Severing Ties: The Sect Regrets My Departure

Chapter 230: Golden Feather War Chariot; The Demon Ancestor Descends!

Eastern Wasteland. A mountain forest lashed by a violent storm.

A woman, her hair disheveled and covered in mud, crashed to the ground. An infant was strapped to her back. Without pausing for breath, she rolled desperately to the side.

Thwack!

A flying sword buried itself in the mud exactly where she had fallen a split second ago.

She didn’t stop to feel relief. She scrambled up, ready to run.

But it was too late.

Several more flying swords whistled through the rain, cutting off every escape route. A massive seal materialized above her, radiating a crushing light that pinned her to the spot.

“Run? Where do you think you can run to?”

“If you surrender quietly, we can give you and the brat a quick death. Why make it painful?”

“Lady Meng, it’s time to go.”

Several figures emerged from the rain. Their eyes were cold, indifferent to the woman protecting her child.

“You tricked my husband and killed him! You took everything we had! Why must you hunt us to extinction?” the woman screamed, her eyes burning with hatred.

“Killing to seize treasure, pulling up weeds by the roots. Lady Meng, you are a cultivator. You understand the rules,” one of the pursuers replied flatly.

“Let my child go! He is three months old! He has no Spirit Root! He knows nothing!”

“You have no right to negotiate.”

“Do not blame us. The weak are meat for the strong. Only by killing you both can we sleep soundly.”

The assassins stepped forward, weapons raised.

The woman’s pleas turned to desperate screams, then to hopeless roars. But the blades drew closer. Finally, she looked down at her sleeping child, despair consuming her heart.

But just as death raised its scythe—

BOOM…

BOOM… BOOM…

A rhythmic, heavy thudding echoed through the mountains. The ground shook violently.

The assassins froze, looking toward the source of the sound. Through the curtain of rain and mist, something massive was approaching.

Soon, the shapes became clear.

It was an army of giant beasts. They marched in perfect unison, their heavy paws crushing the earth, unaffected by the storm.

In the center of the formation, eight Divine Lions clad in azure armor pulled a magnificent Gilded War Chariot.

“Golden Feather… look at the flag! It’s the Golden Feather Divine Dynasty!”

“They worship the Golden Feather Divine Roc… I knew they were beast tamers, but I didn’t know they could control monsters like this!”

“Who is in the chariot? That dragon emblem… is it a Prince?”

“Forget who it is! What do we do?!”

The assassins turned pale. They were predators here, but before the Divine Dynasty, they were ants.

While they hesitated, the pinned woman saw her chance. With a roar of defiance, she broke free from the seal’s pressure, ignoring the damage to her meridians. She didn’t run away.

She ran toward the chariot.

“Damn it!”

The assassins launched their attacks, trying to cut her down. But the woman didn’t dodge. She shielded her child with her body, taking the hits, her blood spraying into the mud.

With a final, desperate leap, she crashed into the path of the beast army.

“She’s crazy!”

“Retreat! If we offend the Prince, we’re dead!”

The assassins abandoned their prey and fled into the forest.

However… they didn’t want to provoke the army, but the army had no intention of letting them leave.

As they turned, several falcons launched from the formation. They were faster than arrows.

Slash!

In the blink of an eye, the assassins were decapitated. Their bodies fell into the mud, their blood washed away by the rain.

Inside the Gilded War Chariot, the massacre went unnoticed.

A handsome man sat by the window, sipping tea and watching the rain. He possessed a bewitching beauty, his eyes sharp and dangerous.

This was Shang Guanyu, the Ninth Prince of the Golden Feather Divine Dynasty.

A subordinate knelt before him, reporting.

“A team of Great Demons has been dispatched from the Myriad Demon Kingdom. They are heading to the Eastern Wasteland to investigate the ‘Resentful Spirit’ incident.”

“However… intelligence suggests that two of the Great Demons have a past connection with the Azure Mystic Exile. This trip likely concerns him.”

Shang Guanyu swirled his tea. “Interesting.”

“The Eastern Wasteland is getting lively.”

“Indeed,” a seductive woman lounging beside him giggled. She was dressed in scant silks, peeling a red grape. “I still find it hard to believe that man left Azure Mystic. But then again, for him, causing a stir is normal.”

“The stir is big, but many are just fishing in troubled waters,” Shang Guanyu said.

“He is the only one who returned from the Forbidden Realm,” the woman said, feeding him the grape. “Leaving the sect broke the protection agreement. Everyone wants to capture him before the Three Sacred Lands do.”

“A pity. He is doomed. Leaving the sect was unwise.”

“Unwise?” Shang Guanyu smiled coldly.

Outside, the mother and child had succumbed to their injuries. The war beasts trampled their bodies, devouring the remains without breaking stride.

Shang Guanyu watched the scene with mild interest.

“In the face of a crushing tide, wisdom and folly are irrelevant. Cleverness is just luck that hasn’t run out yet.”

“When the true tide comes, no matter how brilliant a genius is… he will be ground to dust.”

The woman blinked. “He was close with the Second Prince. What if we meet him in Cloud Firmament City?”

“Wouldn’t that be perfect?” Shang Guanyu’s eyes flashed with predatory light. “I have long wanted to know the secrets of the Providence Forbidden Realm.”

His destination was the City of Rogue Cultivators. A massive upheaval had occurred within the Divine Dynasty. He needed to clear the board before the news leaked.

If the Exile stood in his way?

He would crush him.

Just as Shang Guanyu was indulging in his ambition, a strange sound interrupted his thoughts.

Whimper…

The giant beasts outside—creatures bred for war and slaughter—began to whimper in terror.

The chariot lurched to a halt.

“What is it?” Shang Guanyu frowned, looking out.

His pupils contracted.

The entire army of war beasts had collapsed. The Divine Lions, the armored rhinos, the falcons—they were all kneeling in the mud, trembling violently, their heads pressed to the ground in absolute submission.

It was as if a god had descended.

This is…

Shang Guanyu turned back. The seductive woman was pale, sweat pouring down her face. She wasn’t kneeling, but she was trembling, struggling against an invisible weight.

“Demon… Demon Ancestor!” she gasped.

“A Demon Ancestor has descended upon the world!”

“What?!” Shang Guanyu’s heart hammered. “Where?”

“I don’t know… but definitely… within the Eastern Wasteland!”

Shang Guanyu’s expression darkened. A Demon Ancestor? Here? Now?

The chaos in the East was about to explode. He had to accelerate his plans.

…

Cloud Firmament City. Listening-to-Rain Pavilion.

While the beasts of the world trembled in fear, the source of the pressure was currently being mobbed by three excited fans.

“Little Monkey! Brother Monkey! I admit I was too loud before! From now on, you are the Boss! The absolute Boss!”

“Brother Monkey! You have to be my Big Brother!”

“So handsome! Teach me how to be that cool!”

The Three Spirits—Sui Xing, the Jade, and the Sword—circled the little black monkey, showering him with envy and praise.

And they had reason to be envious.

Haiqi had changed.

His small, frail body had grown. He was still slender, but the mischievous clumsiness was gone, replaced by a sleek, heroic vigor. If he was a toddler before, he was a dashing youth now.

But the physical change wasn’t the main attraction.

Behind Haiqi, a massive Dharmakaya projection floated in the air.

It was the phantom of a Divine Monkey.

Over four feet tall. Wearing a Phoenix-Winged Purple Gold Crown. Clad in Golden Chainmail Armor. A jeweled belt around its waist, and Cloud-Treading Boots on its feet.

Though its eyes were closed, the phantom radiated an aura of overwhelming power. It looked like a War God capable of battling heaven and earth.

This was the result of Haiqi’s bloodline evolution.

The Demon Ancestor Bloodline.

And the phantom was its exclusive manifestation: the Body of Incarnation of the Demon Ancestor—the Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal.

However, just as the spirits celebrated, a powerful ripple of Spiritual Qi erupted from the room behind them.

The door creaked.

Gu Xiu’s Seventh Dao Platform… was complete.