Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 729 - 713: The Unfathomable Divine Might!

The majestic and imposing voice reverberated within the Sect Leader's Hall of Xuechan Palace, causing the expressions of all the Nascent Soul cultivators present to polarize immediately.

Nie Yushuang, Xu Tianlin, and the rest of the pro-war faction of cultivators all showed expressions of wild joy, as if they had just heard the world's greatest news.

In contrast, figures like "Master Feixue" and "Master Cold Crow," among the fourteen cultivators who contemplated fleeing without a fight, seemed to have been struck by lightning, their faces blank with fear and apprehension.

Thud, thud!

The sound of knees hitting the floor arose successively, as seven or eight cultivators from the escape faction, under immense psychological pressure, couldn't help but kneel.

At the same time, the closed doors of the Sect Leader's Hall suddenly swung open on their own with a loud clang.

Shua, shua, shua!

The eyes of Zhouyang and the other cultivators collectively turned towards the open doors.

Outside the doors stood a tall, handsome, and dignified middle-aged scholar, who was slowly walking into the hall with his hands behind his back.

"Junior Nie Yushuang and Xu Tianlin greet Immortal Venerable Chongyang!"

Having seen the appearance of this refined middle-aged man through the Void Celestial Pearl earlier, Nie Yushuang and Xu Tianlin immediately bowed to greet him.

With their personal confirmation, Zhouyang and the others had no more doubts about this refined middle-aged man's identity and hurriedly bowed in greeting, "We pay our respects to Immortal Venerable Chongyang!"

"You may rise, fellow Daoists."

Du Chongyang waved his right hand behind his back, signaling the cultivators to rise.

He then glanced around and focused on "Master Feixue" and "Master Cold Crow," who stood with their heads hung low and faces ashen.

Jerking an eyebrow, he spoke indifferently, "So, you were planning to flee without a fight?"

Thud, thud!

Of the five remaining standing escape faction cultivators, four immediately knelt, leaving only "Master Feixue," whose trembling body stood firm, holding onto his last shred of dignity.

He looked up at Du Chongyang with a pale face, his lips trembling as he tried to explain himself, "Immortal Venerable, please understand. I did not intend to flee without fighting. I just felt that without your participation, our chances of winning against the demon cultivators were slim. It would be wiser to retreat and preserve our strength, then counterattack after you join us!"

"And you? Is that what you all think as well?"

Du Chongyang disregarded "Master Feixue's" explanation, turning instead to the cultivators kneeling on the ground, speaking with a voice as cold and cutting as a winter wind, causing them to shiver involuntarily.

"Immortal Venerable, forgive us. We know our mistake and are willing to redeem ourselves. We are willing to lead the charge in the counterattack against the Demon Realm to atone for our past errors!"

"Master Cold Crow" expressed with a face full of remorse, knocking his head repeatedly before Du Chongyang, choosing to confess and repent entirely, contrary to "Master Feixue's" response.

"Fellow Daoist Cold Crow, you..."

"Master Feixue" trembled, pointing at "Master Cold Crow," completely unprepared for such a backstab from him.

Yet, in the face of his furious gaze, "Master Cold Crow's" expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn't noticed.

Witnessing this, the other escape faction cultivators also began to knock their heads, shouting, "Immortal Venerable, forgive us! We, too, know our mistakes and wish to redeem ourselves, willing to act as vanguard!"

Thud!

"Master Feixue" buckled at the knees, and finally unable to suppress the fear in his heart, he knelt amidst the cries.

Du Chongyang, however, couldn't be bothered to spare him a glance, directing his gaze to Nie Yushuang and asked gravely, "Fellow Daoist Nie, you are now the cultivator with the highest cultivation in the Beiting Continent's cultivation realm. How do you think I should deal with these people?"

Nie Yushuang, not expecting Du Chongyang to say such words, paused briefly before quickly bowing and saluting, "With Immortal Venerable present, I dare not speak arrogantly. I fully support Immortal Venerable's decision!"

Du Chongyang waved his hand, saying, "No matter, just speak your mind freely."

"Then... then I'll speak boldly!"

Nie Yushuang hesitated for a moment before nodding, agreeing.

He glanced at "Master Cold Crow" and the other cultivators, pondered briefly, and bowed to Du Chongyang, saying, "Immortal Venerable, forgive me. At a time when we need people, and since Fellow Daoist Cold Crow and the others haven't yet taken any actual actions, I dare to ask that Immortal Venerable spare them and allow them to redeem themselves for their previous mistakes!"

"Granted!"

Du Chongyang's eyes narrowed as he nodded lightly, giving his approval.

"Master Cold Crow" and the others immediately expressed their gratitude, continuously knocking their heads towards Du Chongyang, "Thud, thud! Thank you, Immortal Venerable, for your mercy, and thank you, Fellow Daoist Nie, for pleading for us. We will fight to the death to atone for our mistakes!"

"Master Feixue" also wished to knock his head in gratitude and quickly put this matter behind him.

But he was acutely aware of an invisible pressure descending upon him, making it impossible to move.

The fact that even a Late-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator like him felt such pressure made its source obvious without words.

This filled him with an unnamed terror, his face full of despair.

As a Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul, "Half-Step True Immortal" realm cultivator, Nie Yushuang, naturally detected the anomaly around "Master Feixue" who was so close to him.

Seeing this, why wouldn't he understand Du Chongyang's intentions?

After a moment of hesitance, he turned his head slightly and spoke on behalf of Du Chongyang, "Fellow Daoist Feixue, you... you should just end it yourself!"

In every matter, those who lead receive completely different treatments than those who follow.

This holds true for both risks and benefits.

This time among the group wanting to escape without a fight, "Master Feixue" was undoubtedly the leader.

If it weren't for him, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator taking the lead, even if others had the same thought, they might not have dared to continue opposing the battle when most others had already expressed their opinions.

It's hard to imagine what would have happened in the Sect Leader's Hall today if Du Chongyang hadn't arrived in time.

Therefore, while others may be forgiven, the leader "Master Feixue" must be severely punished!

Everyone knew this truth, including "Master Feixue" himself, who had only been holding onto a slim chance, thinking that after all, he was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. In a situation where a comprehensive war with the demon cultivators was imminent, sparing his life and giving him a chance to redeem his sins might be more worthwhile than directly killing him.

But he obviously overestimated his importance in Du Chongyang's eyes, to the point where he didn't even have a chance to plead for mercy now.

At this point, he came to terms with it.

Suddenly, his aura erupted, breaking free from the power of imprisonment Du Chongyang had placed on him, and he stood up, saying loudly, "I, Cheng, take full responsibility for my actions. Since Elder Du believes I should die, I have no complaint to make. I just hope the elder won't implicate Piaoxue Palace because of my mistake!"

After speaking, he didn't wait for Du Chongyang to respond and turned to Nie Yushuang, who had turned her head away, and said, "Fellow Daoist Nie, please lend me your Profound Nether Immortal Sect's [Cangming Pendant]!"

"Fellow Daoist Feixue you..."

Nie Yushuang turned her head back with a complex expression, looking at "Master Feixue," her mouth moved slightly, but she finally just sighed and shook her head, and with a wave of her hand, threw a deep blue jade pendant to him.

"I've long heard of the famous Cangming Pendant of the Profound Nether Immortal Sect, said to be an item handed down from ancient true immortals, allowing a cultivator of a cold element technique to pre-seal one of their divine techniques within it and unleash it in battle!"

"I, Cheng, know that in terms of cultivation, I can hardly rival Fellow Daoist Nie in this lifetime, hence I spent most of my energy over the past five hundred years, outside of daily cultivation, on practicing a single divine technique. I initially wanted to use it as a trump card killing move for the day when I debate the Dao with Fellow Daoist Nie, but I never expected I wouldn't have the chance anymore!"

"Master Feixue" gently stroked the jade pendant in his hand, full of emotion and sighs.

Although he was already at the Nascent Soul Seventh Stage, he still needed to spend five hundred years to painfully cultivate a single divine technique, which shows the power of this technique. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

And at this moment, his intention in borrowing the [Cangming Pendant] from Nie Yushuang became very clear.

As expected, after a sigh, he nodded and said, "Not being able to verify the power of this divine technique with Fellow Daoist Nie is indeed one of the great regrets of my life, but having this [Cangming Pendant] just barely makes up for Cheng's regret, allowing Fellow Daoist Nie to witness the power of the technique!"

After speaking, he suddenly bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood, then performed a domineering secret technique to increase his cultivation level with his hands making incantation gestures.

In an instant, his originally Seventh-layer Nascent Soul cultivation rapidly rose to a level comparable to Nie Yushuang because of this secret technique.

At the same time, his face visibly aged rapidly.

"Master Feixue" paid no heed to the changes in his appearance. After performing the secret technique to enhance his cultivation, he began to activate the [Cangming Pendant] and fully employed his five-hundred-year-cultivated divine technique.

When the divine technique was about to take form, he sealed the nearing completion technique into the [Cangming Pendant], pouring in magical power frantically to stabilize the operation until he was sure the sealing was successful.

Then he glanced over everyone present in the hall, solemnly saying, "This divine technique is called [Celestial Frost Profound Nether Finger], the cultivation method is in Cheng's storage ring; it was obtained from an ancient cultivator's cave mansion. Cheng is willing to offer it for viewing to all Daoist friends present today as an apology for previous events!"

With that, he let out a long whistle and said, "Cheng will leave now!"

This was the first time Zhouyang saw a Nascent Soul stage cultivator disintegrate in front of him!

Under the watchful eyes of him and the others in the hall, "Master Feixue's" Nascent Soul, which had been condensed with great effort, exited his body and dissipated all magical power before turning into a light that vanished into the world.

Nie Yushuang then collected "Master Feixue's" body and relics, planning to return them to his original sect Piaoxue Palace afterward.

Of course, the [Celestial Frost Profound Nether Finger] divine technique that "Master Feixue" intended for everyone to read was, in accordance with his last wish, copied into several dozen parts and distributed among the cultivators by Nie Yushuang.

"Alright, the internal matters are settled. Let's now discuss the main issue."

As soon as Du Chongyang spoke, the attention of the cultivators shifted from the jade scrolls in their hands to him.

He looked at the cultivators with a solemn expression and said in a deep voice, "The arrival of the Holy Demon Avatar in this realm indicates that this realm's coordinates have been exposed to the great powers of the True Demon Realm. If we do not quickly cut off the Holy Demon Avatar, sever its contact with the original body, and stop it from forming a True Demon Body, it may then attempt to open a channel between the realms through an array at two-world's junctions, allowing the Demon Race of the True Demon Realm to descend again!"

"So this time, regardless of the cost, we must kill the Holy Demon Avatar, eradicate demon cultivators who understand the Holy Demon Split Soul Secret Technique, and completely eliminate the possibility of the True Demon Realm invading this realm!"

"As it concerns the safety of the entire cultivation realm, fellows do not take it amiss that Du dares to be harsh; Du speaks frankly, if anyone is cowardly or evades duty in battle, Du will wipe out their whole sect as a warning, irrespective of the outcome!"

If Zhouyang and others were merely guessing that the condensing of the True Demon Body by the Holy Demon Avatar may aid in the True Demon Realm invading the "Spirit Realm,"

then once the words came from Du Chongyang, a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal, none dared to harbor any illusions.

All cultivators understood the gravity of the True Demon Realm invading the "Spirit Realm."

With Du Chongyang's stern warning, how could the cultivators dare to be even slightly negligent, and they immediately responded in unison, "Demon extermination and Dao protection, sworn not to retreat!"

Seeing this, Du Chongyang nodded in satisfaction and said, "Very well; if everyone's heart aligns with their words, victory in this battle is assured!"

He cast his gaze over the cultivators and, with a flip of his hand, a hexagonal array plate filled with scarlet array banners appeared in his hand.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, this set of [Celestial Spirit Primordial Yang Array] is a demon-refining array passed down from ancient times. Once set up, it can continuously draw the solar essence qi from the heavens to transform it into Primordial Yang Fire to incinerate enemies. If operated with thirty-six Nascent Soul stage cultivators as array bases, even a Tribulation Crossing True Demon would find it challenging to escape easily."

"The Demon Realm is heavy with demonic qi, and its law favors demon cultivators. Many of the early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators here may struggle to perform well within it, so perhaps setting up this array over the Ice Sea Demon Abyss to suppress the demonic qi would better assist me in exterminating demons!"

"This matter I entrust to you, Fellow Daoist Xu; feel free to select suitable people for the array formation and practice array techniques promptly."

After he finished, he tossed the array plate filled with array banners to Xu Tianlin.

Among the cultivators here, he was only acquainted with Nie Yushuang and Xu Tianlin.

Receiving such a precious object, Xu Tianlin was immensely stirred and immediately took the plate and respectfully responded, "The junior obeys Immortal Venerable's command and will not fail the responsibility you entrusted!"

Du Chongyang nodded slightly, again sweeping his gaze over the cultivators and loudly asked, "Who is Fellow Daoist Zhou?"