Chapter 215: Found You

There was no joy in Lu Yan’s eyes.

For someone who had activated the Human Emperor Banner, killing two Golden Core cultivators was nothing— even if one of them was a peak Golden Core elder from an orthodox sect.

In the Apocalypse Version, even without using the Five Great Ghost Gods, Lu Yan had been able to sweep through the world, slaughtering dozens of early-stage Golden Core cultivators.

Now, with the Five Great Ghost Gods overseeing the battlefield, Lu Yan didn’t even need to use the Soul Continent. Just the transformed Human Emperor Qi and the Netherworld Battle Formation were enough to suppress and slay any powerful Golden Core enemy.

The couple, Elder Xiao and his wife, were merely an appetizer. Lu Yan was well aware that the real issue lay ahead.

Just before killing the two Golden Core cultivators, Lu Yan sensed a disturbance from the Mysterious Female Gate sealed within his body.

The gate, which had appeared as if carved from stone, began shedding its gray-white color, returning to its original form. The vortex of myriad laws within it began spinning again.

The Mysterious Female Gate turned into a stream of divine light, reappearing between heaven and earth. Mysterious patterns flowed across its surface, each line containing unfathomable Dao Rhythms. When the gate opened, its Dao Rhythms surged outward, greedily devouring the Dao of this realm.

All the myriad Daos of heaven and earth were drawn toward the Mysterious Female Gate. Originally only one and a half meters tall, the gate began to grow rapidly.

Two meters. Two and a half. Three meters.

In the Demon Version, Lu Yan had refined the Mysterious Female Gate to a height of three meters by stealing the essence of the Great Dao. Once fully opened, it could suppress the Dao Intents of Golden Core cultivators.

But later, while fleeing from a Nether Abyss powerhouse, the gate had shattered multiple times, shrinking to just 1.5 meters—barely usable.

Upon entering the Apocalypse Version, although it had recently evolved, the internal Dao was scarce and lacked the potential for the gate’s growth.

Moreover, Lu Yan had deliberately refrained from using it, keeping the gate at less than half its former peak, sealing it in the end using the Human Emperor Banner.

Yet now, in the high-energy Immortal Cultivation Version, just three breaths after the gate had escaped suppression and following the slaying of two Golden Core cultivators, it had already returned to its peak height from the Demon Version—and was still growing.

The difference in energy levels and Dao Laws between the versions was now on full display.

Lu Yan had foreseen this moment the instant he decided to use the Human Emperor Banner, and without hesitation gave his command.

“Form the array. Seal the heavens and earth!”

Human Emperor Qi swept across all directions. Netherworld soldiers and ghost generals formed a battle array to lock down the realm. In the void, the Five Great Ghost Gods appeared simultaneously, their massive bodies nearly blotting out the sky, cloaked in surging Human Emperor Qi.

Each of them exuded suffocating pressure. Information streams surged through their eyes. Invisible chains formed from vast amounts of Human Emperor Qi bound the surrounding space.

Had this been the Apocalypse Version, the Netherworld Battle Formation alongside the Five Great Ghost Gods could have forcibly severed this realm, transforming it into an independent domain.

But in the Immortal Cultivation Version—where the version’s power level far exceeded that of the apocalypse and where Dao Laws were numerous and intricate—the formation and ghost gods could not completely seal the realm.

Without isolating the realm, the ghost soldiers and gods would have to face the rapidly evolving Mysterious Female Gate directly.

In that instant, the Mysterious Female Gate erupted with suffocating Dao Rhythms. Countless Dao Laws wove into a net in the void, descending like the origin of all laws throughout eternity, crashing down toward the Netherworld army.

The six thousand ghost soldiers, even after being baptized by the Heavenly Dao Merit and infused with Human Emperor Qi, were shredded in an instant.

Six hundred ghost generals, whose Divine Souls had been fused into a unified force at the Foundation Establishment level, were violently torn apart by the Dao Rhythms.

Aside from their core soul bodies, all ghost arts became unusable. The battle array formed by the ghost soldiers collapsed instantly.

The Five Great Ghost Gods simultaneously unleashed their divine powers to resist the destructive might.

Qiongyuan God formed seals to try and freeze space, but the space laws were easily devoured by the Mysterious Female Gate. Yinli God strummed her jade fingers to manipulate the laws of this world, only for her technique to be crushed by a higher order of Dao. The Guardian God’s golden armor shattered in an instant. The mighty body of the Giant Spirit God was sliced to pieces by Dao Laws. Even the Blood God, who tried to summon ghost soldiers, was swiftly suppressed.

Most terrifying of all, the Dao Rhythms emitted by the Mysterious Female Gate penetrated to the deepest part of their souls, utterly dismantling the Ghost Gods’ core soul-computation systems.

Without this foundational soul-calculation, all divine techniques collapsed. The vast Human Emperor Qi they controlled began to disperse. Their colossal forms began to fade as if they might vanish at any moment.

At that moment, heaven and earth changed color. The sun and moon lost their light.

The Ghost Gods of the Netherworld, once so proud of their divine might, were ultimately insignificant before the true origin of the Great Dao.

But just as the Mysterious Female Gate’s Dao Rhythms suppressed the entire Netherworld army, the Human Emperor Banner stirred without wind. On its surface, a vast continent of souls emerged.

Formed from immense soul computational power, this Soul Continent appeared vividly lifelike with mountains and rivers—yet shrouded in a palpable, ineffable dead aura.

As Lu Yan infused his magic power, the Soul Continent descended, severing this world from the outer Heavenly Dao.

Deprived of external Dao support, the Mysterious Female Gate faltered. Even the vortexes inside it stopped spinning.

The battered Netherworld army suddenly felt the Dao Rhythms dissipating and quickly regrouped beneath the Soul Continent’s shadow to reform the battle array.

The Human Emperor Banner in Lu Yan’s hand radiated a brilliant sun-like glow of Heavenly Dao Merit, casting him as a majestic emperor who bore the heavens on his back. A terrifying suppressive force surged from the banner.

He stepped forward, transforming into a golden streak. With the banner in hand like a divine spear, he thrust it straight into the Mysterious Female Gate.

In an instant, countless beams of Dao Light flared wildly, but the Human Emperor Banner pinned them down.

The Soul Continent bore down with immense weight. At its heart, a black egg—like a black sun—emitted endless divine light, continuously suppressing the gate.

Under the full force of the Netherworld army, the Mysterious Female Gate was finally subdued.

The stony gray-white color crept back over its surface. The swirling laws within the gate fell silent.

The vision across heaven and earth gradually faded. The six thousand ghost soldiers, six hundred ghost generals, and even the Five Great Ghost Gods were all withdrawn back into the Human Emperor Banner the moment it pierced the gate.

In the vast world, only a four-meter-tall stone gate and the Human Emperor Banner embedded in its surface remained.

Only after completing all this did Lu Yan let out a long breath.

“Killing two Golden Cores was effortless. What truly deserved caution was the Mysterious Female Gate—and the disaster of eternal life lurking behind it.”

Lu Yan had known that once he exposed the manipulations behind the Longevity Version, the Mysterious Female Gate would certainly change.

But the scale of that transformation far exceeded his expectations.

In just three breaths after escaping suppression, it had grown into such a monstrous threat. The Netherworld army that once dominated the entire Apocalypse Version was utterly powerless before it.

Its Dao Rhythms, capable of suppressing all laws, had even shaken the most fundamental soul computing systems of the Ghost Gods.

If not for Lu Yan having refined the Soul Continent and embedding a wisp of supreme will from the Apocalypse Version into it—granting it extraordinary authority—this crisis might not have been contained.

Its sheer scale and weight gave it the ability to suppress by force, blocking off the heavens and locking down the gate.

Though the battle had been dangerous, it had given Lu Yan a glimpse of deeper truths.

Approaching the now-petrified Mysterious Female Gate, Lu Yan reached out to touch it, eyes filled with thought.

“Though the Mysterious Female Gate was crafted by that being behind the Longevity Version, its power seems… abnormally strong.

“When I once held the Mysterious Female Gate at its three-meter peak, it could only suppress Dao Intents. Never anything like suppressing all Daos.”

“Across various versions, other Dao Intents were heavily restricted—yet the Mysterious Female Gate was always usable.”

“This might be partly due to my own inherent traits, but it also proves that the gate possesses extraordinary authority.”

Lu Yan’s eyes lit up.

“Perhaps the Scripture of the Mysterious Female Doctrine, listed as the third-ranked Dao Technique in the Demon Version, is just a façade. The true key lies in the Mysterious Female Gate itself.

“A portal that contains all laws and Daos—it’s highly likely that something else has been infused into it by the mastermind of the Longevity Version.

“Rather than a technique-induced manifestation, this feels more like a supreme treasure projected through a cultivation method.”

“A treasure of this level—even if that mastermind is the sole ruler of this world—can’t have too many of them.

“If I can remove the hidden threat behind the Mysterious Female Gate, I might be able to fully claim it for myself.”

That thought stirred Lu Yan’s heart with excitement.

But without even locating the Immortal Taiyi yet, it was still too early to be thinking about what would come after resolving the crisis of longevity.

Suppressing his thoughts, Lu Yan once more channeled the Human Emperor Banner to restrain the Mysterious Female Gate and draw the massive portal back into his body.

Now twice as large as before, the gate pulsed with restless energy, clearly resisting as it reentered him.

Lu Yan frowned slightly, mentally calculating.

“This was the first time I released its suppression without preparation, and the Mysterious Female Gate grew too quickly.

“At this rate, I’ll only be able to use the Human Emperor Banner two or three more times before I can no longer fully suppress the gate.”

“I must find Taiyi before reaching that limit—or there’ll be no way to resolve this crisis once and for all.”

Having completed everything, Lu Yan did not rush to leave. Instead, he looked up toward a cloud in the sky.

That cloud had remained motionless since before the battle began. Even after he killed the Golden Cores and suppressed the gate, it hadn’t moved.

Even a fool would realize something was wrong with that cloud—let alone Lu Yan, who could clearly sense the wisp of Heavenly Dao Merit he had placed on Xiao Shang hiding within it.

Lu Yan soared toward the sky.

Inside the Colorful Cloud Miasma, Xiao Shang trembled, curled up tightly with his head buried, not daring to breathe—let alone peek outside.

After the punishment at the Qingwu Blessed Land, Elder Xiao had taken Xiao Shang and his mother Xie Nianzi to the South Sea Eye.

But Xiao Shang’s resentment had long taken root. He couldn’t accept that his family had suffered simply for opposing an outsider.

After his desperate pleading, Elder Xiao took him to visit the Taiyi Sect’s Mangshan branch to investigate Lu Yan.

They discovered that Lu Yan was just an outer sect disciple who had paid his way in—not even officially admitted.

Upon learning this, the resigned Elder Xiao immediately changed his stance.

As a peak Golden Core elder of an orthodox sect, he had his pride.

He could accept being bullied by a disciple from a major sect with deep background—after all, he had done the same thing in the past, abusing his authority to mistreat outer sect disciples.

But being sent to the South Sea Eye because of a fake tiger baring borrowed fangs? That was unacceptable.

Thus, the Xiao family plotted to ambush Lu Yan on this route.

Their plan was clear: kill him and immediately flee overseas.

So long as the sect didn’t catch them, a peak Golden Core cultivator could rule a region, and perhaps even use Lu Yan’s fortune to reach the Nascent Soul Realm.

How to kill Lu Yan was the least of their worries.

No one believed Lu Yan could kill two Golden Core cultivators.

But moments ago, Xiao Shang had witnessed the most terrifying scene of his life.

Lu Yan, wielding a black-gold banner, summoned thousands of ghost soldiers and casually slew two Golden Core elders. Even within Qingwu Sect, those elders were prestigious—and yet, in Lu Yan’s hands, they were as fragile as crushed insects.

Xiao Shang’s hatred was instantly replaced by pure terror.

He dared not flee or peek. He poured everything into hiding himself within the Colorful Cloud Miasma, praying to escape Lu Yan’s notice.

Time passed.

No one disturbed the miasma. His terror gradually eased.

“Lu… must’ve left, right?”

As that hopeful thought surfaced, twisted emotions of hate and rage returned.

“He summoned thousands of ghost soldiers with a wave? I’ve heard tales—only the Netherworld Envoy who slaughtered a dozen Nascent Soul demon kings and founded the Nine Nether Immortal City could do that.”

“But he doesn’t feel like that envoy. Could he be another? A second envoy?”

His mind spiraled into paranoia. Xiao Shang clenched his twisted face and muttered:

“When I escape, I’ll make this public!”

“So many cultivators hate the Netherworld Envoy. Once this gets out, he’ll be torn to pieces!”

“He must die! He must pay for my parents with his life!”

As he ranted, he finally lifted the miasma to glimpse the outside world.

But as the clouds parted, a familiar figure stood calmly before him, smiling.

“Found you.”

A pale hand gently landed on Xiao Shang’s head.

Already consumed by terror, Xiao Shang couldn’t resist at all.

In an instant, his true spirit was annihilated—body and soul obliterated.

(End of Chapter)