Chapter 965: Dragon Vein

This one with crane hair and child face, whose face was white and fair, a cultivator, was precisely Xuan Sanren, known as the "Xuan Mo Old Ancestor" of the Xuan Mo Sect, who had reached the Featherization stage.

Since the Wan Mo Assembly that year, after one Xuan Mo Fetus was killed, Xuan Sanren's vital energy was greatly injured, and he had thus been in closed-door cultivation, not coming out.

But at this time, with the flow of cause and effect and the approach of omens, Xuan Sanren felt something in his heart and couldn't help but frown.

"Where does this cause and effect come from?"

In his lifetime, he had cultivated the Xuan Fetus Demon Path, killed countless people, and made countless enemies. For a moment, he couldn't think of which grudge exactly could make him feel uneasy in his heart.

"I always leave no one alive. All cause and effect are also considered settled... Could there still be a fish that escaped the net?"

Xuan Sanren was not very at ease.

Killing must involve cutting the grass and removing the roots, even the fetus in the womb cannot be spared. Only then can one be absolutely safe.

This was Xuan Sanren's code of conduct.

Therefore, even though his cultivation was not the strongest among the crowd of demon heads, his fierce reputation was extremely prosperous, and thus he was called the "Xuan Mo Old Ancestor," making people lose courage upon hearing his name.

"Exactly when and where did this cause and effect originate?"

Xuan Sanren traced the source and pushed the cause, but his mind was blank, not a single clue.

Xuan Sanren originally wanted to give up, but ultimately, he was not reassured. After pondering for a moment, he simply hardened his heart and took out a compass from a heavily sealed red box.

This compass was cast from white bones.

In the middle, a lock was sealed, soaked in black blood, engraved with ancient and clumsy array patterns. In the center was embedded a demon eye, which was fierce and blinked incessantly.

This was a supreme treasure of the Demon Path related to cause and effect: the Nether Path Heavenly Mechanism Lock.

He had not used this Heavenly Mechanism Lock for a long time.

Xuan Sanren bit his finger until it broke, wiped it over his forehead, leaving a blood mark. The blood mark writhed on its own, and Xuan Sanren's divine sense also became sharper and sharper.

He formed hand seals and urged this Nether Path Heavenly Mechanism Lock, wanting to use it to deduce some past cause and effect.

But in the next instant, the Heavenly Mechanism Lock trembled. The demon eye in the lock suddenly opened wide, full of blood threads, and trembled randomly in fear.

Xuan Sanren was stunned on the spot, his pupils also gradually contracted.

"Heavenly Mechanism Lock... dares not calculate?"

"Is it... afraid?"

"A supreme treasure of the Demon Path, what is it afraid of? And who is it afraid of?"

In just an instant, Xuan Sanren again thought of that year, when surrounding that person outside Li Mountain City, the Heavenly Mechanism Lock seemed to have trembled like this before.

The unease in his heart gradually magnified.

In a trance, Xuan Sanren remembered that year outside Li Mountain City, when he deduced cause and effect, he had vaguely detected a trace of ominous sign.

That trace of ominous feeling floated in his heart bit by bit again.

It was as if he had unintentionally put a pile of fish fry into the river.

But among these fish fry, there seemed to be a young and ferocious "crocodile."

But looking closely again, the river was vast, the waves sparkled, a vast expanse, nothing could be seen.

Xuan Sanren's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

"That person is already dead, a Return to Ruins Heavenly Burial. Those related people from that year, those who should have died have died, those who should have dispersed have dispersed, the waves have gradually calmed, and there is no one worth noting..."

"Who will this single 'crocodile' that escaped the net be?"

"Will it endanger my Xuan Mo Sect?"

Xuan Sanren hoped it was just his overthinking, but in his heart, he could never fully let go, as if in the darkness, a small monster was gradually rising, growing bit by bit...

"Ten years have passed, and the changes caused by the Return to Ruins Heavenly Burial are finally beginning to manifest slowly."

"Danger and crisis are also beginning to spread."

"Heavenly Mechanism crisscrosses, cause and effect manipulate. In the killing bureau of seeking Dao and becoming Immortal, who exactly dropped the chess piece this time?"

Xuan Sanren sat dryly for a long time, his heart and mind still uneasy.

After a moment, his gaze became obscure. From his bone ring, he carefully and heavily took out an ancient book.

Xuan Sanren's white and bone-like palm gently stroked this ancient book, and he said in a low voice:

"Hereafter, the life and death fate of Xuan Mo Sect, perhaps, will be entrusted to this..."

This was a fragmented volume, the book pages were yellow and old, with traces of being soaked in water and burned by fire. On the damaged title page were written six ancient, plain, and vigorous characters:

"Dao Heart Plant Demon Great Law."

In the divine hall on Lonely Mountain.

Xuan Gongzi also perceived a trace of heart palpitations, but his attainment in divine thought was far inferior to Xuan Sanren's, so he was only slightly confused and then did not take it to heart.

Moreover, he still had to face the powerful Shen Tu Ao.

He needed to seize the Great Wilderness's inheritance from Shen Tu Ao's hands, as well as his other foundation for cultivating the Xuan Mo Fetus—

That is, the flesh body of the Fourth Prince of the Great Wilderness.

Although the Great Wilderness Dragon Vein was good, it had a drawback, which was that it was an imperial clan's inheritance. Among its techniques, Dao methods, arrays, refining methods, bone symbol methods, and even sacrificial methods and other various secret methods, those not of the imperial clan bloodline could mostly not control or drive them.

Therefore, without the imperial clan bloodline, even obtaining the Great Wilderness inheritance was somewhat "chicken ribs."

Shen Tu Ao and that Second Elder didn't say this matter, but Xuan Gongzi understood it in his heart.

If one wanted to obtain the Great Wilderness inheritance, one must first have the Great Wilderness bloodline.

Without bloodline, everything was empty talk.

The imperial clan of the Great Wilderness were almost all dead, and not many flesh bodies could be found either.

The one living was the current Shen Tu Ao, but he was too strong, his ambition was very firm, and his ambition was also very big, not easy to control.

Even cooperating with him was difficult to gain benefits.

Since that was the case, he could only find the "Fourth Prince," who, although dead, had an intact flesh body, and refine it into his own "Xuan Mo Fetus."

The Xuan Mo Fetus transforms, a supreme demonic skill.

One body, two fetuses, true and false are difficult to distinguish.

As long as the Xuan Mo Fetus was refined, he himself would become the prince of the Great Wilderness and could act using the "prince" identity.

In the future, once the great plan succeeded, the entire Great Wilderness would be within his grasp.

Xuan Gongzi's heart was fervent, his ambition rising like karmic fire.

He didn't say these thoughts out loud.

But Shen Tu Ao, who had been scheming against him for so many years and was deeply cunning, roughly understood his intention after Xuan Gongzi mentioned the "Xuan Mo Fetus" matter.

"Indeed, non-my race, their hearts must be different..." Shen Tu Ao's face was cold, "Kyushu's cultivators should indeed all die."

Xuan Gongzi did not take it seriously, instead looking at Shen Tu Ao and asking:

"Prince Ao, do you not want your younger brother to live again?"

"Live again?" Shen Tu Ao scoffed, "Borrowing a corpse to return the soul, is that also called living again?"

"No matter how he lives, he is always alive, able to accompany you, talk with you..." Xuan Gongzi's eyes dimmed, his voice with a trace of regret, "It is always better than him being cold and stiff, lying in a coffin."

Shen Tu Ao's gaze was sharp: "Only flesh and blood without a divine soul."

"How can there be no divine soul?" Xuan Gongzi showed a gentle smile, "The skin is your younger brother's, the divine soul is mine. I can recognize you as elder brother and be your imperial younger brother."

This sentence truly angered Shen Tu Ao. His pupils widened slightly, "Cunning and sneaky person, do you also deserve to be my younger brother?"

Xuan Gongzi's smile on his face turned cold, "This is you, not knowing how to appreciate favors..."

He turned to look at the Xiong Pi demon cultivator, "Kill Shen Tu Ao, and you can then transform from a snake into a dragon. If you don't kill him, both you and I will die here."

Xiong Pi Elder's gaze was gloomy, obviously not liking Xuan Gongzi's commanding tone, but these words indeed spoke to his heart.

Who would be willing to be a bear dog when they could be a dragon?

Now the dragon was wandering in shallow water, injured. This was his best opportunity to swallow the dragon and transform, a once-in-a-thousand-years chance.

Xiong Pi Elder's body's demonic qi was greatly prosperous, and two sets of Four Symbols array patterns intertwined. The barbaric Xiong Pi power and the sinister mad python power converged on his body.

His body, for a time, was several points larger than Shen Tu Ao's.

Then, with a gust of wind, Xiong Pi Elder pounced directly towards Shen Tu Ao like a strange demon beast.

His right arm suddenly swelled, turning into a bear claw, carrying a foul wind and slapping towards Shen Tu Ao's head.

Shen Tu Ao's right arm grew dragon scales and clashed fiercely with Xiong Pi Elder's once. Strong winds stirred between them, and both retreated a step, their strength actually evenly matched.

Xiong Pi Elder's spirit greatly vibrated, his left hand's flesh blurred, demon patterns flashed, manifesting into a mad python, opening its blood basin-sized mouth and tearing and biting towards Shen Tu Ao.

Shen Tu Ao frowned, turned around, his hand like steel, grasping the mad python's head. Before he could twist off this snake head, a bloody knife light chopped on his back.

This knife was quite a bit stronger than before, at least breaking the blood skin.

Shen Tu Ao didn't care, but after a moment, he detected that this bloody light contained a hidden severe poison.

This should be a kind of sinister blood poison, not low-grade, and it was now corroding his flesh body.

Shen Tu Ao dared not neglect it and could only throw down Xiong Pi Elder, turning to cope with Xuan Gongzi's bloody sword light.

But this blood poison was very strange, flowing in the meridians and fusing into the flesh, like a bone-attached maggot. Shen Tu Ao's movements were thus slowed down by a few points.

"Kill him!" Xuan Gongzi said.

Xiong Pi Elder seized the opportunity to pounce up, using his Xiong Pi power to fiercely attack from the front. Seeing that the opportunity was not good, he transformed into a mad python, tearing and biting with Shen Tu Ao.

Coupled with Xuan Gongzi's blood sword and blood poison, they went back and forth, fighting dozens of rounds of life and death. Shen Tu Ao's situation became more and more unfavorable.

"This Shen Tu Ao won't just die like this, will he..." Mo Hua muttered in his heart.

Just at this time, his expression changed, and he secretly looked towards the hall door.

Xiong Pi Elder and Xuan Gongzi also seemed to have detected something, stopped their hands, and slowly looked towards the doorway.

At the doorway of the great hall, at some unknown time, another wave of people appeared.

Precisely Shen Shou Xing and Xun Zi You and their group.

At this time, their group had dark yin energy on their foreheads and gloomy faces. Obviously, they had also encountered the riot of yin souls in the golden square on their way here and had experienced quite a few twists and turns. Some people had even had some divine sense eaten by the yin souls.

Including Elder Xun Zi You and the other two people, their divine sense had all suffered some loss, and they had been contaminated with a part of evil spirits.

They themselves might not detect these evil spirits.

Mo Hua was a little worried, but at the same time, he vaguely detected that something wasn't quite right.

"Elder Xun... how did they get here?"

"Why can they always catch up..."

Not only was Mo Hua puzzled, but even Xuan Gongzi and the others were a little surprised, but they didn't speak rashly and didn't take any other actions.

The field quieted down for a time, the atmosphere was solemn, even somewhat oppressive.

Various forces intersected, and the situation naturally became complicated.

The first thing Xun Zi You did upon entering the door was to glance at Shen Tu Ao and the others, then his gaze patrolled the field, sweeping to Mo Hua, who was hiding in the corner, safe and sound. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He was a "bodyguard," and Mo Hua's safety was naturally the top priority.

And Shen Shou Xing was the same as him. He only looked at Shen Tu Ao and the others once, then also looked for his son's figure.

Soon, he saw Shen Qing Sheng.

But Shen Qing Sheng's appearance was very bad, like trash thrown aside, unconscious.

Shen Shou Xing was angry and immediately wanted to rescue Shen Qing Sheng.

But before he could make a move from afar, Xuan Gongzi was a step ahead, lifted Shen Qing Sheng, held a sword horizontally at his neck, and said to Shen Shou Xing:

"Don't come over."

Shen Shou Xing had to stop and said coldly: "Let him go, and I will spare your life."

Xuan Gongzi laughed: "Do you think that's possible?"

Shen Shou Xing's gaze condensed, "I don't believe you can hold him forever. Don't forget, I am Golden Core peak, and you are only Golden Core initial. As long as you are slightly careless, I can kill you."

Xuan Gongzi nodded, "I know."

Then he pressed the sword edge tightly against Shen Qing Sheng's neck to prevent Shen Shou Xing from suddenly bursting in and killing him.

Afterward, he whispered something in Shen Qing Sheng's ear.

Originally unconscious, Shen Qing Sheng actually slowly opened his eyes after listening, but his eyes were dull, and his expression was also like a clay sculpture.

Shen Shou Xing's pupils shrank, "What did you do to Qing Er?"

"Nothing," Xuan Gongzi let go of Shen Qing Sheng and slowly laughed, "Just simply used a 'Dao Heart Plant Demon' on him, making him listen to my words and be my servant only."

"Evil creature!" Shen Shou Xing's face showed killing intent.

Sword qi stirred between them. Shen Shou Xing raised his long sword, but before he could act, Xuan Gongzi laughed again:

"Right, I also told your son one sentence..." Xuan Gongzi pressed on the back of Shen Qing Sheng's head, "If I die, he also has to commit suicide."

Shen Shou Xing's long sword paused, and he said coldly: "Do you think I will believe you?"

Xuan Gongzi said indifferently: "Do you want to bet? Bet with your son's life?"

Shen Shou Xing's gaze trembled, forcibly suppressing his killing intent.

Seeing that Shen Shou Xing was controlled, Xuan Gongzi turned his head again, looked towards Xun Zi You at the side, "Elder Xun, how about we also cooperate a bit?"

Xun Zi You frowned, "Are you crazy? I am a dignified Elder of Tai Xu Sect, how can I be like you, a Demon Path evil disciple? Based on what?"

"Just based on..." Xuan Gongzi smiled, "Your Tai Xu Sect's disciple is in my hand."

Xun Zi You's pupils shrank.

Mo Hua was also startled.

This Xuan Gongzi, did he know his identity?

"Your Tai Xu Sect and the Shen family have no deep friendship. Before, I was still somewhat confused, why your Tai Xu Sect joined in the fun when the Shen family's young master was caught. Until you just entered the room and rushed to glance at the corner, I realized..."

Xuan Gongzi looked towards Mo Hua in the corner, "You also came to save people, and the person to save is precisely this little brother who is proficient in arrays."

"It's just that you covered it up well, didn't show it, and this little brother is also clever, pretending all the way not to know you all."

"But no matter how well you cover it up, you ultimately still exposed a flaw."

Xun Zi You's expression remained unmoved, but his heart sank slightly, "I don't understand what you are saying. This little brother's aptitude is so poor, what relation can he have with my Tai Xu Sect?"

Xuan Gongzi paused, a shallow smile on the corners of his mouth, "To be honest, my uncle ancestor suffered a great loss from 'Dao Heart Plant Demon' that year, so he racked his brains to find the lost original canon of Illusion Demon Sect's Dao Heart Plant Demon, making me cultivate it well."

"I have quite a bit of comprehension in the path of divine thought, and this Dao Heart Plant Demon, cultivated also quite well, is quite sensitive to the fluctuations of the human heart."

"Therefore, Elder Xun, your little careful thoughts simply cannot be hidden from me."

Xun Zi You frowned.

This Demon Path young master was cunning and strategic. He felt that he was somewhat similar to Mo Hua, and indeed very difficult to deal with.

On the surface, he was still unwilling to admit it.

But at the same time, he was also a little worried:

This little clever ghost, Mo Hua, wouldn't really have been Dao Heart Plant Demon, would he?

If he had really been bewitched, lost his heart, and become someone else's puppet, that would be a big trouble.

While Xun Zi You was uneasy in his heart, Xuan Gongzi instructed Mo Hua:

"Come over."

Mo Hua's gaze was indeed dull, like a wooden person, and he obediently walked to Xuan Gongzi's front.

Xuan Gongzi commanded: "Make your sect elder listen to my words."

Mo Hua then woodenly said: "Elder Xun, I have been controlled, you listen to Xuan Gongzi's words."

This sentence, others who didn't understand Mo Hua, might not find anything wrong with it.

But Xun Zi You was very familiar with Mo Hua.

Listening to this dull sentence coming from Mo Hua's mouth, he always felt a hint of mischief.

Xun Zi You's mood was a little strange, but he didn't feel unexpected.

With Mo Hua's cleverness, who exactly bewitched whom was really uncertain...

Nothing was going well...

Xun Zi You's face showed tangled, painful, and anxious emotions, as if he was extremely regretful that Mo Hua had been controlled. In the end, he sighed and said helplessly:

"As long as you don't hurt him, anything else you say counts."

Xuan Gongzi's handsome face showed a sinister and complacent smile.

With the Shen family's young master and the Tai Xu Sect disciple, these two key "hostages," all in his hand, he could dispose of their life and death.

He could then hold the "Son of Heaven" to command the vassals.

Now, almost all the cultivators in this hall had to listen to his orders.

All great trends converged upon himself alone!

No wonder uncle ancestor told me to cultivate this Dao Heart Plant Demon at all costs.

Playing with human hearts and controlling the situation's taste was indeed not bad.

And he himself was only Golden Core initial now.

One day, when he advanced to Featherization, cultivated the Illusion Demon original canon, and the Dao Heart Plant Demon was a great success, with just one thought, he could make others submit and dispose of their life and death.

Even that legendary Daoist, who could not be mentioned, who caused uncle ancestor to lose one Xuan Mo Fetus, was probably not as good as him.

Or at least, he could stand on equal footing with that person.

Dao Heart Plant Demon, plus a Xuan Mo Fetus that carried the Great Wilderness imperial clan bloodline and could cultivate the Great Wilderness inheritance...

The Dao path was limitless.

Xuan Gongzi's eyes showed ambition, and he grinned a sinister smile, then no longer hesitated, pointing to Shen Tu Ao and saying: "Everyone join hands and kill him!"

Shen Shou Xing, Xun Zi You, Xiong Pi Elder, and the other crowds looked at each other, then no longer hesitated, all drew their swords and knives, sacrificed their magic treasures, and attacked Shen Tu Ao.

The situation immediately turned for the worse.

Under Xuan Gongzi's vertical and horizontal alliance, threats, and coercion, the crowds joined hands, forming a siege momentum.

What was placed in front of Shen Tu Ao was almost a dead end.

No matter how profound his strength or how strong his Evil Dragon array patterns were, it was impossible for him to still face a direct confrontation with one Golden Core peak, two Golden Core late stage, and the remaining five or six Golden Core cultivators' siege after losing blood energy and successive hard fights.

Shen Tu Ao fought this battle extremely tragically.

He was of the Great Wilderness imperial clan and had his own dignity. Even facing the crowds, he never once retreated.

During the battle, he urged his whole body's evil power to the extreme. All the dragon patterns on his whole body began to seep blood.

In the great hall, the evil dragon roared and howled with great majesty, but as time passed, a trace of desperate sadness gradually mixed in.

And with the excessive use of the Four Symbols Evil Dragon patterns, Shen Tu Ao was also suffering the backlash of the Evil Dragon power.

The Evil Dragon power was like a severe poison, seeping into his bone marrow and flesh.

The dragon patterns on his body began to become turbid, his skin and flesh began to rot, his meridians began to disorder, and the evil qi also began to enter his brain, making his mind unclear and his eyes blood red.

It was obvious that Shen Tu Ao was about to reach the end of the road.

Perhaps his tragic dragon roar stirred the qi pulse of the Great Wilderness imperial clan, as a clear light suddenly surged from the dragon coffin.

A wisp of green dragon qi逸 out from the dragon coffin, from the Fourth Prince's corpse, and surged into Shen Tu Ao's body.

This wisp of green dragon qi was upright and proper, ancient and majestic, containing no evil strangeness. As it surged into Shen Tu Ao's body, it also bit by bit washed away the evil qi that was entangled with the dragon patterns on him.

The crowd's expressions were shocked, and Mo Hua's heart was also startled.

Xiong Pi Elder's eyes were even more full of greed.

This was the purest green dragon qi, the true... Great Wilderness Dragon Vein power!