The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS-Chapter 1224 - 249: The Situation

Northern Zhou, Great Ming Hall.

Situated at the pinnacle of Northern Zhou, it was also where the summit of this world converged once more. This was already the twenty-third gathering of these people since the beginning of the year.

Originally, such gatherings should not be so frequent. Northern Zhou was nearly unified with the world, and no other dynasty stood shoulder to shoulder with it. Forces that could be called a nation had already been reduced to ruins under the command or personal participation of that Daoist Master.

Northern Zhou was supposed to be at its busiest moment now, as it would become yet another unified dynasty.

However—

In recent months, the resurgence of Buddhism and those within the Tao Sect opposing the True Martial line have caused great distress among everyone.

Most importantly, Lord Qingyu's disappearance.

The sacred lands of Buddha and Tao have manifested in the world, and although the Buddha and Dao Ancestor have not appeared, their supporters and believers have already spread the news of their return throughout the world.

At such a time, the disappearance of Qingyu, the backbone of this faction, has left everyone anxious.

"Just yesterday, Hai Xin Temple and Fayan Temple also announced their departure from the Tao Sect. Those remnants of Buddhism have completely let go of their concerns, openly declaring war against us." Lin Zixiao spoke first.

His right hand resting on the armrest sparked with electricity, clearly showing his extreme anger, as even his True Qi became difficult to restrain. "These remnants of Buddhism truly deserve to be slaughtered."

Hai Xin Temple and Fayan Temple were previously Buddhist temples, sects that transitioned from Buddha to Tao.

In the past, Qingyu's decisive victory in the Buddha-Tao dispute led to the transformation of Buddhist temples into palaces and Taoist temples, Shakyamuni into Heavenly Venerate, Bodhisattvas into Great Masters, Arhats into Venerables, monks into scholars, and any who disobeyed the command could be killed. This singular move crushed Buddhism into dust.

Thereafter, one group was slaughtered and another assimilated, ultimately resulting in most of the Buddhist sects, excluding some rural small temples, being absorbed by the Tao Sect.

But still, Buddhism was once a colossal entity widespread throughout the world. Even with Qingyu's suppression, it was unable to be completely digested within a mere year and turned into a subsidiary of the Tao Sect.

When an opportunity was spotted, the remnants of Buddhism sprang forth. Although Hai Xin Temple and Fayan Temple were slower to rise, those who emerged earlier are now boldly reopening their gates to recruit believers.

"These remnants of Buddhism are mere trivialities. What truly concerns us is whether the Dao Ancestor and Buddha have truly descended, and..."

Yun Wuyue interjected with a grave expression, "Lord Qingyu's whereabouts."

She surveyed everyone, speaking seriously, "All of you present are warriors above the Divinity Realm. You must have sensed the changes in Heaven and Earth, right?

The spirit mechanism of Heaven and Earth has become more obscure than before, and Primordial Energy is not as vibrant as in the past.

However, the concentration of Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi has greatly increased compared to before. Although our destructive power in the Divinity Realm has been lowered due to the inertness of Primordial Energy, our longevity has improved due to the increase in Primordial Qi concentration.

According to the sect master, Heaven and Earth's limit on our longevity has been lifted. From now on, we, in the Divinity Realm, have an opportunity to live to a thousand-year limit, and the strongest can even break the thousand-year limit. Also, those life-extending methods are no longer as useless as before."

Life-extending methods, Life-extending Elixirs, despite being valued in the past, were only considered useless to resource-abundant Great Sects.

Because once the longevity limit was reached, no matter how many life-extension methods there were, they couldn't prevent death.

Long-standing Great Sects lacked life-extension methods; what they lacked was the longevity limit.

Before reaching the limit, there were methods to replenish longevity regardless of how it was consumed. But once they lived to it, even with mountainous and oceanic amounts of life force, death was inevitable.

"The removal of the longevity limit signifies that the limit of Human and God has been broken. The Daoist Master's plans are likely successful," Mo Guming stated, "which means the Daoist Master might be impacting the Tao Realm. It's just unknown whether he has succeeded or failed."

Silence fell over everyone.

Success would mean no fear of the Buddha and Taoist Ancestors; failure would leave everyone unable to sustain Northern Zhou.

Do not be fooled by the fact that those remnants of Buddhism and Tao Sect traitors are only active in Ji Province and East Province. If the Daoist Master's fall is confirmed, they would be the first to rush towards Northern Zhou.

Ultimately, just like in the past, the topic revolved around Qingyu.

Qingyu was the backbone of these people because his strength could support a sky above everyone; he was a towering figure.

Besides Qingyu, even Yin Tianxia could not achieve this.

"Actually, there's no need for you all to worry about this..."

A familiar voice came from outside the hall.

Then, they saw a person.

"Ren Piaomiao!" everyone exclaimed in shock.

It wasn't surprising for them to be stunned, as over time, Ren Piaomiao's true nature became known to everyone. What's more, in the past eight months, Ren Piaomiao hadn't shown up at all.

The white-clad swordsman, resembling an elegant scholar, slowly stepped into the hall, his black hair turning snow-white as it filled with Sword Qi. "Betrayers shall die, adversaries shall die. Although we temporarily cannot manage Ji Province and East Province, within our dynasty's borders, there is no room for opposition."

The first words were filled with murderous intent, yet this domineering and fierce demeanor gave everyone peace of mind.

With Ren Piaomiao's appearance, it signifies that the Daoist Master is safe.

"Has the Daoist Master successfully broken through?" Yun Wuyue, rarely showing a hint of urgency, asked.

"He has succeeded, but due to some minor issues, meeting with you all is currently inappropriate," Ren Piaomiao replied with a faint smile.

The existence of the Tao Realm is not beneficial, be it bodily or vocally appearing before others. Even those in the Divinity Realm cannot fully be immune to the Tao Realm's effects.

Qingyu had just broken through, and is unable to control the effects, turning the Dao body and Dao sound into a state that can be directly seen and heard by others. His presence is not suited for being seen and can only be shown through an unrealized avatar.

Ren Piaomiao flashed to the seat of honor, sat down, facing everyone, and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, now the strongest in the world are only those from our side, with the greatest quantity of Divinity Realm experts belonging to us. I will shield you from the Dao Ancestor and Buddha, while you shall claim victory for us.

Now, please release your concerns and first cleanse the opposing forces within the borders, allowing the betrayers to face due consequences."

"Naturally." Everyone responded with smiles.

If not for concerns about the Buddha and Dao Ancestor, Shi Hai Temple and such small-time villains would not have been tolerated to run amok.

Now that Qingyu has reappeared and has declared the breakthrough to the Tao Realm, then it's time for retaliation.

Moreover, quite a few among them already have surging murderous desires.

All had traversed mountains of corpses and seas of blood; even the Taoist Lin Zixiao among them had stained hands, not to mention several Demon Path Divinity experts.

The grievances suffered these days made their thoughts very unpeaceful, and now they could finally vent them properly.