allonlinenovel Chapter 161 Mahayana Ritual 19
Chapter 161 Mahayana Ritual 19
Chapter 161 Mahayana Ritual 19
The sect leader also felt the onlookers' gazes and his head was throbbing with pain, but he did not stand up to greet them. Instead, he sat down and asked in a superior manner, "Immortal Lord Kunzhong, if you have something to say, please speak frankly! But today is the Mahayana ceremony for the two Immortal Lords of Guiyuan Sect. To cause trouble at the banquet on the day of our master's joy is going too far, Immortal Lord Kunzhong!"
Kunzhong Immortal Lord felt the strange looks from those around him, but he did not restrain his aura. He walked forward with an extremely arrogant stride: "Since it is a Mahayana ceremony, why not invite Mingyou City? Please do not blame me for coming uninvited!"
He said this, but his attitude showed no remorse whatsoever; instead, it was full of contempt.
A long, icy blue sword shot toward him with unparalleled force.
Above his head was a small, golden seal that slammed down on him.
In the sky, Xuanze let out a long roar and his dragon tail lashed out, sending the unruly creature flying. The powerful force caused half of the creature's body to explode into a bloody mist.
The figure fell heavily to the ground, its enormous form shrank, its body soaked in blood, looking like it was on the verge of death.
Xuanze blew a breath of icy mist from his nose, freezing the other's body. How dare an ordinary spirit beast be so arrogant in front of him?
Below, the person who was able to cause trouble at the Mahayana ceremony clearly has some skill.
He protected his chest with both hands, and a powerful shockwave blocked the attack of the Qingxu Sword and the pressure of the golden seal above.
The three were evenly matched in terms of momentum. He slowly took two steps back, letting out two low growls. An invisible shockwave slowly shifted their targets away, and he took the opportunity to disengage from the battle!
The senior brothers and sisters Le Feng, who were performing in the middle, had already left the scene when the other side fell from the sky, and were not affected by the impact of the three immortal lords' battle.
The golden seal crashed heavily to the ground. In an instant, fine cracks appeared on the flawless platform. One could imagine that if this golden seal were to hit a person, that person would be turned into mincemeat in a moment.
The sword energy of Qingxu Sword rushed forward with unparalleled momentum. A tall white jade pillar in front of it slowly descended from where the sword energy passed and crashed heavily to the ground.
The assembled venerable ones gasped as they looked at the white jade pillar. They understood that this place, which served as the venue for the Mahayana ceremony of the two late emperors, was filled with rare treasures in the cultivation world, and the white jade pillar itself was a single, extremely hard ninth-grade refining material.
Even the attack of the Great Ascension Immortal Lord could hardly leave a mark on this material, but just an ordinary sword aura directly cut the material in half.
Their strength speaks for itself!
However, the fact that Immortal Lord Kunzhong was able to dodge these two attacks shows that he is quite strong, which is why he was able to cause trouble at the Guiyuan Sect ceremony!
But that's all. Can one attack dodge the next?
They didn't believe he could dodge every time!
This simple exchange clearly demonstrates the difference in strength between the two sides.
As Kunzhong Immortal Lord looked at the Qingxu Sword and Golden Seal that were attacking again, his expression was serious and calm, but he secretly groaned in his heart. He suddenly felt that coming here today was like making a bad move.
Before he could muster the strength to fight back again, the sect leader was the first to call a halt to the battle.
Although Guiyuan Sect is wealthy, they don't squander it like this!
That jade pillar, made of ninth-grade refining materials, clearly needs to be rebuilt, and an identical piece must be found to avoid looking out of place. This platform, also made of ninth-grade refining materials, is made entirely of spirit stones. What kind of decent family could withstand such destruction?
This isn't a fight, it's tearing his heart out! If you want to fight, don't fight here, go somewhere else. If anything is damaged here, he'll be heartbroken!
You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household!
Qingxu and Qingyang Immortal Lord still gave the sect leader considerable face. The Qingxu Sword flew back to Qingxu Immortal Lord's side, and the golden seal disappeared into the air.
The battle ended abruptly after the sect leader called for it to be stopped.
Those present were still somewhat unsatisfied with the spectacle. This was a battle between the top cultivators in the cultivation world, and every move, every lifetime, was enough to provide them with endless enjoyment!
The guests below were somewhat disappointed, as they might never have the chance to see this scene again in their lifetime.
Kunzhong Immortal Lord breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the Qingxu Sword that had returned and the golden seal above it, but he still said arrogantly, "Since your sect leader has spoken, then I will give him face!"
Immortal Lord Qingxu and Immortal Lord Qingyang paid no attention to each other's arrogant words, silently drinking their tea and waiting for the sect leader to negotiate.
The four people on the upper stage watched the confrontation and whispered among themselves.
"They're from the Netherworld City!" Cheng Jiu, with his sharp ears, immediately caught the person's background.
"What's he doing here? Doesn't the Netherworld City never contact the Five Great Sects? Last time, Master sent an invitation to the Mahayana Ceremony, but not a single person showed up, and no gifts were even sent," Li Weixin complained.
However, everyone had gotten used to it. After all, the Netherworld City was quite chaotic, with several Mahayana Immortal Lords, none of whom were willing to submit to anyone else. The current Netherworld City Lord was of average strength and could not suppress the Mahayana Immortal Lords within his sphere of influence. Although he was the city lord in name only, he was actually just a puppet.
But this is not surprising. In previous years, the city lord of Mingyou City was chosen by the strongest person in the territory through a battle. But this year, none of the Great Ascension Immortal Lords are willing to submit to each other, and their strengths are about the same. No one can crush the others to become the city lord of Mingyou City!
The battle has raged for many years without a clear victor. Instead, the infighting among the immortal lords has led to considerable chaos and heavy losses within the territory.
In this situation, someone suddenly suggested that since no one is willing to submit to anyone else, then they should all just quit.
However, the position of city lord cannot be left vacant, but it is not something anyone can hold; it requires a certain level of public respect.
Several immortal lords who thought it was a good idea looked around and discovered that the former city lord had actually left behind a son.
So this poor orphan became the city lord of the Netherworld City. At first, the immortal lords thought this was just a temporary measure, and that sooner or later they would decide the winner among themselves, and then the city lord could die.
But after a few years, they realized how brilliant the idea was, and wondered why they hadn't thought of it before!
What bad things did they do? Blame it on the city lord, scolding him for lax management. What problems arose? Blame it on the city lord, scolding him for incompetence. The people below harbored deep resentment and a riot broke out. Blame it on the city lord, saying he was muddleheaded and incompetent.
What is this? This is the perfect scapegoat! They can reap all the benefits while shifting all the blame for public grievances onto the city lord, without getting themselves involved in any scandal.
As for the city lord, he was just a pitiful puppet they had put forward. They didn't care about his life at all. Even if he had any complaints, what could he do to them?
Thus, a complicated situation arose in Netherworld City. As for who should attend the invitations sent by the five major sects, this was a major event representing Netherworld City, and no one was willing to give in, so they started arguing and got stuck without a solution.
As for the city lord, he was completely ignored by them. Although they were very satisfied with this scapegoat, they also felt that it would be too embarrassing for the city if he represented the city at the banquet.
Rather than have the city lord participate, they would prefer their old rival to participate!
So it's no wonder that Li Weixin was puzzled by Kunzhong Immortal Lord's disturbance at the Mahayana ceremony for the two new rulers of Guiyuan Sect.
Miyagi fell silent, feeling a strange sense of familiarity with what the other person had said.
Gong Yu: "Could it be that the elder of that guy in the market came knocking on our door?"
"What market? What happened?" Li Weixin's ears perked up, smelling the gossip, and then he looked at Cheng Jiu with a resentful expression.
Being a gossip buddy, isn't that unfair? He wants to share all his gossip with her, but she doesn't even think of him when she has gossip!
Cheng Jiu felt his gaze and said somewhat helplessly, "I don't think this is a big deal!"
It wasn't a big deal to begin with, but she didn't expect that the other party would have an elder at the Mahayana stage, and that this elder would actually stand up for the other party and cause trouble at her master's Mahayana ceremony.
Li Weixin nodded, somewhat satisfied with her answer, but immediately looked at Gong Yu impatiently: "What exactly is it? Tell me quickly, tell me quickly."
Gong Yu glanced at Cheng Jiu, who indicated that he didn't care, and then he shared the whole story with Li Weixin.
"So that guy wants to steal your master from you, Junior Sister?" Li Weixin concluded.
"Senior Brother Li, I remember that the Dragon Abyss Sect also took in the orphans of the Netherworld City. How did your sect deal with them?" Gong Cheng asked curiously. After all, this was an internal matter of the Guiyuan Sect. However, things had gone wrong, and judging from the sect leader's expression, the preferential treatment he had prepared beforehand was probably gone.
"Ah, what punishment is there!" Li Weixin rested his hands behind his head: "As you know, our sect leader Mingfang is not a considerate person. As for those refugees in Mingyou City, the sect leader said to kill them if they cause trouble. As for these orphans, it seems they were thrown into the Sky Tower as soon as they entered the sect, to climb the tower and fight to determine the sect's treatment. No one dares to cause trouble!"
Unlike the Guiyuan Sect, which had previously decided to have some elders take these disciples of the other sect as their own, in their Longyuan Sect, most of the orphans from Mingyou City had gone to the outer sect, with only a small portion remaining in the inner sect, and only a handful being taken in as disciples by kind elders.
As for causing trouble at a Mahayana cultivator's ceremony and forcing the other party to accept a disciple, that's even more unheard of. Li Wei thought to himself that Guiyuan Sect was really too good.
Within the Longyuan Sect, the distinction between insiders and outsiders is very clear. The newly acquired area of Mingyou City is considered outside. If they want to receive the same treatment as residents within the Longyuan Sect, they will have to put in some effort.
While the group was chatting, Immortal Lord Kunzhong revealed the purpose of their visit: "Your Guiyuan Sect swore that you would treat these children well, but what have you done now? Do you have any respect for their parents who sacrificed their lives? Do you have any respect for the people of Mingyou City who have been restored because of this?"
The sect leader's forehead twitched. If possible, he would not want to accept the lands of the Netherworld Cities near his region. The cities there were almost completely destroyed, and repairing them would be almost equivalent to rebuilding them, requiring an unknown amount of resources.
However, the residents of the conquered territory were quite resistant. They did not believe in the Guiyuan Sect, even though the Netherworld City said it would not care about their lives.
These orphans serve as a bridge between the two sides. In particular, since their parents died for these people, they have a huge advantage. If these orphans are treated well, they believe that Guiyuan Sect will treat them, the outsiders, well as well.
Otherwise, they would feel that the Guiyuan Sect was a wolf in sheep's clothing, trying to seize their territory, and would rather fight to the death.
Guiyuan Sect was aware of Longyuan Sect's methods. However, the situation was different and quite complicated. By the time Guiyuan Sect dealt with them, the other side had already formed a powerful force. These people had banded together and wanted to divide and break up the other side. Using Longyuan Sect's methods would undoubtedly have required a bloody suppression. However, the sect leader did not want to do that, and considering that their parents were among the few good people in Mingyou City.
After all, the fact that the Netherworld City would rather rebuild an empty city than repair it on its original site shows how the upper-level cultivators view the lower-level residents.
The fact that these people's parents were willing to sacrifice their lives to protect these lower-class residents is undoubtedly admirable, so under these circumstances, the sect leader promised to treat these orphans well.
Unfortunately, the other party had too big an appetite. They only wanted to become the core and top disciples of the Guiyuan Sect. In fact, they believed they were qualified to be among them. Since they were being treated well, shouldn't they offer the best?
However, the sect leader didn't think that way. As the saying goes, there is a difference between relatives and outsiders. No matter how respectable the other party's parents are, this beast tide has swept across the entire cultivation world. Disciples under their Guiyuan Sect have also sacrificed themselves in this beast tide, and they are also respectable. The treatment of the families of these disciples will definitely be higher than that of the newly arrived disciples.
Some things don't need to be said explicitly; it's enough to understand them in one's heart. After all, to the Guiyuan Sect, the other party is an outsider, so some things are just said verbally. Besides, the Guiyuan Sect is offering the best treatment.
Unfortunately, the other party didn't understand, while this Kunzhong Immortal Lord might understand, but he pretended not to. No one would be willing to give up the opportunity to seize the position of the most core disciple of the five major sects.
The sect leader looked at Immortal Lord Kunzhong and smiled: "I wonder how Immortal Lord Kunzhong intends to treat the Guiyuan Sect well?"
Kunzhong Immortal Lord waved to the side.
Everyone turned their attention to the side, and saw a woman stepping out from among the disciples who were serving tea and wine in the hall.
Cheng Jiu and the other three looked at each other with surprise. Li Weixin sized her up and down: "She's that Lingling? She looks just average!"
"The sect attached great importance to this Mahayana ceremony. Even the positions for serving tea and wine were strictly vetted. The fact that the other party was able to sneak in under these circumstances shows that they are quite capable."
Gong Cheng had vaguely heard that the sect attached great importance to the Mahayana ceremonies of the two Immortal Lords. Even when it came to serving tea and wine, disciples would scramble for it. Moreover, they hadn't noticed the other party mingling among the disciples, or perhaps they simply hadn't paid any attention.
Li Weixin nodded in agreement: "No one is as likable as Junior Sister Cheng Jiu!"
After he finished speaking, he stopped looking at the other person and waited for what the other person would say next.
"This is my niece, Lingling. It just so happens that she has the same spiritual root as one of the immortals at the ceremony. Lingling also greatly admires Qingxu. Although I am a rough man, I am not so unreasonable. My niece also has golden aptitude, otherwise I would not have the face to speak up. My deceased sister and brother-in-law also hope that Lingling will have a good master and live a worry-free life."
His tone was quite blunt, and everyone present could understand what he meant. First, he played the victim by saying that his sister and brother-in-law had died to save the people of Mingyou City, and that the child he was recommending was also of excellent talent and admired Qingxu Immortal Lord. Under these circumstances, how could Qingxu Immortal Lord refuse?
Upon hearing the other party's purpose, Immortal Lord Qingxu calmly replied, "When I took Xiao Jiu in as my disciple, I already said that Xiao Jiu was my last disciple."
So no matter how eloquently the other party spoke, Immortal Lord Qingxu remained quite indifferent and had no intention of accepting a second disciple.
Immortal Lord Qingyang followed closely behind, worried that the other party might have designs on him: "Two disciples are enough for me, and he is also my last disciple!"
Kunzhong Immortal Lord pointed at Cheng Jiu, who was standing to the side: "How can someone from a humble family compare to my niece?"
If it's about qualifications, isn't my niece more suitable? What right does she have to compare with my niece?
"Why don't we have a fight? Let me see what makes her so special that you'd abandon my niece and take her as your disciple."
Immortal Lord Qingxu frowned: "My little Jiu is naturally excellent in every way, there's no need to compare her to others! The fate of accepting disciples is determined by heaven. Others have no right to comment on my decision to accept disciples!"
"What, is it that you dare not compare? You'd rather accept a fish eye than a pearl? You're blind to beauty!" Immortal Lord Kunzhong's tone was filled with sorrow: "If it weren't for my sister and brother-in-law being gone, my niece wouldn't have suffered such humiliation!"
The sect leader sneered from the side: "If your sister and brother-in-law were still alive, that area that your Netherworld City doesn't want could just fend for itself!"
He really thought the other party was a hot commodity! Thinking about it now, he felt a little regretful!
"How dare you insult their parents! Is this the proper etiquette of your Guiyuan Sect?" Immortal Lord Kunzhong glared angrily!
Lingling, standing nearby, couldn't help but wipe away her tears. They knew what reason they had to come here to cause trouble, so they had to make a big show of it.
"To people!" the sect leader said sarcastically.
"I've never seen the sect leader have such an attitude before!" Cheng Jiu found it strange, after all, the sect leader had always had a very good temper, and was considered one of the best-tempered among the sect leaders.
"It seems he has truly angered them!" Gongcheng looked at the other party as if he were a dead man. Don't underestimate a powerful sect leader of one of the five major sects. Even if an immortal came to the sect leader, the sect leader might lower his attitude, but the other party would not dare to be disrespectful to the sect leader.
Kunzhong Immortal Lord, having been humiliated by the sect leader, glared at Cheng Jiu beside him: "Always hiding behind your master, it seems you're nothing special. Why don't you dare to come up and fight? Are you afraid? It seems Qingxu's judgment is nothing special. Such a lowly person is not worthy of taking my niece as a disciple!"
When Cheng Jiu heard him belittling his master, he immediately flew into a rage: "Fine, let's have a competition then, let your good-for-nothing niece see how arrogant she is!"
Since they've provoked him so openly, Cheng Jiu felt he'd be doing himself a disservice if he didn't fight back!