Above the Great Dao

The cultivation of Daoist Wei was fully transformed into blood energy and flowed into the Blood Transformation Divine Saber in Chen Shi's hand, and then into his body, causing the Blood Sea Hell behind his head to expand rapidly.

Meanwhile, Daoist Wei's physical body withered swiftly, and his Primordial Spirit also withered and decayed, as if poisoned.

Daoist Wei's soul was captured by the Blood Lake Scripture and flew towards the Blood Sea Hell, shouting, "Chen Shi, you will die under this blade as well, and accompany me!"

Before he could finish speaking, he fell into the Blood Sea Hell, where endless pain engulfed him, putting him in a state of silent wailing.

This is the punishment of the Blood Sea Hell; anyone who dies under the Blood Transformation Divine Saber loses their ghost to the Blood Sea Hell, enduring the punishment until their sins are cleansed, yet by that time, they become part of the Sea of Blood, unable to escape ever again.

Chen Shi gripped the Blood Transformation Divine Saber, and after absorbing Daoist Wei's cultivation, the saber's Demonic Nature grew stronger, invading Chen Shi's consciousness and taking control.

Originally, controlling this saber was already challenging for Chen Shi, and now, after quickly capturing the cultivations of Fei Zichong and Daoist Wei, he struggled, though he managed to steady his Dao Heart and reverse the Blood Sea Hell slightly, bringing it back into the Blood Transformation Divine Saber. However, the Blood Sea Hell still operated slowly and steadily.

Exerting all his strength, he finally released the Blood Transformation Divine Saber, feeling a sense of relief.

"Releasing the Demonic Nature of the Blood Transformation Divine Saber did not seem as difficult as expected..."

Chen Shi raised his hand to adjust his clothing, but when he lifted his palm, he realized the Blood Transformation Divine Saber was still in his hand, tightly clutched!

He thought he had let go of the saber, but in fact, it was an illusion—he never released it!

The saber seemed to have become a part of his body, like a limb, impossible to let go of.

"Why not celebrate by killing a few people?" Chen Shi laughed.

He soared up with a shout, exclaiming from afar, "Killing is a virtue, an accumulation of merit! Slaughter all beings, slay ghosts and gods, and when they are gone, slay the True God! Envelop everything within the Blood Sea Hell, and the world will be at peace, with no more suffering. Hahahahaha—"

Behind him, Little Dun Fairy quietly peeked out from the small temple.

"He's indeed controlled by the Blood Transformation Divine Saber. When he becomes too engrossed in killing, he might end up killing himself."

Little Dun Fairy's eyes flickered as she thought, "The Blood Lake Scripture and the Blood Transformation Divine Saber are one. The saber controls him through the scripture. When the Blood Sea Hell behind his head returns to the saber, he should return to normal..."

She flew out, pointing a finger at the Blood Sea Hell behind Chen Shi's head, and shouted, "Stop!"

Her finger pierced through the Blood Sea Hell, and people like Fei Zichong and Daoist Wei in the sea saw a jade-like pillar descend from the sky, impossibly large, as if an unmovable pillar of the sea, plunging into the sea, halting the operations of the Blood Sea all around!

Chen Shi also paused, motionless.

Little Dun Fairy sighed in relief, "It's working!"

She had seen the elders of the Thirteen Families suppress the Blood Sea Hell behind Chen Shi's head, forcing it into the Blood Transformation Divine Saber, returning him to normal. Thus, she followed suit.

Now that she had suppressed the Blood Sea Hell, all that remained was to return it into the Blood Transformation Divine Saber.

"At that time, three people were required to suppress the Blood Sea Hell." She thought, "But I can do it myself!"

Little Dun Fairy urged her cultivation, ready to send the Blood Sea Hell back into the Blood Transformation Divine Saber, but she suddenly noticed Chen Shi's lips.

From her angle, she could only see the back of Chen Shi's head, his ears, and his cheeks, yet she discerned his lips.

She noticed Chen Shi's lips creeping along his cheeks, extending towards the back of his head.

"Hehehe, my lady..."

Chen Shi's shoulders unmoving, his head twisted halfway around, facing her. His mouth curved up to his ears, and he declared, "If you won't enter the room, and I won't see you, then such a lady is better killed!"

Little Dun Fairy's heart skipped a beat, the saber's gleam was already at her neck—too swift to evade!

Without a second thought, she zip-whisked into the small temple at the back of Chen Shi's head, dodging the saber's gleam.

However, without her suppression, the Blood Lake Hell resumed its operation.

Little Dun Fairy's heart sank, "The Blood Lake Scripture has given him cultivation approaching that of an immortal. Relying on my strength alone, I cannot force the Blood Lake into the Blood Transformation Divine Saber. But where can I find help?"

Chen Shi's face blocked out the sky outside the little temple as he peeked within, scaring the herbal dolls and other Spiritual Medicines outside into fleeing into the temple, root and all.

He attempted to swing his saber at the temple; however, the Blood Transformation Divine Saber ceased just short of the temple.

His hand trembled as if battling Demonic Influence, "This was bestowed by my adoptive mother; it absolutely can't be destroyed..."

With force, he withdrew the long saber.

Little Dun Fairy's eyes brightened. Her inner voice declared, "He still retains his reason, he hasn't been completely overtaken by the saber's demonic nature. As long as he's not entirely controlled, there's a chance!"

She watched Chen Shi intently, looking for the opportunity to suppress the Blood Lake Hell.

Suddenly, an alarm struck her heart, "Why am I so concerned for his safety? Am I really falling for him? No, no, it's Little Dun influencing me, not my heart. Little Dun is just a memory, neither here nor there. My desire to save him is merely to save myself, for I still rely on his little temple to protect me from Evil Transformation."

"It must be so!" She assured herself in her heart.

Chen Shi whispered suspiciously to himself, "Not being able to kill my little lady is such a pity, but she will surely tempt as a hindrance to our relationship, and we can seize the opportunity to kill her. Hehehe, just one cut..."

Upon hearing this, Little Dun Fairy's heart clenched, "I must choose my timing to strike with pinpoint accuracy, lest I genuinely fall into disaster."

Her gaze landed on another Immortal Artifact within the small temple, the Yin Yang Sun Moon Ring. In recent days, Chen Shi had placed this treasure in one of the Divine Shrines, nurturing it with incense, hoping for the treasure to gain spirituality and resonate with him.

"Perhaps I can leverage this treasure..."

In Bozhou, the Ren Family.

The former Minister of War, Ren Xiao, was the head of the Ren Family. After the death of his son, he sought retirement, returning to Bozhou.

This time, with the heavenly change, the merging of the Yin Yang Two Realms has led to chaos everywhere in Bozhou, ghosts and gods wandering about, and everyone living in fear. Only the Ren Family remains relatively peaceful. The Ren family's offspring are strong and powerful, having gone to various places early on to collect and stockpile food for future needs.

Ren Xiao is also a person with great ambitions; otherwise, he would not have become the Minister of War. In this heavenly change, he has widely recruited cultivators from the countryside, gathering a large group of experts.

In these times of chaos with ghosts and gods appearing, having food and people means having power!

Ren Xiao stood with his hands behind his back on the Dragon Gathering Pavilion of the Ren Family, gazing down at Bozhou.

By now, more than half of Bozhou is deserted. Many people, unable to live on, have abandoned their homes and fled Bozhou to seek refuge elsewhere. Ren Xiao's eldest son, Ren Ci, told him that those who flee Bozhou are likely facing misfortune. It would be better to set up some porridge sheds and distribute some porridge, at least saving some lives.

Ren Xiao angrily scolded him for being wasteful and ignorant of life and death.

It is said that the benevolent do not command soldiers, and the righteous do not manage wealth. Although the Ren family has gathered most of the food in the nearby countryside, how long will this food last? Three or five years maybe, but what about ten or eight years?

What about twenty or thirty years?

If we give it away now, what will we eat when the food runs out?

He scolded his eldest son harshly but was very fond of his younger son, Ren Feng. Every time Ren Feng led many cultivators out to buy food, he always managed to bring back several carts of grain, along with livestock like pigs, horses, cattle, and sheep, earning his father's favor.

The eldest son complained, saying that Ren Feng's food and livestock were stolen, and that he even slaughtered a village.

Ren Xiao became even more displeased with his eldest son.

At this moment, a voice laughed: "What is Master Ren thinking? This Little Immortal Chrysanthemum, if not drunk now, the taste will be much worse later."

Ren Xiao turned around, came to the tea table, sat down gracefully, lifted the teacup, and toasted the few guests present. With the cup at his lips, he sighed.

Sitting opposite him was a young man, forty to fifty years old, yet already in the Mahayana Realm, named Shui Xuanzhi, originally a senior assistant in the Fuzheng Pavilion under the Young Master. Accompanying him were Qin Su and Dou Qi.

After the Young Master's death, the Fuzheng Pavilion disbanded. Shui Xuanzhi and others originally intended to support Chen Shi, urging him to change his name to Zhu Shi and contend for the position of True King, but Chen Shi absolutely refused.

They were old acquaintances with Ren Xiao, and since the Ren family was recruiting righteous warriors, Shui Xuanzhi and others came upon hearing the news.

Shui Xuanzhi's eyes were gentle as he smiled and said, "It seems the esteemed gentleman indeed has matters of concern."

Ren Xiao put down his teacup and recounted the performances of his eldest and younger sons: "I have thoughts of deposing the elder for the younger, but I fear internal strife in the family might not last long."

Shui Xuanzhi smiled and said, "With our Fuzheng Pavilion's support, the Ren family will not fall into chaos. Master Ren, rest assured."

Ren Xiao sighed, "What a pity the Young Master is not here. If he were, in this troubled world, he would raise the banner of righteousness, rallying countless responses, ascending to the True King position. Then there would be no people left suffering, and I wouldn't have to be troubled by the order of succession."

Qin Su and Dou Qi exchanged glances, and Qin Su smiled and said, "It might be a good thing that the Young Master is not present. Now that the Thirteen Families have collapsed, and the Western Capital Court is powerless to quell the chaos in various places, it is precisely the time for heroes to rise! This world, if the Zhu family can take it, why can't Master Ren?"

Ren Xiao hurriedly said, "Lord Qin is putting me on the spot! Such words must not be said again in the future. My Ren family has been loyal for generations, only daring to serve the True King without any intention of claiming the True King title."

Shui Xuanzhi said sincerely, "Master Ren, we are determined to assist in the great enterprise and are willing to follow a dragon. Even though the Young Master is gone, our ambitions remain unchanged!"

Ren Xiao smiled slightly but restrained himself, repeatedly saying, "Let's talk about it after the world is at peace. Drink tea, drink tea!"

Though the tea had cooled, everyone's hearts were ablaze.

The Thirteen Families had already met their end.

The Upper Realm that had fallen from the sky, the deceased Heavenly Gods, and the burning continent, along with the chaotic sun, moon, and stars hanging in the air, all proclaimed that the Thirteen Families had reached their end.

The present Thirteen Families may still hold immense power, but they are no longer a colossal entity that can unify the Yin Yang Two Realms.

Now, the Thirteen Families can only be local powerhouses, better than the Ren family, but not by much.

This position of True King could also be occupied by the Ren family!

Just then, a commotion was heard outside: "Murder! The young master is dead!"

Ren Xiao's face changed suddenly, and he rushed to his feet and ran out of the Dragon Gathering Pavilion.

At this moment, he heard a familiar voice: "Ren Xiao, Shui Xuanzhi, Qin Su, you are all here. Very good, very good. This way, we don't have to search for each of you."

"Chen Shi!" Ren Xiao shouted in anger and surprise.

Chen Shi approached, holding a saber, looking around with both shock and joy, laughing: "Shui Xuanzhi, didn't we tell you to hide? We also told you that if we found you, we would kill you."

Shui Xuanzhi was slightly taken aback: "We?"

Little Dun Fairy's eyes flickered, thinking to herself: "A Mahayana Realm expert and a Returning Void Realm adept; I don't know if we can force him to use his full strength...probably not!"

She frowned slightly, unable to find an opportunity to strike.

On this journey, Chen Shi did not indiscriminately kill innocents. It was only when encountering Young Master Ren Feng leading cultivators to rob and kill in a village that he struck Ren Feng down with one chop, killing all those cultivators, sparing only one person.

He followed this person to Bozhou City, and upon finding the Ren family, he took one more swing to kill that person.

Therefore, Little Dun Fairy believed that Chen Shi was not fully controlled by demonic nature and could be saved if he suppressed the Blood Sea Hell.

"Hmm, besides these two, are there other experts?"

Little Dun Fairy suddenly sensed something, looking into the distance with surprise, "The arrival is formidable!"

Outside the city, a round eye-like moon hung in the sky. At the pupil, several figures stood, gazing distantly at Bozhou City.

Their demon qi was profound.

"We finally found Your Majesty."