Chapter 253: Lost Civilization
Ugh!
As the vast spiritual power infused into his body,
Master Hui Xing's eyes suddenly bulged, and through gritted teeth he said, "Demon Head, don't think you can bribe me like this. You've reduced my Lan Ning Temple to ruins, I stand irreconcilably opposed to you..."
Pfft!
A crisp sound.
Du Ge's finger slid, poking a hole in his stomach and casually pulling out his stomach, incidentally severing the supply of spiritual power to him.
"Scoundrel!" Master Hui Xing, clutching his own stomach, cursed angrily.
"Use spiritual power to keep the stomach alive, I'll reattach it for you in a bit." Du Ge chuckled, tossing the stomach back to him, "Master, don't be so pessimistic. At least Lan Ning Temple still stands. If you act rashly now and provoke me to wrath, and I slaughter Lan Ning Temple, you'll be the temple's greatest sinner..."
Me?
A sinner?Master Hui Xing was stunned by this shocking logic.
"Why don't you ask the people in the heavens if they're willing to die with you?" Du Ge smirked, "Haven't you noticed that neither Elder Hong Ren nor Elder Hong Jie are saying anything? Isn't it because they haven't sensed any malice from me? Centuries of cultivation aren't easy, everyone seeks immortality. Dying over a moment's righteousness is not worth it..."
Elders Hong Ren and Hong Jie of the Mahayana Realm remained silent, partly influenced by the Benevolent Healer;
Secondly, they truly didn't know how to deal with Du Ge;
First, the Buddha's apparition, then Du Ge's rapidly increasing strength, and the "Ban" on the ground that could trap them, the two Mahayana Realm elders were beginning to feel they no longer recognized their world...
Of course.
Having not died from the start, their will to die wasn't that strong, just as Du Ge said, after thousands of years of hard cultivation, to die so pitifully or to undergo Body Possession and start over, it's just not worth it!
Meanwhile.
The cultivators from the supervisory institution were persuading the monks of Lan Ning Temple with their many explanations about the purpose of the Spiritual Power Mutual Aid Alliance, and considering the torture Master Hui Xing had endured, the monks were gradually being convinced.
However, the situation for Heavenly Demon Palace's Zhuo Shao'an was becoming more and more panic-inducing.
Judging by the actions of the Spiritual Power Mutual Aid Alliance, the people below indeed had no objections, and on the contrary, they stood to gain even more benefits. But the unfortunate ones were those at the very top, like him!
He was of the Mahayana Realm!
Who else had the qualifications to transfer power to him, to enhance his realm...
Damn it!
I've dug my own grave. The two bald monks from Lan Ning Temple were right, such an evil fellow should be condemned by everyone...
Ignoring the noisy people from the supervisory institution in the heavens, Du Ge turned his attention to Zhuo Shao'an, whose expression was fluctuating, and smiled, "Elder Zhuo, thank you for your assistance. Without you, it would have taken much more effort to take down Lan Ning Temple..."
"Wang Chong, since I've helped you, does that mean Heavenly Demon Palace doesn't have to join the Spiritual Power Mutual Aid Alliance?" Zhuo Shao'an tentatively asked.
He could feel Du Ge's realm growing higher, steadily stepping into the Mahayana Realm. Just now, Wang Chong at the Body Fusion Realm was already able to stand his ground against two Mahayana without falling behind.
Now, with the two Mahayana Realm monks from Lan Ning Temple starting to Do nothing, only he remained in the Mahayana Realm, and he was truly feeling apprehensive.
After all.
The guy in front of him was too wicked to be judged by common sense.
"How could that be?" Du Ge frowned, "You just said it yourself, I am Buddha's disciple. If Buddha can save all beings, and the demon doesn't follow suit, how can he become a Buddha? The Spiritual Power Mutual Aid is also about saving all beings!"
"..." Zhuo Shao'an's face turned pale.
The two old monks being drained of power by Du Ge cast schadenfreude glances at him.
I'm such an idiot!
Seeing Du Ge's attention temporarily focused on the two old monks from Lan Ning Temple, Zhuo Shao'an sprung to his feet and dashed towards the outside of Lan Ning Temple, but before he could get far, he suddenly felt a chill on his body as his clothes and limbs were stripped away.
At the same time, Du Ge's voice rang in his ear: "Elder Zhuo, where are you going?"
Zhuo Shao'an was shocked: "You... Wang Chong... I helped you..."
"Helping someone should be done thoroughly, don't move rashly, or you might lose your head!" Du Ge grabbed Zhuo Shao'an and flew him back, while extracting his power, he said, "You just said it, I am Buddha's disciple of Heavenly Demon Palace, so you should at least cooperate with me in taking control of Heavenly Demon Palace, right?"
"You..." Zhuo Shao'an's insides turned green with regret, "Wang Chong, how can you be so shameless? With such actions, who will sincerely help you?"
"Medicine Immortal Sect, supervisory institution, and now Lan Ning Temple... do you think they all came willingly?" Du Ge said with a slight smile, shaking his head, "Elder Zhuo, it's you, who are not thorough in your demon ways and not decisive in your Buddha ways, swinging back and forth, that's why you lost so miserably in the struggle with Heaven's Path Institute!"
"Heavenly Demon Palace and Heaven's Path Institute have always been on equal footing, where's the utter defeat?" Zhuo Shao'an retorted angrily.
"If I take charge of Heavenly Demon Palace, believe it or not, the world will only know of Heavenly Demon Palace, with no more Heaven's Path Institute or Longevity Sect." Du Ge sighed, "Elder Zhuo, don't be too sad. Whether with or without your meddling, both Heavenly Demon Palace and Heaven's Path Institute would eventually come to this. You helped me, I owe you a favor, this is a good thing for Heavenly Demon Palace, I will give special consideration to Heavenly Demon Palace..."
You owe me a favor and you dismember my limbs?
Zhuo Shao'an glared at Du Ge angrily, his heart filled with grief and anger, pondering how to atone for his sins.
"By the way, Elder Zhuo, why did you suddenly come to Lan Ning Temple?" Du Ge suddenly asked, "Don't tell me you were just visiting..."
"I was tricked into coming here." Feeling the loss of spiritual power within him, Zhuo Shao'an was incredibly frustrated, unable to understand how things had come to this.
"By whom?" Du Ge asked while opening his personal interface and eliminating Zuo Zhonghou, curious to see who would take his place.
But to his surprise, two names were missing from the top ten list.
Not only was Zuo Zhonghou gone, but Chi Shiwen had also disappeared, replaced by one Qi Zongwang, an Inner Disciple of Bihai Palace, and another named Lang He, an Elder of the Golden Crow Hall.
And his mental power value had now reached 27,000, whether it was from advancing to the Mahayana Realm or from the rewards of the Pan-Universal Entertainment.
Either way, he was now likely to catch up with Nan Youlong.
Nan Youlong had also entered the battlefield during the Rotational Examination System, but he went up in the third round, participating in two Alien Star Battlefield events to achieve 78,000 mental power.
Moreover.
He had stayed in the Alien Star Battlefield for who knows how many years. Compared to him, Du Ge was already doing much better.
With the example of the two Mahayana Realm monks from Lan Ning Temple, Zhuo Shao'an was completely disheartened and sighed, "Two months ago, a man named Chi Shiwen joined Heavenly Demon Palace and caught my attention with his outstanding talent.
I treated him as the next Sect Leader of Heavenly Demon Palace, hoping he could stand against Heaven's Path Institute.
Who would have thought, after the incident with Seven Stars Sect reached Heavenly Demon Palace, Chi Shiwen suddenly came to me, saying that a great change was upon us, the man of chaos was rampant, and he convinced me that we must eliminate you..."
"And then?" Du Ge asked, "You just killed him!"
Zhuo Shao'an looked at Du Ge strangely and said, "Yes, I killed him. To verify Chi Shiwen's claims, I left the mountain with him, learned of your deeds, and then, chased all the way to Lan Ning Temple, just in time to witness the struggle between that Buddha's disciple and you.
Compared to you, Chi Shiwen was nothing but brute strength and a killer instinct. Just now, he even tried to influence my mind, urging me to join forces with the people of Lan Ning Temple to kill you. Then, I simply eliminated him, feeling you were more suitable for Heavenly Demon Palace, so I took action to assist you..."
"He influenced your mind, and you killed him?" Du Ge asked in surprise, "How did you kill him?"
"At first, I was unaware of being deceived, and it was thanks to that Buddha's apparition that I regained clarity in an instant. But Chi Shiwen didn't know, so naturally, I executed him." Zhuo Shao'an laughed self-deprecatingly, "My mistake was misjudging you, trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice used to lure it, bringing disaster back to Heavenly Demon Palace..."
An unfortunate fellow!
Du Ge inwardly sighed, having to admit that Zuo Zhonghou was his lucky star, a Buddha's apparition that brought him the Mahayana Realm monks of Lan Ning Temple and indirectly eliminated Chi Shiwen.
Without him, facing three Mahayana Realm monks would have been quite a challenge.
What a good person!
If only I had known, I wouldn't have killed him.
"Chi Shiwen said there are thousands like you, men of chaos, is that true?" Zhuo Shao'an asked.
"It's true." Du Ge smiled, "But I call them men of chaos, pretty much the same thing, right?"
"What do you plan to do next?" Zhuo Shao'an paused, then asked.
"Of course, to unite all the Sects, eliminate all the remaining men of chaos, and reign supreme." Du Ge declared proudly.
As they spoke, they had returned to Lan Ning Temple.
Seeing Zhuo Shao'an brought back with his limbs gone, the two old monks of Lan Ning Temple couldn't help but laugh, their faces creasing with glee.
"What goes around comes around, karma never fails!"
"Deserved!"
Zhuo Shao'an gave them a disdainful glance and turned to Du Ge, asking, "Buddha's disciple, where do you come from? Does your world truly have gods and demons?"
The two old monks held their breath, looking at Du Ge.
Du Ge said, "Of course there are gods and Buddhas, and even beings more formidable than them."
Zhuo Shao'an ignored the talk of beings more formidable than gods and Buddhas, asking urgently, "Can ascension take us to your world?"
Du Ge was taken aback, "Where do you usually ascend to?"
Zhuo Shao'an and the two old monks exchanged looks and laughed bitterly, "Tens of thousands of years ago, the path to ascension was already severed. If not for that, why would they desperately protect that Buddha's disciple who displayed supernatural powers? And why would I take the risk to compete with you, a demon..."
"What do you mean?" Du Ge asked curiously, "Haven't you ascended before?"
"Perhaps in a previous era!" Elder Hong Ren said, "In some ancient texts or murals, there were records of ascending amidst a nimbus. Ascension back then involved passing through heavenly tribulations, and the cultivators of that time possessed various supernatural powers. How could it be like now, where cultivation is merely accumulating spiritual power within the body and transforming the physique?"
"Our lineage has actually been broken for a long time." Zhuo Shao'an said, "In the ancient times, ascension was a true ascension to the immortal realm. In our era, ascension involves accumulating enough energy within the body and then venturing into the vast universe, searching for another chance at life, or the legendary immortal realm, seeking the true method of immortality..."
The main storyline?
The thought unexpectedly crossed Du Ge's mind.
But this main storyline seemed too elusive, didn't it?
Could it be that Pan-Universal Entertainment had severed their path of cultivation and evolved a new civilization, then provided it for the Alien Star warriors to compete for entertainment?
If that was the case, it was truly a grand scheme!
Rather than searching for some lost path of ascension, it would be more satisfying to clear out all the Alien Star warriors...