Chapter 728: The New Great Sage Cultivation Art
Seeing the message from True Monarch Immortal Slayer, True Monarch Junior College’s expression instinctively darkened.
True Monarch Junior College was unwilling to confront this grand-disciple of an Immortal directly.
But he was determined to capture Zhang Yu.
With a flicker of his gaze, True Monarch Junior College’s Bionic Eye switched to True Monarch Immortal Slayer’s livestream.
On the livestream screen, over a dozen Nascent Soul True Monarchs were besieging True Monarch Immortal Slayer.
Watching this, True Monarch Junior College felt a surge of confidence. “Immortal Slayer won’t be done anytime soon. As long as I get there first and capture Zhang Yu, he can’t blame me for arriving late.”
With this thought, True Monarch Junior College tapped his fingertips, and a series of talismans flashed, embedding themselves into the surrounding air.
Instantly, the weather shifted. Fierce winds erupted, forming shockwaves that propelled True Monarch Junior College and his group toward Zhang Yu’s location at an accelerated pace.
Watching this, Mu Qiansi thought to herself, “Talismans again… This guy can harness the divine power network like a Talisman Department expert, even without a Righteous God. Is this level of talisman mastery really something a vocational college graduate can achieve?”
Meanwhile, True Monarch Junior College paid no mind to his subordinates’ thoughts. He summoned winds and boosted the power of his magical artifacts and Bionics to accelerate, his mind solely focused on catching Zhang Yu and preventing his escape.
There was a reason True Monarch Junior College was so determined to capture Zhang Yu.
“Everyone!” he announced to his livestream audience. “Next, I will be livestreaming the hunt for Zhang Yu!”
“I want the entire world to know that a good vocational college is no worse than the Ten Greats! So what if he’s the strongest undergraduate? Today, we’re going all out against him!”
“I’m changing the livestream title right now to ‘Hunting Zhang Yu…’”
As True Monarch Junior College spoke and changed the title, the livestream chat erupted, its popularity soaring as the viewer count skyrocketed.
Seeing the growing audience, True Monarch Junior College continued, “Everyone, Zhang Yu is, after all, the strongest undergraduate of the Ten Greats, a Spirit Transformation Disciple, and a super-rich individual who can casually give away money to hundreds of millions of people. Even True Monarch Great Luminosity and True Monarch Heaven Devourer have fallen to him.”
Watching the rapidly scrolling bullet comments, True Monarch Junior College continued, “I’m not backing down! Everyone, listen to me. I’m putting everything on the line today — I might even end up bankrupt by the end of this!”
“So, for the sake of me fighting for the honor of junior college students and the poor, please like and save this stream. If you have the means, you can also donate. Crowdfund your support for me and boost my chances of victory today…”
As the donation numbers steadily climbed, True Monarch Junior College chuckled inwardly.
“Me, a junior college student, defeating the Strongest Undergraduate of the Ten Universities to bring glory to all junior college students?”
Watching the bullet comments refresh rapidly, True Monarch Junior College knew that was certainly not his goal. As for using this event to farm traffic and donations, that was merely a convenient side benefit.
True Monarch Junior College’s true purpose was tied to his identity as an Evil God Worshipper.
Whenever he thought of this, he couldn’t help but sigh at the strange and unpredictable twists of fate.
True Monarch Junior College’s real name was Li Qiuxian. He was 152 years old, with a high school education.
In his youth, Li Qiuxian was not a good student. He failed to get into university or vocational college and joined a gang right after high school, making a living by selling counterfeit medicine.
He and his gang wouldn’t dare sell “true-fake” medicine — unlicensed but effective drugs. But they had no qualms about selling “fake-fake” medicine — unlicensed and completely ineffective. After all, the former was a serious crime that infringed upon the interests of corporations and universities, while the latter was merely defrauding the poor.
The counterfeit medicine business was doing well, and Li Qiuxian thought he could rely on the gang for a steady job.
Unexpectedly, the gang later underwent a corporate restructuring. They planned to transform from a counterfeit medicine operation into a company selling health supplements, requiring all members to have at least a vocational college degree. As a result, Li Qiuxian was laid off.
Unwilling to accept his fate, he took a desperate risk: he forged his academic credentials and, using a fake resume claiming he was a top graduate of Myriad Laws University, began teaching classes everywhere. Under the guise of sharing college entrance exam strategies, he charged exorbitant tutoring fees.
But as the Spirit Realm’s infrastructure became more advanced and the academic credential system was repeatedly updated, Li Qiuxian was eventually caught. He began his days of unpaid labor.
Just when he thought his life was hopeless, he encountered a being known as an Evil God.
After becoming an Evil God Worshipper, he gained abilities he had never possessed before. He could convert people’s attention into Evil God Power — or, as the ancients would say, convert so-called “faith” into Evil God Power.
With Evil God Power, he could manipulate the divine power network like an Evil God or a Righteous God, performing feats only they could accomplish, and he gained extremely strong concealment abilities.
Under the Evil God’s guidance, he began to study rituals, talismans, and the Spirit Realm…
It was during this process that Li Qiuxian realized something.
“I… have a talent for the Immortal Dao.”
Tears welled in his eyes as he felt his own talent, but a surge of rage suddenly erupted within him. “My talent is in talismans and rituals!”
“It was only because I had no money… that I couldn’t demonstrate this talent in high school.”
“Because I had no money, I’ve wasted my life until now.”
“I… was held back! Held back by this damn Heavenly Court, by these damn Ten Greats!”
From that day on, Li Qiuxian became a veteran Evil God Worshipper. Under the Evil God’s guidance, he joined the Ascension Cult, where he was responsible for secretly proselytizing and drawing people into the sect.
He grew step by step, protected by the Evil Gods, and even reached the Nascent Soul Realm. He was even involved in the Yin Artifact Rampage at Joyful Union University.
Now, with the world-shaking changes and the outbreak of the great war, the Righteous Qi Alliance needed a figurehead for their propaganda — someone who could incite the lower-class students of various schools and attract more traffic, popularity, and faith.
Li Qiuxian seized this opportunity, transforming into True Monarch Junior College and receiving an unprecedented infusion of resources.
The skyrocketing popularity and attention, which would be Qi Luck for cultivators of the Finance Department, could be converted into vast amounts of Evil God Power for him.
Moreover, the disappearance of the Righteous Gods allowed him to use Evil God Power to recklessly manipulate the divine power network.
“So what if they’re the Ten Greats?”
True Monarch Junior College sneered inwardly as he glanced at Mu Qiansi and Ying Zhoufan beside him. “They’re still working for me.”
He spread his arms wide, as if to embrace the entire world.
“This is the Era of Great Contention, an age where opportunities and challenges coexist.”
“However…”
Gazing at Mu Qiansi, Ying Zhoufan, and the others, then at the fading Spirit Transformation radiances in the sky, True Monarch Junior College laughed inwardly. “For you, it’s all challenges. For me, it’s all opportunities. This is the best era for me.”
Just then, True Monarch Junior College spotted his opponent — the figure standing proudly in the sky.
“Zhang! Yu!”
He let out a long roar and pointed his fingers like a sword. As his fingertips sliced through the air, countless runes swarmed out, causing the unsupervised divine power network to instantly boil with activity.
“Take this! Heaven and Earth Record!”
“First Form: Homicide!”
With that, True Monarch Junior College pointed, and Mu Qiansi, who was behind him, shrieked as he flung her directly at Zhang Yu.
Within the unsupervised divine power network, True Monarch Junior College could manipulate its power to pin crimes onto his opponents.
For instance, if he successfully pinned a serious crime like tax evasion on Zhang Yu, he could mobilize terrifyingly immense divine power to suppress his foe.
But even without the Righteous Gods’ supervision, True Monarch Junior College couldn’t just pin such a grave crime on someone at will.
Therefore, he needed to start by naturally framing Zhang Yu for minor offenses, then gradually escalate the severity of his crimes and record them in the divine power network.
He would progress from minor to major offenses, starting with something as trivial as homicide, then moving on to infringement, environmental destruction, even tax evasion, and finally the ultimate crime he could fabricate — counterfeiting.
It was like administering poison, increasing the toxicity in his opponent’s system drop by drop until the entire world became his ally, allowing him to wield the ultimate force — originally exclusive to Righteous Gods — to utterly suppress or annihilate his foe.
And now, he intended to make Zhang Yu kill Mu Qiansi right before his eyes, thereby recording the crime of homicide.
“Even if he doesn’t kill her, we can start with assault…”
True Monarch Junior College sneered inwardly. “Zhang Yu, let’s see how many crimes you can endure…”
Just as this thought crossed his mind, the heavens and earth suddenly trembled violently.
Then, to his utter shock, the sky and the ground began to close in on each other at an inconceivable speed.
“What is this…”
True Monarch Junior College tried to flee, but no matter how he moved, he couldn’t escape the crushing pressure of the closing heavens and earth.
The sky and the ground were like a pair of hands clapping shut, trapping the cultivators like flying insects in their palms.
Boom!
When the heavens and earth completely sealed, True Monarch Junior College’s vision plunged into utter darkness.
The next moment, when he came to his senses, he found himself still standing in the same spot. Everything that had just happened felt like an illusion, as if it had never occurred.
But now, another person stood before him.
True Monarch Junior College’s heart sank. “Immortal Slayer!”
True Monarch Immortal Slayer glanced at him coldly and said, “You were about to act against Zhang Yu before I could?”
True Monarch Junior College laughed awkwardly and remained silent.
“Hmph,” True Monarch Immortal Slayer sneered. “You people… always the same. Trying to be clever, showing off, scrambling for credit. That kind of personality will get you into trouble sooner or later.”
“Remember this: from now on, when I give you an order, do not act on your own initiative.”
True Monarch Junior College bowed his head in agreement, not daring to argue.
True Monarch Immortal Slayer then tossed a scroll into his hands.
The scroll was like a screen, constantly displaying realistic landscapes of mountains and rivers, along with the figures of Zhang Yu, Mu Qiansi, True Monarch Celestial Elephant, and others.
Staring at the scene, True Monarch Junior College exclaimed in shock, “Zhang Yu?”
True Monarch Immortal Slayer said calmly, “I’ve already sealed Zhang Yu within the Myriad Miles of Rivers and Mountains Map. Take them to the Herald God. I want you to live broadcast their transformation into Evil God Worshippers.”
True Monarch Junior College stared in astonishment at the so-called Myriad Miles of Rivers and Mountains Map. Recalling the scene of the heavens and earth closing, he couldn’t help but ask, “This map… it just enveloped this entire region and sealed it within?”
“To achieve something like this… could it be an Immortal Sect Magical Artifact?”
True Monarch Junior College knew that magical artifacts had a vast performance gap, from instructional-grade and professional-grade to enterprise-grade and military-grade. But this was the first time he had ever seen an Immortal Sect-level magical artifact — the tier above military-grade — with his own eyes.
True Monarch Immortal Slayer replied casually, “Correct. It is indeed an Immortal Sect Magical Artifact. It contains a self-contained world with a stable spatial structure. No matter how deeply Zhang Yu has studied “Kunlun in the Palm” or even the “Three Realms and Ten Directions Great Void Barrier”, he has absolutely no chance of breaking out.”
Listening to True Monarch Immortal Slayer’s words, True Monarch Junior College sighed inwardly. “As expected of an Immortal’s grand-disciple, to possess such a magical artifact.”
“Immortal Slayer… he’s even more terrifying than I originally estimated. He’s probably the strongest Nascent Soul Cultivator on this entire battlefield.”
Gazing at the Myriad Miles of Rivers and Mountains Map in his hands, True Monarch Junior College was completely convinced. It now seemed perfectly natural that he had failed to defeat Zhang Yu before True Monarch Immortal Slayer intervened.
“Speaking of which… if True Monarch Immortal Slayer has such means, the Alliance Leader must be even stronger. The fact that the Spirit Transformation Experts of the Ten Greats have held out this long is truly remarkable.”
As True Monarch Junior College pondered, True Monarch Immortal Slayer spoke again, “Go. Do as I’ve instructed. This time, don’t act on your own initiative again.”
“I still have many people to kill.”
With that, he turned, his figure soaring into the sky and flying toward another part of the battlefield.
Watching True Monarch Immortal Slayer’s disappearing silhouette, True Monarch Junior College finally let out a slight sigh of relief. Often, being in Immortal Slayer’s presence felt more draining than facing a Spirit Transformation Divine Monarch.
The reason was that True Monarch Immortal Slayer’s killing intent was simply too overwhelming.
“Even Spirit Transformation Experts don’t kill indiscriminately, but that bastard Immortal Slayer does.”
True Monarch Junior College felt that True Monarch Immortal Slayer often killed without reason, not for personal gain, and was even willing to suffer losses just to slaughter indiscriminately.
Turning his head, True Monarch Junior College looked at Zhang Yu within the Myriad Miles of Rivers and Mountains Map. He let out a soft chuckle, focused the “camera” on the scene inside, and asked, “Can you hear me?”
Within the Myriad Miles of Rivers and Mountains Map.
Since his battle with True Monarch Heaven Devourer, True Monarch Celestial Elephant had been severely injured, eaten until only a mangled remnant of his body remained.
He had originally thought the matter was over after Zhang Yu defeated True Monarch Heaven Devourer. But unexpectedly, his vision suddenly went black, and he found himself trapped within this landscape world.
His heart sank even further when he overheard the conversation between True Monarch Immortal Slayer and True Monarch Junior College echoing from the sky above this space.
“They’re going to livestream our transformation into Evil God Worshippers?”
True Monarch Celestial Elephant’s mind raced with anxiety. “Isn’t this forcing us to oppose the Heavenly Court?”
He turned to Zhang Yu beside him, about to ask for a plan.
But he saw that Zhang Yu, who had just been pressing his palms together as if preparing to activate something, had suddenly stopped.
“True Monarch Blazing Light, do you have a way to break free?”
Zhang Yu stared at the landscape space before him, thinking inwardly, “Just now, when I tried to activate Immortal Descendant, I felt a distinct resistance.”
His mind flashed through the profound mysteries of various spatial technologies and his own experience of shattering the firmament. “This space is somewhat similar to the one created by Immortal Descendant — both are stable spatial structures.”
“If I continuously activate Immortal Descendant, it might trigger a collision between the two spaces…”
Zhang Yu pondered the consequences of such a collision. “Immortal Descendant should still be stronger. It could probably shatter this landscape space.”
“But…”
He recalled the time Magnetic Pole and Greenwood had carried him while he used Immortal Descendant to break through the firmament, only to be severely injured by the backlash. “A collision between the two spaces would likely inflict significant damage on me as well.”
“And with most of my Magic Power already depleted, my condition is even worse.”
Of course, this wasn’t the main reason Zhang Yu hesitated to immediately break out of the Myriad Miles of Rivers and Mountains Map.
“The Herald God?”
He mulled over True Monarch Immortal Slayer’s words. “They’re going to send me to the Herald God?”
Zhang Yu knew that the Herald God was the supreme Evil God of the Righteous Qi Alliance, the current leader of all its Evil Gods.
“Going to the Herald God means heading straight into the Evil Gods’ lair, doesn’t it?”
Zhang Yu had always wanted to help Fu Ji hunt Evil Gods, allowing her to grow stronger, which in turn would enhance his Feather Book and further unlock his innate potential.
However, the Evil Gods of the Righteous Qi Alliance had always been excessively cautious. They almost never deployed their true bodies for any operation, always remaining hidden on the Fifth Layer of Kunxu, remotely controlling their believers to carry out missions.
This had left Zhang Yu with no opportunity to get close to the Evil Gods’ true bodies, let alone help Fu Ji hunt them.
But this time…
“This is an unprecedented opportunity to get close to an Evil God.”
“But the Evil Gods’ lair is bound to be fraught with immense danger.”
Should he take the risk or give up?
Recalling the situation on the Spirit Transformation Battlefield, Zhang Yu thought, “If I can strike directly at their heart and suppress the Evil Gods, not only will I gain a massive boost in power, but I’ll also deal a severe blow to the Righteous Qi Alliance. I might even uncover many of their schemes…”
As he pondered, Zhang Yu sat down cross-legged and began to restore his Magic Power, aiming to return to his peak condition first.
Seeing this, True Monarch Celestial Elephant grew even more anxious. “True Monarch Blazing Light? Can’t you do anything either?”
Zhang Yu knew that his conversation within the Myriad Miles of Rivers and Mountains Map would likely be overheard by True Monarch Junior College outside. So, he simply said to True Monarch Celestial Elephant, “I need to study the situation more closely. Let’s focus on recovering our strength first.”
Seeing Zhang Yu’s calm demeanor, True Monarch Celestial Elephant sighed helplessly, glancing at his half-destroyed body. “How am I supposed to recover from this?”
“Besides, there’s no spiritual energy or resources here. I can’t even restore my Magic Power.”
The next moment, True Monarch Celestial Elephant abruptly turned to the nervous Mu Qiansi. “You’re the traitor from Joyful Union University, aren’t you? Do you know anything about this Myriad Miles of Rivers and Mountains Map of the Righteous Qi Alliance?”
Mu Qiansi quickly waved her hands. “I was forced here by True Monarch Junior College! I know nothing about this map!”
Meanwhile, Zhang Yu took out a Relic and began silently absorbing its Magic Power to replenish what he had expended in the recent battle.
Just then, True Monarch Junior College’s voice echoed from the sky.
Hearing it, True Monarch Celestial Elephant roared, “Damn you, Junior College! I’d rather die than become an Evil God Worshipper!”
True Monarch Junior College chuckled lightly. “Was I asking you? I was addressing True Monarch Blazing Light.”
“True Monarch Blazing Light, don’t you have anything to say? A lot of people are watching you right now.”
Zhang Yu couldn’t be bothered to engage, refusing to give his opponent the attention and publicity he craved.
While restoring his Magic Power, he tried to connect to the Spirit Realm Network.
As if sensing Zhang Yu’s attempt, True Monarch Junior College’s voice echoed again: “Zhang Yu, are you trying to connect to the Spirit Realm? Calling for reinforcements?”
“Too bad. It seems this Myriad Miles of Rivers and Mountains Map can sever connections to the Spirit Realm. You won’t be able to contact anyone outside.”
Zhang Yu still ignored him. After seeing the connection failure message in his Bionic Eye, he shifted his focus to another block of text.
It was a Daoist Arts secret manual, densely packed with characters. The art was called the “Myriad Transformations Self-Sovereign Art”.
After killing True Monarch Heaven Devourer, Zhang Yu’s first thought had been to check if the Soul-Guiding Pool of his Supreme Clarity Talisman had acquired the man’s cultivation arts.
He was incredibly interested in True Monarch Heaven Devourer’s ability to create numerous clones and execute various military-grade martial arts.
“Perhaps the secret to his abilities lies within his cultivation art.”
So, after defeating True Monarch Heaven Devourer…
At that time, Zhang Yu had used his Heaven-Shattering War God Armor to connect to the Spirit Realm, activated the power of the Supreme Clarity Talisman, and sent his consciousness into the Supreme Clarity Realm.
Now, the memory of that moment flashed through Zhang Yu’s mind.
Back then, Zhang Yu had walked up to the Soul-Guiding Pool to see if True Monarch Heaven Devourer’s cultivation art was inside.
As the great battle raged on, secret manuals materialized one after another within the Soul-Guiding Pool, all acquired from the deaths of the various cultivators Zhang Yu or Zhang Pianpian had encountered.
Among the numerous manuals, one stood out, enveloped in layers of golden light. From time to time, myriad illusory figures flickered around it, exuding an extraordinary aura.
Zhang Pianpian stared at the manual in astonishment. “The Soul-Guiding Pool collects the cultivation art knowledge that the deceased held most deeply in their hearts — the techniques they could never forget or let go of.”
“This Myriad Transformations Self-Sovereign Art must be True Monarch Heaven Devourer’s cultivation art. Not only was it etched into his mind, but he must have practiced it countless times, turning it into an unprecedentedly profound memory.”
“The depth of this memory far surpasses any secret manual that has ever appeared in the Soul-Guiding Pool. It’s been engraved directly into his consciousness.”
Zhang Yu retrieved the scroll of the Myriad Transformations Self-Sovereign Art and, under 20 times time acceleration, began studying it with Zhang Pianpian.
Upon examining it, Zhang Pianpian couldn’t help but exclaim, “Little Brother, this Myriad Transformations Self-Sovereign Art is a Daoist art for refining Monsterfolk Bloodlines and creating illusory-real clones.”
“Not only is its content exquisitely profound and its grade no less than that of an Immortal Sect, but it’s also a self-contained system. It seems subtly connected to the black art you practiced before.”
Zhang Yu nodded. He knew this cultivation art was not only related to the “Immeasurable Heart Inner Dharma Body” but also to the “Desolate Ox Soul-Quelling Heart Art”, the “Crippled Ox Body-Sacrifice Heart Art”, and the “Monster Saint’s Myriad Transformations Divine Scripture”.
“This is one of the cultivation arts belonging to the Great Sage’s Heir within the Chain Formation Diagram.”
“It’s also the key to how True Monarch Heaven Devourer could create so many clones.”
“And it’s likely one of the reasons he could master various military-grade martial arts so quickly.”
Meanwhile, inside the Myriad Miles of Rivers and Mountains Map.
Zhang Yu temporarily removed his armor. Then, cloud-like clusters of Gang Qi erupted from his body, forming a sea of clouds that completely enveloped his figure.
True Monarch Celestial Elephant suddenly felt goosebumps prickle all over his skin. His eyes locked onto the sea of clouds.
At that moment, he sensed that within the shifting, dense mist, low roars occasionally echoed, as if some colossal beast was hiding and watching from within.