Unlimited priesthood

Chapter 176 Return
Everything is settled.

Shen He looked out over the island and saw that it was completely deserted. He shook his head helplessly.

He moved his hunting grounds to this South China Sea to establish his territory, and sixty-five years have passed since then.

Over the course of sixty-five years, although he killed many demonic cultivators, they were only two or three big fish and small fish. Although he had some gains, they were not huge, and they did not have a fundamental impact on the situation in the South China Sea.

The reason is simple: if you can't afford to offend them, you can at least avoid them.

Ever since he killed a genuine demonic Nascent Soul cultivator, the names of Wu Kuangtu and Sanchao Daomo spread throughout the South China Sea. These demonic cultivators learned their lesson and either went into hiding or banded together.

The former is hard to find, and the latter is difficult to target, so they can only resort to guerrilla tactics.

Therefore, his hunting achievements over the decades have not been significant.

He originally intended to use this opportunity of tribulation to lure these demonic cultivators in and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

But I didn't want to make too much noise, or the fish would all escape before I could even haul in the net.

What a pity, what a pity!
It doesn't matter, though. This Taiyuan Realm has become a net. If we can't break free, no one can escape this calamity. It's just a matter of time.

Shen He didn't say much, and directly rode his escape light, heading inland.

More than sixty years have passed. What has become of the Mysterious Realm? And what has become of the Demon Lord of Heavenly Slaughter?

Shen He was unaware of the situation, but regardless, this matter had to be resolved.

Having broken through the elixir and formed the Nascent Soul, he had integrated the Primordial Yin and Yang, the Primordial Spirit and the Primordial Qi into one. Not only did he possess the astonishing ability of "the Three Primordial Elements are indestructible, the Nascent Soul is immortal, the Nascent Soul is immortal, and the Three Primordial Elements are indestructible," but his physical body, soul, true essence, magical power, and foundational cultivation also experienced terrifying growth.

It's no exaggeration to say that he could easily beat his former self.

This is also reflected in its speed; it is truly lightning fast, already possessing some of the ability to "travel to the North Sea in the morning and to Cangwu in the evening."

Cultivators live freely, and this is where they can be seen.

……

Several days later, Shenhe finally returned to the inland.

"To travel to Beihai in the morning and to Cangwu in the evening" depends on which Beihai and Cangwu it is.

Taiyuan was the ancient cultivation realm, and its vastness was extraordinary.

Even with his best efforts, it took him several days to get back to the mainland from the South China Sea.

For an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator, it would probably take more than a month to complete.

This demonstrates the vastness of the Taiyuan Heaven and Earth.

Upon returning inland, Shenhe headed straight for Dongting Lake without stopping.

Decades have passed, and the world has changed beyond recognition.

The misty waves of Dongting Lake remain unchanged, with black boats gliding on the lake and fishermen singing their evening songs.

When the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord cut off Shen He's supplies for sacrificial swords by implementing a scorched-earth policy, it also brought some peace to this inland region.

Some of the cultivators and mortals who survived the demonic chaos took this opportunity to reproduce again, and over the decades, they regained some vitality.

Shen He rode the escape light, passing through the mists and clouds of Dongting Lake, and returned to Yulong Island.

However, Fish Dragon Island turned out to be completely deserted.

This is a given.

The fact that the master of the Azure Sword is the fish and dragon of Dongting Lake is already known to the world. Before that, the Demon Lord of Slaughter even planned to shift the blame to the east and have "Martial Madman" take "Li Qingming" to consecrate the sword.

This place has been exposed, and Shen He is going to the South China Sea to slay demons, so the safety of Yulong Island cannot be guaranteed at all.

Therefore, before heading to the South China Sea, Shen He carried out a major relocation, moving Fish Dragon Island to Red Maple Valley. That was also his secluded immortal abode, with a high-grade spiritual vein, making it perfect for settling the people of Fish Dragon Island.

With the effects of the Immortal Hidden Land, the carefully arranged formation, and the presence of Zhong Yuxiu, Pan Wangpo, and others who stayed behind, as long as they weren't discovered by a demonic master like Tianlu Demon Lord, their position was practically secure.

Since his foundation is not here, why did he return?
It is for the purpose of transcending tribulation!

The tribulation of humanity has passed, but the tribulation of the artifact is not yet complete.

Shen He landed and summoned the Demon Blade and Dao Sword.

Guardian Demon Blade
Item Class: Seeker (Exclusive)

Item Rank: Tier 5 (Seeker's Experience Refinement)
Item Special Effect: Guardian Destroys Demons (The power of the Three Calamities of Karmic Fire is greatly increased, the probability of backlash from the Demon Blade is significantly reduced, and it is paired with the Sacrifice to Slay Demons. The effect is further enhanced when the sword and blade are used together.)
Item Effect: Swords Sharpen Each Other (Demon swords and Dao swords can be honed together. Even without external resources or food for refinement and nurturing, they can enhance their power of the Three Calamities of Karmic Fire and the might of slaying demons through rituals.)

Item Description: The law has no good or evil, but the path has righteousness and evil. As long as the practitioner's heart is firm, even the demonic methods can be used for the righteous path. The sword that kills Zen masters and Buddhas can also be used as a weapon to protect the Dharma and destroy demons.

Battle Sword
Item Class: Seeker (Exclusive)

Item Rank: Tier 5 (Seeker's Experience Refinement)
Item Special Effect: Fighting to Protect the Way (Greatly increases the power of sacrificing to the Way to slay demons, significantly reduces the consumption of sacrificing the primordial spirit to the Way, and is paired with the Three Calamities of Karmic Fire. The effect is further enhanced when swords and blades are used together.)
Item Effect: Swords Sharpen Each Other (Demon swords and Dao swords can be honed together. Even without external resources or food for refinement and nurturing, they can enhance their power of the Three Calamities of Karmic Fire and the might of slaying demons through rituals.)

Item Description: For a Taoist practitioner to cultivate, not only must they possess the method of achieving immortality, but they must also have the skills of fighting and defending the Tao. Otherwise, the fruits of immortality are nothing but illusions, and can only become food for demons and resources for evil cultivators.

……

Sixty-five years have passed. Thanks to his merit in slaying demons in the South China Sea, this Demon Blade and Dao Sword have also reached the critical point of breaking through realms, and they will step into the sixth rank with just one more step.

Shen He returned to Fish Dragon Island to use the concealment of the Immortal Hidden Land to refine the Demon Blade and Dao Sword to the sixth rank and overcome the weapon tribulation.

Indeed, a weapon robbery!
Not only humans are subject to heavenly tribulations, but artifacts that reach the sixth rank can also trigger heavenly tribulations.

Like cultivators, artifacts also need to break through their own limitations by utilizing the power of heaven and earth during the tribulation in order to be reborn and achieve perfect merit.

Not only artifacts, but also elixirs, formations, and even magical arts must undergo a tribulation when refined to the sixth level. If they pass, they succeed; if they don't, they are destroyed.

Now that Shenhe has overcome the tribulation of human life, the next step is to overcome the tribulation of weaponry and magic of the demonic sword and dao sword, and upgrade these two dao weapons and their tactics to the sixth rank.

Only in this way could he go to Hidden Sword Mountain to settle the matter between the Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord and the Mysterious Void Realm.

In fact, with his current strength, he could go directly to Hidden Sword Mountain, but it would be somewhat risky.

After all, in order to ensure that Red Maple Valley was not exposed over the years, he had not sent anyone to monitor Hidden Sword Mountain, nor had he sent anyone to deliver messages to him.

Therefore, he was unaware of the current situation at Hidden Sword Mountain, nor did he know whether Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord had taken the lead and achieved the Primordial Spirit.

Gathering spiritual energy leads to true immortality; cultivators attain twelve realms, passing through three barriers and one heaven.

The difference between Nascent Soul and Deity Transformation is ten or a hundred times greater than that between Golden Core and Nascent Soul. If Heavenly Slaughter Demon Lord has already reached Deity Transformation, then his going there would be risky, if not a complete waste of effort.

Therefore, it's safer to refine the Demon Blade and Dao Sword to the sixth rank first.

As for why it wasn't performed in the South China Sea as well...

The Great Dao Nascent Soul and the Twelve Tribulations have already had a significant impact on both the righteous and demonic paths. If he were to openly refine demonic swords and Dao swords, they might not be able to withstand the shock and might even send a Nascent Soul Venerable to eliminate him.

The Xuanmen, in particular, would never allow such a powerful and terrifyingly promising demonic cultivator to continue growing. They might even resort to pre-emptive measures, or even recall the Nascent Soul Venerable who was suppressing the demonic sect.

Shen He currently has no intention of clashing with them, so he has decided to keep a low profile.

In addition, Shen He also planned to refine this demonic sword into his own unorthodox nascent soul, create several avatars, put on several disguises, and stage several good shows to pave the way for the future.

Although this seems somewhat unnecessary and redundant in the current situation, those who do not plan for the long term cannot plan for the short term, and those who do not consider the overall situation cannot plan for a single region.

The waters of this Taiyuan Realm are far too deep. Those ancient immortals and gods have only ascended to heaven, not died!
For the sake of the overall situation, the necessary actions still need to be taken.

Not only do we have to do it, we have to do it perfectly!
(End of this chapter)