Chapter 245 – The Underworld Reveals Itself

Lu Yan’s voice was terrifyingly calm, as if he were merely discussing today’s weather.

The entire Lingyun Assembly fell into dead silence. All the cultivators instinctively held their breath. A Foundation Establishment cultivator killing a mid-stage Core Formation true disciple—such an inconceivable event was unfolding right before their eyes. It was hard to accept, yet impossible to deny.

Standing behind Lu Yan, He Dongsheng was so shocked that he couldn’t even speak.

He had never imagined Lu Yan would go so far for him, nor had he expected Lu Yan’s strength to be so terrifying that even a Nascent Soul talisman could be easily broken.

After a long silence, a furious yet laughing voice finally rang out from atop one of the celestial islands.

“Good! Very good!”

From the island that had released the talisman, a boundless Nascent Soul pressure swept across the entire Lingyun Assembly. A white-haired youth then strode out.

His robe was woven from hundreds of talismans, each step he took radiating countless illusions of talismanic phenomena, shaking the hearts of all who saw.

This was Yunlu True Lord, a true disciple of the Myriad Talisman Sect—one of the ten orthodox sects—and one of only three Nascent Soul cultivators in the entire Celestial Alliance.

Behind Yunlu True Lord, more than ten fellow Myriad Talisman disciples followed, standing proudly in the skies above, gazing down at Lu Yan.

With Yunlu True Lord’s appearance, the heavens above filled with multicolored radiance that formed a grand light curtain. Seventeen celestial islands erupted with dazzling phenomena.

There was the celestial green wutong tree supporting the heavens, the three-legged golden crow blazing into the sun, myriad Buddhas descending with universal light, and a Northern Sword Immortal cleaving the skies.

Even above the Red Lotus Demon Sect’s island, a blood-colored lotus appeared, refining all karma and sin.

Amidst this profusion of visions, disciples of all sects descended from the skies, each wearing distinct robes and radiating immense power.

Some stood atop flying swords with peerless sharpness, some wreathed in thunder, others surrounded by illusions of stars, and some wielding ancient-looking magical artifacts.

This was a rare sight in the Celestial Alliance—a grand convergence of nearly all top-tier true disciples, drawn out by Lu Yan’s actions. Naturally, this included the Taiyi Sect.

On the Taiyi Sect’s celestial island, many true disciples sat atop clouds. At the head sat the Twenty-Fifth True Disciple, eyes narrowed as he observed Lu Yan, faint joy flickering in his gaze.

After Lu Yan’s promotion to true disciple, his background had been concealed. But as the most senior Nascent Soul disciple beneath the Taiyi Sect’s Soul Transformation elders, the Canfa True Lord had used his authority to uncover Lu Yan’s true origins.

In Canfa’s eyes, Lu Yan was merely a mortal who had stumbled upon a great opportunity. He had even purchased his branch outer-sect identity from Zhu Zhuoqun. Within the sect, Lu Yan had no formal inheritance at all.

If not for Mu Chunqiu’s favor granting him a spot in the true disciple trials, Lu Yan would’ve never become a true disciple of Taiyi Sect.

As a legitimate descendant of the sect, Canfa had always held disdain for Lu Yan.

More importantly, Lu Yan’s sudden rise—overpowering Core Formation cultivators as a Foundation Establishment—meant he was likely to achieve Nascent Soul and become a pillar of the next generation.

According to sect rules, the Third True Disciple would refine a Primordial Spirit Pill every hundred years, awarding it to the one with the greatest merit in defending the Ruined Realm. Before Lu Yan’s rise, Canfa was the obvious candidate. After all, the pill was a peerless treasure that could assist a Nascent Soul cultivator in breaking through to Soul Transformation.

Nascent Soul was attainable, but Soul Transformation was a great hurdle.

Though Canfa had reached Nascent Soul before a hundred years of age, he lacked confidence in advancing further. Historically, few true disciples of Taiyi Sect had ever used the Primordial Spirit Pill to successfully become Soul Transformation sovereigns.

Now, with Lu Yan’s sudden emergence, Canfa saw his chance slipping away. If Lu Yan reached Nascent Soul and contributed more merit, Canfa would lose that pill—and with it, his best shot at Soul Transformation. This was something Canfa could never tolerate.

Thus, he allowed the Red Lotus Demon Sect to act against Lu Yan without interference.

Now, with Lu Yan publicly slaying a Red Lotus true disciple, committing a grave offense, Canfa wore a solemn expression—but inside, he could barely contain his glee.

Within the cultivation world, infighting was common. But in the Ruined Realm, internal slaughter was strictly forbidden.

The Celestial Alliance had too many enemies in this realm. If disorder spread within, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Even if Lu Yan survived, he’d be barred from competing for the Primordial Spirit Pill. That was good enough for Canfa.

High in the sky, countless talismans coiled around Yunlu True Lord as a tremendous pressure threatened to tear the sky itself.

“Lu Yan, you have defied the Nascent Soul decree and slain a true disciple of our Celestial Alliance. Do you admit your guilt?”

Canfa, playing the role of solemn senior, sighed deeply and spoke.

“Junior Brother Lu… Though the Red Lotus disciples acted against you, that was no reason to strike with such force.”

Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the sky, demonic qi surged around a lavish palanquin, forming terrifying illusions. Beneath black gauze, a seductive figure reclined lazily, speaking in a teasing tone.

“I think he killed quite well. Those Red Lotus idiots have been throwing their weight around for long enough.

“Still, killing a true disciple of the alliance comes with consequences.”

This was Killing Life True Lord, the current heir of the Heavenly Demon Dao and the third Nascent Soul cultivator of the alliance.

The Red Lotus Demon Sect, though acclaimed as champions of internal demon-path conflicts, had always been at odds with the Heavenly Demon Dao. Seeing them suffer was naturally delightful.

With all three Nascent Soul True Lords speaking up, the situation had been effectively settled. Other Core Formation disciples looked upon Lu Yan with a mix of pity and awe.

Lu Yan’s strength was unmatched among Core cultivators. No one at that level could defeat him. But against Nascent Soul experts, it was meaningless.

Even if Lu Yan possessed some secret treasure that let him stand against one Nascent Soul cultivator, the Ruined Realm itself was protected by ancient array masters and the World-Spirits Formation. Once activated, even peak Nascent Soul cultivators would be suppressed.

Lu Yan had no chance.

As all eyes turned toward him, Lu Yan looked around at the gathered disciples of the alliance and calmly asked Yunlu True Lord:

“You speak of rules… Then you should’ve seen that it was the Red Lotus Sect who first ambushed He Dongsheng, then ganged up on me with several Core cultivators.

“When they attacked, you said nothing. But when I retaliated, suddenly rules must be upheld? How laughable.”

Yunlu True Lord replied coldly:

“Those Red Lotus cultivators were registered in the alliance’s True Disciple Hall. You, however, vanished upon entering the Ruined Realm and never reported in.

“You bear no contribution records, no formal alliance identity. Their actions do not break the rules.”

“What about the karma-entangling divine power cast upon He Dongsheng?”

Yunlu glanced at He Dongsheng. Before he could answer, Canfa stepped forward.

“He Dongsheng may enjoy alliance resources, but he has achieved no merit. The Red Lotus disciples merely took advantage of this to act.

“On the other hand, Xu Hao, the disciple you killed, made great contributions in past battles.

“Junior Brother Lu, by killing one with such achievements, you’ve endangered our unity.”

As he spoke, Canfa even sighed regretfully, feigning sorrow.

At this, Lu Yan chuckled.

“So by your reasoning, the Celestial Alliance judges all by merit alone? Strength, justice, none of that matters?”

“But of course!”

From the palanquin, Killing Life True Lord’s ethereal voice echoed.

“The Ruined Realm is fraught with danger. Powerful factions have battled us for tens of thousands of years.

“Without the sacrifice of our true disciples, the alliance would never control such vast territory and resources.

“Status in the alliance is earned through blood. Whoever contributes more, deserves more!”

Her words instantly won the approval of tens of thousands of Foundation cultivators below.

“Well said, True Lord Killing Life!”

“Dead weight has no right to be our alliance’s true disciple!”

“Strength means nothing! No merit? Then you are nothing!”

A tide of voices rose up. In the middle of it all, He Dongsheng’s face turned pale as he lowered his head in shame.

Only now did he understand why the entire alliance had treated him with such hostility.

He wanted to renounce his position—but it was already beyond his control.

“Merit? Does this count?”

Lu Yan’s voice silenced the crowd.

With a wave of his hand, three half-man-tall, broken golden prisms appeared in the sky.

Many Core Formation disciples frowned in confusion, their gazes filled with doubt.

“What are those?”

“They look like something from Mechacity…”

“Are those weapons from Mechacity?”

“He’s mad—bringing out some junk and calling it merit?”

Only a few senior Core Formation disciples and the three Nascent Soul True Lords remained silent, shock growing in their hearts.

From the palanquin, Killing Life True Lord extended a fair hand and grasped one of the golden prisms.

“Could this be… a Hunter Module?”

Yunlu True Lord’s expression shifted as he grabbed another and exclaimed:

“The internal laws have faded, but this is a Spell-Nullification Module!”

The scene erupted.

Among all the hostile version factions, the most powerful was the Kingdom of the Gods. But the most dangerous was Mechacity.

Demigods from the Kingdom could be blocked with arrays.

But satellite-class war fortresses from Mechacity, armed with Hunter Modules, could obliterate an entire celestial city’s defenses just by approaching.

Hunter Modules had even killed Nascent Soul True Lords before. They were every cultivator’s nightmare.

And now, Lu Yan had multiple of them?

Had they not been so precious, some might have suspected Lu Yan was a Mechacity spy.

“Something’s wrong!”

Canfa’s face changed drastically as he recalled how Mechacity had suffered a devastating loss a month ago in the ruins of the Dongxuan Blessed Land. Rumor had it that a hidden demonic true disciple had used a Ten Thousand Souls Banner to destroy a fortress.

Yunlu and Killing Life True Lords both immediately asked:

“These three modules… are they from the fortress destroyed a month ago?”

“Of course not,” Lu Yan replied calmly.

“The one from a month ago was vaporized. Not even scrap was left. These three modules are from a different fortress.”

Stunned silence.

“Another satellite-class war fortress? You destroyed more than one?”

Lu Yan said nothing. With another wave of his hand, over a dozen shattered modules appeared in the air.

Not just the Core disciples—even the Nascent Soul True Lords were left breathless.

Even combined, they couldn’t destroy so many war fortresses.

There were fifteen ruined modules. That meant at least five war fortresses destroyed.

Even Mechacity would struggle to produce this many modules.

At this point, no one doubted Lu Yan’s claims.

If these modules were converted to merit, then Lu Yan alone had surpassed centuries of alliance contributions.

Yunlu True Lord’s gaze softened. Killing Life True Lord’s eyes sparkled. Only Canfa’s expression shifted rapidly before he coldly asked:

“If you admit you destroyed the fortress last month, then you must be the demonic true disciple Mechacity and the Kingdom of the Gods have been hunting.

“Which means… you possess a Ten Thousand Souls Banner?”

“Unless you hold a Soul Transformation treasure, I cannot fathom how else you could have destroyed so many fortresses.”

His words made the other two True Lords’ faces change.

They had suspected Lu Yan’s connection to the rumors, but given the alliance’s peril in the Ruined Realm, they had quietly ignored it.

Now, Canfa had laid it all bare—forcing them to respond.

The atmosphere grew tense again. Everyone stared at Lu Yan, awaiting his answer.

Under the pressure of countless gazes, Lu Yan slowly raised his hand.

The void rippled, and a black-gold banner dropped into his palm.

The Human Emperor Banner fluttered in the wind, golden light bursting from its surface like shattered stars spilling in all directions.

Above, the fabric of the cosmos was torn open by invisible hands, revealing a long, narrow rift. From within, the boundless aura of the Human Emperor surged forth.

With drum-like heartbeats, a massive fragment of a continent descended from the void—just the tip of the iceberg stretching hundreds of miles, pressing down on the heavens.

Before this indescribable behemoth, all cultivators felt a suffocating pressure. Even Core Formation experts seemed like ants before stars.

Heaven and earth fell silent.

Six thousand Yin soldiers and six hundred ghost generals marched out from the soul continent, neatly forming ranks beneath the sky. Clad in black armor and wielding weapons of the underworld, each radiated the chill of death—not evil, but a solemn transcendence of life and death.

As the Underworld army took formation, boundless Heavenly Dao Merit light erupted above them, flowing down like a golden torrent.

Wherever the light passed, all evil retreated and all demons dispersed.

Lu Yan stood at the head of the army, Human Emperor Banner in hand, gazing down upon Canfa True Lord.

He spoke, his voice calm and clear:

“Is this answer… enough?”

(End of Chapter)