Chapter 74: Which Version Are You, Old Ancestor? Why Are You Meddling So Much?

True Lord Xuantian awakened.

The spiritual energy within the stone chamber froze the instant he opened his eyes.

A century of closed-door cultivation had not advanced his Dao Foundation by even a fraction, yet the cracks that once marred it were now flawlessly mended.

His Nascent Soul was stable—more harmonious than ever before.

He slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid breath.

The air current washed across the stone wall, leaving behind a layer of frost.

“A hundred years…”

He stood up. The century’s worth of dust covering his Daoist robe slid down silently, not even clinging for a moment.

With a single step forward, his figure appeared atop the rear mountain peak.

Closing his eyes, his divine sense spread outward like an endless net, gradually enveloping the Qingyun Sect he had guarded for a hundred years.

He was ready to welcome everything familiar.

The mountain gate, the martial arena, the shouts of disciples practicing their morning drills.

The fragrance of pills from the Pill Pavilion, the heat of flames from the Tool Pavilion.

However, the very first wisp of aura that entered his divine sense made his brows knit together.

Something was wrong.

Why was the sect’s spiritual energy so chaotic, so restless?

It was like a pot of porridge that had been overcooked—thick with the stench of greed and ambition.

His divine sense swept past the outer sect.

The expected sight of disciples practicing spells did not appear.

Instead, a group of disciples stood in a strange square formation, shouting in unison:

“Ascend to Heaven! Infinite Power! Together we create the future—!”

A light, frivolous, and bizarre tone at the end—something he had never heard before—stabbed into his divine sense like a needle.

“Yeah?”

True Lord Xuantian’s eyelid twitched.

What was that?

His divine sense extended further, reaching the Mission Hall.

It was no longer the solemn place where sect rules and missions were announced.

A massive glowing jade wall hung in midair, covered with densely scrolling words.

“Mission Outsourcing—20% Discount!”

“Contribution Points Exchange—Fair for All!”

A crowd of disciples surrounded the jade wall, bickering like mortal market vendors, their faces flushed red as they quarreled over a few so-called “Contribution Points.”

Where was the solemnity?

Where was the path of pure cultivation?

True Lord Xuantian’s expression darkened.

When his divine sense touched the Pill Pavilion and Tool Pavilion, the face that had remained tranquil for a century finally cracked.

There was no scent of pills. No heat of fire.

Only a flowing, mechanical aura devoid of life.

Each disciple stood in a fixed position like a puppet, repeating the same motions.

Grinding herbs.

Purifying.

Controlling flames.

Cauldron after cauldron of ingredients went in, but what came out was not pills—rather heaps of energy-tangled, even poison-laced… lumps.

On the other side, slabs of spirit iron went in, only to emerge as batches of crudely made, dimly glowing standardized weapons.

The Dao of Alchemy and the Dao of Craftsmanship—two legacies requiring heart and enlightenment—had been defiled to such an extent!

True Lord Xuantian felt a dull pain in his Dao Heart.

This was no longer mere restlessness.

This was digging at the roots of the Qingyun Sect!

His divine sense, carrying a chill, swept toward the distant Black Mountain.

That place had once been the sect’s vassal land—a chaotic territory.

But now—

He froze.

The mining area had been transformed into a massive military camp.

Hundreds of miners, wearing identical uniforms, were mining while loudly singing a song full of a strange, addictive rhythm he couldn’t comprehend.

“We are the glorious Ascensionists! For the President, we give our light and heat…”

On the high platform, a Golden Core cultivator held a peculiar sound-amplifying artifact, shouting fanatically as he directed them.

That Golden Core cultivator—he recognized him. The Heishan Sect Master, Zhao Wuji.

A sect master, actually willing to behave like a clown, pleasing a group of miners?

And the “President” they sang of—who was that?

True Lord Xuantian felt that during his hundred years of seclusion, he hadn’t merely missed time—he had missed an entire era.

An era he could not comprehend, nor ever accept.

A surge of uncontrollable fury exploded from the depths of his Nascent Soul.

His Qingyun Sect!

The righteous path of the Eastern Wilderness!

Had fallen this far?!

“Impudent fools! How dare you!”

A roar of wrath burst forth from the rear mountain’s summit.

The pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator, without a shred of restraint, descended like a collapsing sky, turning into a tangible tidal wave that crashed across every corner of the Qingyun Sect!

He would use absolute strength to awaken these disciples lost in this absurd farce!

Thud!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Inside the sect gate, countless disciples’ legs went weak, and they all fell to their knees in unison.

Their souls felt as if they had been gripped by an invisible giant hand; even breathing had become a luxury.

The entire Qingyun Sect had fallen into a dead hush.

Between heaven and earth, only that domineering pressure remained.

“All elders, come to the Main Peak Hall to see me at once!”

True Lord Xuantian’s voice had sounded like a decree of Heaven, exploding inside everyone’s souls.

……

Main Peak Hall.

The air inside the hall had congealed like iron.

Wang Xuanfu, Liu Changqing, and the other elders were all kneeling on the ground, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Above the hall, True Lord Xuantian stood with his hands behind his back, his expression as dark as still water.

“Who will tell me, what—was going on here?”

His voice was not loud, yet it made every elder feel as if their primordial spirit was being pierced by icy needles.

“Old… Old Ancestor, restrain your anger…”

As the Law-Enforcing Elder, Wang Xuanfu could only grit his teeth and lift his head; his voice was dry.

“The sect… the sect was entirely fine, only… some… reforms were carried out.”

“Reforms?”

True Lord Xuantian repeated the word, a cold curve rising at the corner of his mouth.

“Turning the sect into a commercial enterprise, turning disciples into merchants, turning pure cultivation into slogans — is that what you call reform?”

“This…”

Cold sweat streamed down Wang Xuanfu’s forehead; he could not utter a word.

“I’ll ask you again!”

True Lord Xuantian’s gaze was like two sharp swords as it swept across everyone and finally fixed on the ashen-faced Liu Changqing.

“That so-called ‘Ascension Group,’ that ‘President Chu,’ who were they?!”

Liu Changqing’s fat flesh trembled violently; he nearly collapsed to the ground.

He had never dreamed that one of his “angel investments” could blow open the seal on this living ancestor who had been in seclusion for a hundred years!

It was over.

All over.

His dividends, his equity, his dream of being the chief venture advisor…

“Re… Return, Old Ancestor…”

Liu Changqing’s voice trembled beyond recognition.

“Chu Feng… he… he was a disciple of our sect… The Ascension Group… was… a mutual aid organization he founded for disciples…”

“A mutual aid organization for disciples?”

True Lord Xuantian’s voice suddenly rose, and the hall’s beams and pillars emitted groans as if unable to bear the burden.

“A group founded by a disciple could swallow Heishan Sect? Could control eighty percent of the sect’s resources? Could make a Golden Core cultivator beg like a tail-wagging dog before him?!”

“Liu Changqing! Do you take me for blind, or deaf?!”

Boom!

True Lord Xuantian did not even move.

An invisible force erupted from nowhere and struck Liu Changqing with precision.

Liu Changqing flew backward like a broken sack; a mouthful of blood arced through the air as he crashed heavily against the hall door, unconscious.

The other elders, seeing this, were so frightened their souls fled; they buried their heads even deeper.

“I do not care who he was, or what demonart he used!”

True Lord Xuantian spoke each word like a massive stone crushing into their hearts.

“This youth had sown deceiving words among the people, corrupted the sect’s orthodox lineage, and was already a demon!”

“Issue my decree!”

“From this moment, disband that damned Ascension Group! All participants were to be sent to the Cliff of Reflection to contemplate their sins and face the wall for ten years!”

Killing intent shone plainly in True Lord Xuantian’s eyes, without concealment.

“As for the ringleader, Chu Feng…”

“Bring him to me!”

“Strip him of his cultivation and throw him into the dungeon!”

“I will personally see what sort of divine being he really was!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep