"It seems that today we can only stop here," the Moon God said. In the end, he was at a disadvantage this time.
The Sensing Sect was his foundation. The Moon Queen had been loyally devoted to him, but now she had been killed by a single palm from Zhang Rongfang. It would take some time for her to recover.
Fortunately, he was aware that Zhang Rongfang had a move that could completely destroy the core of the soul’s consciousness.
Previously, the Divine Shepherd’s conscious soul entity had been damaged for this reason, leading to a significant drop in power. This, in turn, weakened the power of the Holy Patrol after fusion.
"But you cannot stop me. Throughout the entire Great Spirit, I have left over a hundred statues. I can open the Gate of the Void at any time to release a sub-body.
Besides yourself, no one else can oppose me," the Moon God declared.
"What are you trying to say?" Zhang Rongfang squinted his eyes. He could hear the implied threat from his opponent.
After all, he was just one person, and it was impossible for him to teleport around, putting out fires everywhere.
"You have people you care about. I have things I wish to do. Next, I do not care how you act, and I will not interfere with how you manage things. My only objective is that before I leave here, do not lay hands on my followers," the Moon God said in a deep voice.
"Ridiculous, what if you expand your followers without restraint?" Zhang Rongfang retorted.
"I only need to leave a few followers; I will not expand further," the Moon God said. "I am destined to leave this world, and continuing to expand is meaningless. Everything in Spirit Flying Heaven is enough for me to accumulate ultimate power."
He intended to keep the waters of the well from disturbing each other’s rivers. Neither would interfere with the other.
Zhang Rongfang fell silent, his gaze flickering.
He indeed needed time to find a way to separate Yue Shi’s personality. Moreover... he needed to take the time to confirm the matter of the sky curtain contraction.
If it were true, he would undoubtedly need to find a way to extricate himself.
A long time passed.
He slowly spoke up.
"Very well."
"In that case... hopefully, the next time we meet, we will not clash in arms again..." the Moon God evidently saw through Zhang Rongfang’s intentions to verify the situation.
Silently and without notice, the Gate of the Void slowly dissipated, dissolving into innumerable white light spots, which dispersed into the surrounding air.
Zhang Rongfang stood quietly atop the mountain, watching the tattered Moon God Hall. With a cold snort, he turned and left.
He could feel the Moon God growing stronger.
But likewise, he also needed time to grow stronger.
In any case, he and the Moon God would inevitably face each other in a battle some day.
That day, he believed, would not be far off.
As he reached the mountainside.
Zuo Han and a group of Thousand Stone Sect members were still waiting there.
Seeing Zhang Rongfang descending from the mountain.
The group quickly stepped forward to greet him.
"My lord..." Zuo Han took several steps forward, momentarily showing a look of shame, not knowing how to speak.
Back then, he had returned to the Moon King’s command with his sect members, after all, the choice had been his.
Now, however...
"It’s alright, the Moon King is also my teacher, so long as you are willing to return, we will remain as before."
Zhang Rongfang’s expression softened.
He never hesitated to show a gentle side to his own people.
"Zuo Han feels ashamed!" Zuo Han dropped to one knee, momentarily at a loss for words.
He hadn’t expected, at this stage, Zhang Rongfang would still be willing to fully accept them.
"No need for shame..." Zhang Rongfang extended his hand.
"I have founded the Human Immortal Temple, and in the future, you shall also belong to the Human Immortal Dao.
And now... it might hurt a little, so bear with it."
Since they were his own people, they couldn’t remain under the Moon God’s control.
Hurt?
What hurt?
Before the group had time to react, everything around them changed completely.
Countless blood mists appeared from thin air, wrapping around all the members of the Thousand Stone Sect present, forming cocoons of blood.
Dense blood gathered from nowhere, pouring into everyone’s bodies through their five senses.
Zhang Rongfang’s expression remained calm, as dark red essence blood dripped from his fingertips onto the ground.
To transform the Thousand Stone Sect members present, relying solely on the gathered essence blood of the heavens and earth was insufficient.
It also required his own Ancestral Essence Blood.
As a complete form of the Blood Race ancestor, he had now fully developed his entire power.
Upon entering the final form, the immense power of the complete form could virtually increase tens of times in an instant.
Simultaneously, defense and recovery were significantly enhanced.
However, speed remained unchanged.
The side effects of using the complete form were somewhat severe, but using it for a shorter duration posed no significant issue.
With such power, sweeping across the land should be no problem, but entering the Taoyuan to confront the current Moon God.
He feared it would be inadequate.
The Moon God had absorbed the Spirit Seal of Spirit Flying Heaven, equivalent to obtaining countless years of Spirit Flying Heaven’s accumulation.
The surge in power was terrifying.
And that was without fully absorbing all the Spirit Seals.
According to intelligence from the Golden Wing Pavilion.
The Spirit Seals of Spirit Flying Heaven numbered over a dozen.
Most were held by the great nobles of the Spirit People, while the Great Spirit Seal was held by the royal family, specifically by the Divine Son, Emperor Lingxin.
Thus, next, the Moon God’s goal would undoubtedly be to search for the Spirit Seals everywhere.
Looking at the Thousand Stone Sect members undergoing transformation before him.
Zhang Rongfang looked once again at his current attribute panel.
The available attribute has reached 62 points.
In the meantime, he found time to soak in the Blood Pool once, and soon, in less than a month, he would again acquire a new innate ability.
At his level, further self-improvement relied on new innate abilities on one hand.
On the other hand, it was... the intensity of his mental consciousness!
With this in mind, Zhang Rongfang took out a blue-gold fragment from his waist pouch.
This fragment had changed again.
Previously, it was covered with many patterns and symbols on the surface, but just recently, all of them suddenly vanished.
All that was left was a small piece of pure blue-gold crystal.
This was the Spirit Core fragment obtained when using soul plunder on the Divine Shepherd.
"How do I use this?" he wondered in his heart.
The one he was asking, naturally, was the all-knowing White Scales.
"This is a Spirit Core fragment... you... can directly consume it. But not with your mouth," White Scales replied.
"What do you mean?" Zhang Rongfang asked in surprise.
"While meditating, when you enter a deep state, you can place it on your forehead and let your mental consciousness gradually draw it in and assimilate it. Over time, it will naturally be absorbed into your body," explained White Scales.
"Where did you get this from?" she asked, quite puzzled.
It was known that usually, Spirit Cores were very difficult to materialize in the external world, and those that could be were the absolute top-tier experts.
Moreover, the hardest part was not this, but that Spirit Cores constantly change and manifest with a person’s thoughts.
Unless you act faster than the opponent’s consciousness, it’s very hard to capture it.
Because the Spirit Core changes with the strong one’s consciousness, it could disintegrate and shatter at any time.
"I’ve created another martial art, called Soul Plunder, which is what I used to obtain this from the Divine Shepherd," Zhang Rongfang simply explained.
"You... you can even create this??!" White Scales was at a loss for words.
From a very long time ago, she saw that Zhang Rongfang had the potential to ascend, but now she didn’t expect him to ascend so quickly and swiftly.
"Do you think, if I collect a lot of such Spirit Cores and use them to assist my cultivation... would the intensity of my mental consciousness be enhanced quickly?" Zhang Rongfang suddenly asked.
"You are..." White Scales felt a chill in her heart. It was known that those who could condense Spirit Cores were almost all top cultivators in literature.
Spirit Cores are the main focus of a person’s mental consciousness gathering.
And Zhang Rongfang’s words were almost equivalent to directly using the essence of others’ lifetime cultivation as nourishment for his own growth.
"Is it possible?" Zhang Rongfang pressed.
"It is possible... but..." White Scales tried to counsel.
"I’ve completed it." Zhang Rongfang suddenly disconnected the link and looked at the group from the Thousand Stone Sect in front of him.
The blood mist gradually dissipated.
The first to appear was Zuo Han.
At this time, his entire body became paler; his muscle structure unchanged, but a faint trace of the Spiritual Line aura of the god-worshipping martial artist on him completely vanished.
In its place, a blood-red glow faintly surged in his eyes.
"Welcome back." His expression softened as he reached out to Zuo Han.
*
*
*
January 15.
King Mu Li rode lightly into the Great Capital, assuming leadership over the Spirit Court, officially ascending the throne with the support of the Countercurrent Society and Human Immortal Dao.
Designating the year 1191 as the first year of the new calendar, King Mu Li declared himself as Emperor Lingyuan, just like the previous two Spirit Emperors, he honored Qiankun Daoist, the ancestor of the Human Immortal Dao, as the Imperial Tutor.
He proclaimed the Human Immortal Dao as the state religion, notifying the entire country, abolishing all religions of deities and Buddhas.
It was forbidden to construct any Taoist or Buddhist religious buildings in any localities.
No religious attire from other religions was allowed in any public places.
Simultaneously, numerous Extreme Realm experts from the Countercurrent Society were appointed as generals, restructuring the Snow Rainbow Pavilion, reorganizing the major military forces.
A series of major reforms left the populace unsettled; numerous interest groups long-standing and deeply intertwined faced a complete upheaval from top to bottom.
Particularly, all religious figures suddenly became wanted criminals, and the complete military restructuring in all regions.
These two edicts effectively nullified the military authority of regional commanders previously in control.
It was known that local military officials were often recommended by local powerful influencers as worthy talents.
Suddenly, numerous heroes rose everywhere, each brandishing flags of rebellion again.
But just as the flags rose, within days, they were brutally suppressed by the newly appointed generals of the Snow Rainbow Pavilion.
The majority of the rebels met a tragic end overnight, their entire clans exterminated.
These extremely formidable Extreme Realm masters executed their task with brutal ruthlessness; after the killings, their deputies took over the local military governance, seizing the military power.
For any who resisted further, they were killed again.
Countless heads rolled.
After testing one or two instances, and with dozens of influential families exterminated, the local powers conceded to the circumstances.
Under such a power transition, Great Spirit was thrown into turmoil; the people lost the will to farm, chaos and upheavals spread everywhere, one calamity after another.
Following this was the slow spread of a new rumor.
It was said that although Great Spirit had its minor disturbances before, it still ensured peace across the world, with people living and working in peace and contentment.
But since Emperor Lingxin mysteriously disappeared, wars have been incessant, leaving the people destitute and homeless.
All of this was a result of the obliteration of gods and religions, as it was said that with the protection of deities and Buddhas, peace was maintained across the world.
Without the protection of gods and Buddhas, the world turned into what it was now—turbulent and unstable, leaving towns deserted and desolate, bones littering the roadside, and people resorting to cannibalism.
All these woes were attributed to Qiankun Daoist, who was now seated in the Spirit Court as the Imperial Tutor.
Throughout Great Spirit, countless rumors and hearsays emerged, some even composed nursery rhymes for children to sing freely.
You can eliminate religions, but you cannot kill every single person across the world.
Perhaps this was what many thought secretly.