034 The Divine Firmament Thunder Warship
Xuanyuan Luzu stretches thirty-three thousand miles from north to south, and nineteen thousand miles from east to west. With its majestic mountains and rivers, vast lakes, and dense forests, the land is so expansive that a mortal could not hope to see it all within a single lifetime.
On this great continent, hundreds of mortal kingdoms rise and fall, dynasties come and go, and the affairs of the world constantly shift. Yet above all these, nine mighty cultivation sects have endured through the ages, their legacy unbroken for millennia.
The five great orthodox sects of the Dao stand supreme: Azure Cloud Mountain, Skycloud Sect, Valley of Blossoms, Sect of a Hundred Refinings, and the Earth Treasury Monastery. Opposing them are the four demonic factions: Blood Demon Sect, Sword Demon Sect, Netherworld Demon Sect, and Bone Demon Sect. Besides these, there exist hundreds of minor sects, noble families, and independent cultivator factions.
In the past five years, two earthshaking events have rocked the cultivation world of Xuanyuan Luzu!
First, five years ago, the five great orthodox sects dispatched seven Golden Core masters. Armed with the Cave-Heaven Divine Sand—the Sect-Treasured Relic of the Sect of a Hundred Refinings—and the Twin Elements Dust Formation of Azure Cloud Mountain, they launched a thunderous surprise attack on the Demonic Pill Banquet.
In that battle, four of the demonic sect’s Golden Core masters perished. Hundreds of foundation cultivators and nascent immortals were slain. The demonic factions suffered a grievous blow!
Second, two years ago, the Bone Demon Sect proclaimed to the world that their newly ascended Golden Core master, Pang Yue, had assumed leadership as the nineteenth sect master.
The Bone Demon Sect originally counted three Golden Core elders among its ranks; one fell during the Demonic Pill Banquet, yet another soon arose to fill the void, maintaining their number at three. The other demonic sects had no such fortune.
It was rumored that the new sect master of the Bone Demon Sect wielded a fifth-rank magical treasure of mysterious power, easily defeating the previous sect master and seizing the position of leadership. The Bone Demon Sect began to overshadow the other demonic factions, faintly becoming preeminent among them. The name of the Sevenfold Slaughter Demon Lord, Pang Yue, spread far and wide.
Further rumors abounded: it was said that the Sevenfold Slaughter Demon Lord was once a disciple of the Skycloud Sect, sent undercover to infiltrate the Bone Demon Sect at his master’s command. Yet, after the Demonic Pill Banquet, he did not return to the orthodox fold. Thus, a former paragon of the Daoist sects transformed overnight into a demonic sect master.
Strangely, both the Skycloud Sect and the Bone Demon Sect maintained utter silence on the matter. The truth grew shrouded in mystery, and speculation ran rampant among the masses, spawning countless tales.
One more rumor circulated: the most beautiful woman among the orthodox sects, Gao Yan, had become the wife of the Sevenfold Slaughter Demon Lord.
On the seventh day of the seventh month, the Bone Demon Sect hosted a grand Golden Core ceremony to celebrate Lady Gao Yan’s ascension to the Golden Core stage.
The sect now boasted four Golden Core elders.
In just five years, the Bone Demon Sect had grown in strength, now second only to Azure Cloud Mountain, the greatest of the orthodox sects.
...
In the southern reaches of Xuanyuan Luzu, near the endless coastline of the Boundless Sea, a colossal palace hovered in midair.
This palace, named the Bone Dao Palace, was constructed entirely of interlocked white bones, gleaming and translucent, radiating a divine brilliance under the sun.
The Bone Dao Palace was the life-relic artifact of the sect’s founder, the Bone Demon Lord. In his lifetime, it was already a third-rank magical treasure. Through countless generations of Golden Core elders refining it, the palace had broken its limits and become a fourth-rank treasure.
Within its halls a world unto itself was formed—this was the ancestral seat of the Bone Demon Sect.
On the seventh day of the seventh month, thirty-two lotus leaves manifested out of thin air before the palace. Each leaf covered ten miles, arranged in two rows before the demonic palace. Elegant seats and tables were set upon the lotus leaves, laden with delicacies and spirit dishes for the guests.
Beyond the lotus leaves, a long bridge of white bone anchored the void, where many sect disciples in splendid robes stood at its head to welcome their guests.
From time to time, streaks of light flashed across the sky—cultivators from across Xuanyuan Luzu descended before the Bone Bridge, presenting gifts before being led inside by demonic sect disciples.
Representatives of the three other demonic sects, noble families, renowned independent cultivators, and even overseas beast cultivators arrived in an endless stream. With each tribute, the disciples of the Bone Demon Sect would announce the gift in a resounding voice.
Blood Jade Coral! Luminous Sky Pearls! Violet Gold Core! Supreme magical artifacts! Spirit cranes and rare beasts! Treasures of heaven and earth!
The names of these dazzling treasures echoed in the air, eliciting waves of amazement from the guests.
...
Deep within the Bone Dao Palace, atop a mountain shrouded in clouds and mist, stood an opulent cluster of golden palaces.
Within a quiet chamber, Pang Yue sat cross-legged. In front of him hovered a greatly miniaturized Bone Bridge, countless runic seals weaving in and out as he refined them into the artifact.
The Bridge of Forgetting.
His Sevenfold Slaughter Sword was his original life-relic, the first to break through to the rank of magical treasure. Now, after years of painstaking refinement, the Bridge of Forgetting had at last transcended its limits and become a true treasure.
When he departed the Nine Nether Underworld, Pang Yue slew countless fiends, collecting mountains of bones, many from Golden Core-level monsters. After more than two years of refinement, he had finally succeeded.
A white bone ring on his finger shimmered with strange light—it was also a magical treasure: the Ring of Netherfire.
Since returning from the desert, he had not only stabilized his Golden Core cultivation, but, leveraging his position and resources as sect master, had forged two powerful magical treasures.
By now, his strength was unfathomable. Even Pang Yue himself no longer knew the extent of his own power.
Then there was the Book of Parting Sorrow—a demonic treasure he had completely subjugated. Using it, he had tempered Gao Yan’s body; her astonishing talent and deep foundation enabled her to break through to Golden Core with ease.
Xiong Ying, on the other hand, still fell a little short, remaining at the ninth tier of foundation establishment.
Gao Yan carried the supreme legacy of Azure Cloud Mountain—the Divine Sky Lightning Arts. After attaining Golden Core, her abilities were particularly effective against demonic cultivators. With Pang Yue’s deliberate guidance in combat techniques, and their frequent sparring, her battle experience soared, making her real combat strength formidable.
Pang Yue put away the Bridge of Forgetting and turned to the north, his gaze seeming to pierce all space, fixing upon something afar.
“So they have come after all,” he muttered with a cold laugh. “Perfect—old scores and new, we’ll settle them together!”
...
Nine sonorous chimes echoed across the sky.
The auspicious hour had arrived. The Golden Core Ceremony formally began.
All the lotus leaves before the palace were now filled with cultivators.
A white jade dais rose up in front of the palace.
The ceremony was presided over by Elder Shen Lun, the Golden Core elder of the Bone Demon Sect. Of the sect’s four Golden Core elders, his status was the lowest. The sect master, the Sevenfold Slaughter Demon Lord, needed no explanation, and the other two were the former sect master and the current sect master’s wife—thus, the task naturally fell to him.
Dressed in white robes, Shen Lun exuded the bearing of a transcendent immortal, his voice gentle and pleasant, soothing all who heard it. He first led the disciples in paying respects to the past sect masters and elders of the Bone Demon Sect, then launched into a lengthy oration recounting the sect’s long history and glorious deeds.
Only then did he invite today’s main figure, Gao Yan, to appear.
Gao Yan was dressed in a magnificent white gown embroidered with golden phoenixes. Her bearing was noble and elegant, her beauty utterly peerless. The moment she appeared, it was as if all the light in heaven and earth converged upon her, making her shine brighter than all.
An astonishing aura of spiritual pressure radiated from her, enveloping the sky and reaching to the farthest corners.
The guests all rose and saluted, declaring, “Congratulations, True Master Gao, on your attainment of the Great Dao!”
Gao Yan smiled gently, took her seat, and began to expound on the Dao.
“The way of Heaven is to take from those with excess and give to those in want.
The way of Man is to take from those in want and give to those with excess...”
Suddenly, a loud voice rang out from the distant sky: “Where is Pang Yue? Do you dare to face me in battle?”
Gao Yan’s expression shifted slightly and she paused her discourse.
Far off, a golden warship soared through the heavens, bringing thunder and wind in its wake!
Six immense, unrestrained auras burst into the sky, creating a pressure that swept over all.
Six Golden Core cultivators!
The guests were thrown into an uproar.
“Remain calm, everyone,” Gao Yan’s cool voice rang out.
She lifted her eyes to the sky and said softly, “Father, have you come to attend your daughter’s ceremony?”
Her delicate voice carried far across the air.
The golden warship halted at a distance, facing the Bone Dao Palace in silent opposition.
At the prow stood a cultivator in high crown and ancient robes, hands clasped behind his back. He gazed at Gao Yan and called, “Yan’er, come to your father at once!”
Gao Yan shook her head slightly and replied, “I am now married, Father. Another day, I shall return home to visit, but today I cannot.”
A flash of spirit light revealed a graceful young female cultivator, who urged, “Junior sister, why persist in your folly? Will you truly turn against your parents and sect for the sake of a demon?”
It was Xi Yueming, Golden Core elder of Azure Cloud Mountain.
Four more streams of light burst forth from the golden warship—each one an eminent Golden Core master of the Daoist sects.
Gao Chong shouted, “Pang Yue, do not cower in hiding! Come out and face me, or I will risk my life today to destroy the very foundation of your sect!”
As he spoke, the golden warship behind him radiated boundless brilliance, the void trembling as if at his command it would crash into the Bone Dao Palace at any moment.
The Divine Sky Thunder Ship—a fifth-rank magical treasure.
The guests recalled the rumors and were struck with terror—Gao Chong had even brought out Azure Cloud Mountain’s greatest sect treasure.
The air was thick with tension. Guests scattered in panic, fearing disaster, and chaos erupted. Only a handful of Golden Core masters remained, daring to watch from the sidelines.
“Why must it come to this?”
A long sigh echoed through the void.
A tall, striking figure appeared, stepping onto the Bridge of Forgetting, and materialized before the Divine Sky Thunder Ship.