97: exiting customs

More than two months later.

Lin Chen took the eight Great Emperors across the Four Great Domains outside the Eastern Region. With overwhelming power, he forced many forces to submit.

In just over two months, dozens of forces had become affiliated forces of the Wending Sect.

But Lin Chen didn't make any demands of them, nor did he expect them to provide full support if the Wending Sect fell into crisis.

Because these forces were coerced into submission by force, unlike the Ancient Moon Tower, Misty Rain Tower, and the Xiao Family, who were willing. At a critical moment, most of them would fall apart and openly betray him.

However, Lin Chen didn't care; he only needed sect prestige points.

Among the dozens of forces, only a few large Sects gave tens of thousands of prestige points each; most other small forces only gave a few thousand.

As for the top-tier forces in each domain, Lin Chen did not act rashly.

These top forces couldn't be taken down in a short time, especially a behemoth like the Batian Sect, which was almost impossible to conquer quickly. What he lacked most now was time.

Although the Batian Sect would be taken down sooner or later, there was no need to rush.

[sect prestige points +3,000]

With the submission of a small force, Lin Chen finally gathered one million sect prestige points.

"System, exchange for the heavenly dao purification talisman!"

[The heavenly dao purification talisman requires 1,000,000 sect prestige points. Are you sure you want to exchange?]

At this moment, a System prompt popped up.

"Uh..."

Lin Chen hesitated for a moment.

These one million prestige points hadn't come easily. If he exchanged them for an [early great emperor stage permanent upgrade card (maid exclusive)], he could immediately promote Liu Ruoxi to the Early Great Emperor stage. That way, the Wending Sect would have another Great Emperor.

But... he had promised Yu Xuanji that he would let him live and told him to wait for his return.

As a man, one cannot break one's word.

More importantly, he had a good impression of Yu Xuanji and couldn't just stand by and watch him die.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Chen said solemnly, "Confirm exchange!"

[Ding!]

[Exchange successful. 1,000,000 sect prestige points deducted.]

[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining heavenly dao purification talisman ×1]

A soft ball of light containing a transcendent aura fell into his palm. It was nearly transparent, and one could faintly see the shape of a Talisman.

"Let's go back!"

Lin Chen put away the heavenly dao purification talisman and steered the warship back to the Misty Rain Tower.

From his recent communication with Yu Xuanji, it was obvious that Yu Xuanji's condition was getting worse. Recently, his voice was as weak as a thread. If Lin Chen returned late, he would likely only see Yu Xuanji's cold corpse... It was like a heavy bomb dropped into a calm lake.

The news of Lin Chen's group of nine crushing the various ancient Sects and Holy Lands in the Four Great Domains spread across the Cangxuan Realm as if it had wings.

A massive shadow loomed over the head of every power.

Anger, fear, helplessness, schadenfreude... all kinds of emotions were present.

Nine Heavens Sword Pavilion, Hanging Sword Peak.

Sect Master Sword Venerable Lingjue was meditating by a ten-thousand-fathom cliff, surrounded by Sword Qi.

A core Elder stumbled over and reported the news with a pale face.

*Crack!*

A Sword-Testing Stone beside Sword Venerable Lingjue, which had weathered ten thousand years of wind and frost, was actually cracked by a wisp of Sword Qi he unintentionally released.

He slowly opened his eyes. They were no longer filled with the soaring sword light of the past, but with unprecedented gravity, and even... a hint of alarm.

"The Northern Darkness Mystic Palace and the Illusion Dream Pavilion have both submitted... The Great Wheel Temple was directly exterminated..."

He muttered to himself, every word weighing a thousand pounds. Cold sweat broke out on his neck and slowly slid down his back.

The strength of the Nine Heavens Sword Pavilion was roughly equal to those three forces.

If those three forces couldn't hold out, the Nine Heavens Sword Pavilion wouldn't be able to either. The only hope was... that Lin Chen's group of nine wouldn't come to the Nine Heavens Sword Pavilion!

He remained silent for a long time before finally giving a low command, his voice slightly dry: "Pass down the order! Starting today, the Sword Pavilion will seal its mountains for a hundred years. No Disciple is allowed to go out for training!"

"Additionally... prepare three wisps of 'Nine Heavens Sword Soul'. You personally deliver them to the Wending Sect. Say that I, Ling, congratulate Sect Master Lin on breaking through to the Supreme Realm. The Nine Heavens Sword Pavilion... is willing to be on good terms forever and has no ulterior motives."

"If the Wending Sect has a need, the Nine Heavens Sword Pavilion is willing to become an affiliated force of the Wending Sect!"

The once sharp Nine Heavens Sword Pavilion chose to bow its head and hide its edge.

Because Lin Chen's sword was sharper, and they couldn't withstand it... Purple Mansion Dao Sect, Star-Gazing Platform.

The current Dao Revered Master, Immortal Master Shouzhuo, held a horsetail whisk and looked up at the starry sky, calculating the heavenly secrets.

Suddenly, his body shook violently. The jade handle of the whisk in his hand snapped with a 'crack', and a mouthful of blood sprayed onto the star chart.

"Revered Master!"

The Dao child beside him cried out in alarm.

Immortal Master Shouzhuo seemed not to hear, staring intently at the star chart, his face deathly pale.

In the star chart, the star representing the Wending Sect shone brilliantly, gradually swallowing the surrounding Star Domains, and showing a trend of becoming brighter and brighter, unstoppable.

"The Emperor Star... shines alone, while the other stars... fade!"

"This is an omen of swallowing the universe and being the sole supreme!"

"A great calamity! An omen of great calamity!"

His voice trembled, full of fear: "Quick, quick, quick! Activate the 'Two-Element Dust Array' and seal the mountain!"

"Furthermore, in my name, take that original copy of the 'Supreme Alchemy Scripture' from the Dao Sect's collection and send it to the Wending Sect immediately, right now!"

"Keep the posture as low as possible. Say that the Dao Sect... is willing to follow in your footsteps!"

...Similar situations occurred one after another in various places.

Meanwhile.

Imperial Continent, Batian Sect, Ancestral Hall Forbidden Ground.

The memorial tablets of past ancestors were enshrined here, and the atmosphere was vast and oppressive.

At this moment, all the core high-level members, including the current Sect Master Huyan Bao, as well as three Great Emperor Old Ancestors who had awakened from their slumber with deep, abyss-like auras, were all gathered here.

*Bang!*

A red-haired, hot-tempered Old Ancestor smashed the extremely hard stone table in front of him with a palm.

His eyes were blood-red, veins bulged on his forehead, and his Emperor's might spread uncontrollably, making the entire Ancestral Hall tremble.

"Huyan Bao!"

"You still have the face to be the Sect Master!"

"You are truly a disgrace to my Batian Sect!"

"The Wending Sect killed so many people from the Batian Sect, and your Disciple Wu Zhixiong also died at his hands. They're already shitting and pissing on our heads, and yet you still want to endure? You, you, you..."

Speaking excitedly, the Red-haired Old Ancestor actually wanted to strike out and teach this nonsensical Huyan Bao a lesson.

"...Old Ancestor! That's not what I meant!"

Huyan Bao was pale with fright.

"Enough!"

An Old Ancestor sitting in the main seat, with a withered face but the deepest aura, gave a low shout.

The Red-haired Old Ancestor, who was in a fit of rage, immediately quieted down.

It seemed he was very afraid of this old man.

Huyan Bao also finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The Old Ancestor in the main seat spoke slowly: "My Batian Sect has dominated the Imperial Continent for hundreds of thousands of years and has never bowed its head to other forces. Although the Wending Sect is powerful, the Batian Sect might not necessarily be unable to match them."

"Such a deep grudge must be avenged."

"Otherwise, where would the face of my Batian Sect be?"

"But there's no need to rush."

"We might as well wait for a while. Senior Brother Qing Ming is in seclusion to break through to the Peak Great Emperor stage. Once Senior Brother Qing Ming successfully breaks through, what is there to fear from a tiny Wending Sect?"

As soon as these words were spoken, some were joyful while others were worried.

The joy was because if Qing Ming Old Ancestor broke through to the Peak Great Emperor stage, then even if Lin Chen's group of nine came together, the Batian Sect would likely be able to withstand them. Who would win or lose was still unknown.

The worry was that a Great Emperor's seclusion could last as little as decades or a century, or as long as hundreds or even a thousand years.

When would Qing Ming Old Ancestor be able to break through to the Peak Great Emperor stage?

Moreover, success wasn't even guaranteed!

Just as everyone was arguing incessantly, a pillar of light suddenly shot up from behind the back mountain. In an instant, the sky and earth changed color, the peaks trembled, and an extremely terrifying pressure suddenly descended!

*Clatter, clatter, clatter—*

One by one, the teacups on the table were shaken off and shattered on the ground.

Everyone's hearts jolted.

Then, an arrogant, joyful, and almost frenzied voice echoed through the clouds—

"Hahaha... This Daoist... This Daoist has succeeded! Hahaha..."