of leader of the Five Mountains True Form Sect.

When he read about those things in books before, he only thought that his ancestors had repeatedly given up great opportunities due to indecisiveness. But now, he understood—

The leader that Li Wuxiang mentioned is the Great Emperor, the Five Sacred Mountains True Form Great Emperor!
For over three thousand years, disciples of the sect could only receive the supernatural powers and techniques passed down from the ascended sect leaders in their dreams, but no sect leader who had ascended to the Mystic Realm had ever appeared in the upper heavens... Those who appeared, those who were invited down, were always the true spirits of the Five Sacred Mountains True Form Emperors!

Li Wuxiang was referring to the sect leaders who ascended to immortality over the past three thousand years...

They've all become the True Form Emperors of the Five Sacred Mountains?!
So, within the family, my lineage isn't actually forbidden from vying for the position of sect leader, but rather from ascending to immortality?!
Zhou Xiang felt that what he knew matched up, but he didn't know if Li Wuxiang and Mei Qiulu had planned it together. He held Kong Youxin and followed Li Wuxiang while silently pondering.

At this point, traces could be seen on the grass. These were the traces left by the retreating Blood God Cult ghouls—there was slime, blood, and fragments of tissue on the ground, as if this area had been a slaughterhouse before, and had only been hastily cleaned up.

Li Wuxiang said, "We'll find it soon. Senior Brother Zhou, I don't need you to reply to me now, but if you have any doubts, feel free to speak them."

I'm afraid you're lying to me.

Li Wuxiang laughed: "I am a Nascent Soul cultivator. You'll have to ask Senior Sister Mei about this later, and Senior Sister Mei is a Yang Spirit. We're talking about matters of the spirit realm—you should know that for our cultivation levels, discussing these things already easily involves karmic consequences. And if what we say is a lie—"

He didn't finish his sentence, but Zhou Xiang understood.

Having reached the level of him and Mei Qiulu, especially him... he seemed to still have spiritual energy on him just now, so there are some things he really can't say carelessly.

But Zhou Xiang shook her head and smiled, "Even if what you said is true, you all fully support me becoming the leader? It seems like you're all struggling to protect yourselves right now."

Li Wuxiang nodded: "That's right. But there's something else you need to think about."

"Why haven't your six dioceses expanded outwards in the past three hundred years? Why haven't you exterminated all the Taiyi Swordsmen?"

“Because—” Zhou Xiang paused here, a name, a thought, flashed vaguely through his mind, but he couldn’t seem to remember it.

"Because there is a Yang Shen Sword Immortal outside the sect, named Jiang Jie."

A sudden thought flashed through Zhou Xiang's mind, and he seemed to remember something. There seemed to be such a person, the leader of the Taiyi Sect, but... what was going on? Why couldn't he remember? He then realized that this might involve spirits and destiny.

A complex emotion suddenly welled up in his heart.

He had always been proud of the blood that flowed in his veins. Although he was trapped on Mount Immovable, he knew that his status was exalted.

However, after exchanging only a few words with Li Wuxiang, his arrogance and sense of superiority seemed to have vanished instantly—he was talking about matters of the spirits and gods… The Nascent Soul realm was completely different from his own; what he could see, what Mei Qiulu could see, was a much broader world, a world closer to the origin!

I... I could have done it too...

"Yes, Jiang Jie..."

Li Wuxiang smiled slightly: "Jiang Jie, a land-based sword immortal, blocked the Six Departments of the Xuan Sect for more than three hundred years, and now there is also Mei Qiulu, a Yang God sword immortal. Mei Qiulu's cultivation may not be as good as Jiang Jie's, but Senior Brother Zhou, what if another Yang God sword immortal appears in a few years?"

Zhou Xiang was taken aback: "Another one? Your Taiyi Sect has someone who's about to become a Yang God? How come I've never heard of that?"

Li Wuxiang pointed to himself: "That's me."

Zhou Xiang's lips twitched slightly, waiting for Li Wuxiang to laugh before he laughed too—perhaps realizing he was preoccupied, he wanted to crack a joke.

But he saw that Li Wuxiang wasn't smiling, but staring at him very intently.

He was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say.

Li Wuxiang stopped: "That's enough for now. I need to go find that Infant Immortal. If we start fighting, you might get into trouble. Senior Brother Zhou, why don't you go to my Sword Sect's dojo for a while? My disciples have all heard of you and are eager to see the bloodline of this Great Emperor Zhou."

(End of this chapter)