Chapter 189: Red Blood Cliff Worship Ceremony

Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue were both a bit surprised when they saw Yan Jin.

Yan Jin's aura was cold, repelling anyone who approached. Compared to three years ago when Meng Chuan descended the mountain, Yan Jin's aura had become much colder; Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue both felt somewhat uncomfortable.

"You two are here, come in," Yan Jin said.

Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue entered, then proceeded to a hall, where the three of them sat down.

"Yan Jin, look at you, you're like an ice cube," Meng Chuan chuckled. "Just make sure you don't go astray in your cultivation."

Yan Jin looked at Meng Chuan but said nothing.

"Hahaha." Under Yan Jin's gaze, Meng Chuan quickly changed the subject. "Oh, by the way, Qiyue and I got married over a year ago."

"Congratulations," Yan Jin said, looking at them both.

"It's a pity you haven't descended the mountain," Meng Chuan remarked.

"Have a child soon," Yan Jin added.

Meng Chuan was momentarily stunned, but Liu Qiyue, with a bright smile, said, "A-Chuan and I have discussed it. Once we settle down and the environment is safer, we'll have a child."

"When you have a child, teach them well," Yan Jin stated again.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely teach them well. I'll personally teach them blade techniques," Meng Chuan said. "Yan Jin, why have you become so quiet?"

Yan Jin didn't respond. He had already made an effort to speak a lot.

"Yan Jin, after A-Chuan and I have a child, you should be their godfather," Liu Qiyue said with a smile.

"Okay," Yan Jin nodded, his gaze softening slightly as he recalled the past.

"How's your cultivation progressing?" Meng Chuan asked. Yan Jin's cultivation was overly obsessive, yet his talent was still very high. With his primordial spirit domain sensing, his cultivation efficiency was excellent. Before arriving at Yuanchu Mountain, Yan Jin wasn't much slower than Meng Chuan, and in fact, Yan Jin was a few months younger than him.

"In a few months at the quickest, or a few years at the longest, I'll be able to descend the mountain," Yan Jin replied.

"You know what's been happening down the mountain this past year, right?" Meng Chuan pressed.

"I know," Yan Jin nodded. "It's a pity I can't go down the mountain to kill demons." Since he had already mastered the Transcendent Godfiend Body and the Black Iron Heavenly Book, the requirements for passing through the Nine Mystical Caverns were naturally much higher.

Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue chatted with Yan Jin. Although Yan Jin spoke less, he had already tried his best to say more; the words he spoke on this day with Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue surpassed all he had said in the past three years combined.

After chatting for over an hour, Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue finally departed.

Yan Jin escorted them to the door and watched them leave. He watched silently for a long time as Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue disappeared into the swirling snow before returning to his cave dwelling.

That same evening, another person came to visit Yan Jin.

"Seventh Brother, Seventh Brother," Xue Feng exclaimed, excitedly trying to embrace Yan Jin. Yan Jin, however, took a step back. "What is it?"

"I've been on missions and couldn't come back," Xue Feng said, smiling at Yan Jin. "Now, with many Godfiends returning in batches, I finally got to come and see you. Why have you become so taciturn, kid? And your cultivation has made you so cold. I told you not to cultivate the *Ice and Fire Seven Absolutes* back then; its founder was utterly devoid of emotion."

"I'm fine," Yan Jin replied.

"Alright, well, many have achieved great depths cultivating the *Ice and Fire Seven Absolutes* throughout history. And the technique itself says that while it emphasizes absence of emotion, it also requires extreme emotion..." Xue Feng continued.

Yan Jin listened silently as his Fifth Brother rambled on. When he was a child, only his Fifth Brother had been exceptionally kind to him.

"Fifth Brother, how have you been all these years?" Yan Jin finally asked.

"What do you expect? Just killing demons and cultivating," Xue Feng chuckled. "My biggest problem now is my primordial spirit; I haven't been able to condense it. If I could, I'd become a Marquis! Many powerful Marquis Godfiends in history became Marquises in their thirties, and I'm already thirty-seven."

Yan Jin stared at him. In terms of cultivation progress, Yan Jin was much slower than him.

Xue Feng gave an awkward smile and quickly said, "Oh, by the way, I brought you some gifts." He then took them out from a bag behind him.

Yan Jin watched silently from the side, feeling Xue Feng's affection for him. If Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue were his lifelong friends, then Xue Feng's concern for him was more like that of an elder brother for a younger one. Yan Jin silently absorbed these emotions. After mastering "Ice Heart," the introductory stage of the *Ice and Fire Seven Absolutes*, which made him almost devoid of emotion, his perception of emotions ironically became even stronger.

The next day, Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue went to Scarlet Blood Cliff.

Beside Scarlet Blood Cliff, over ten thousand dense images of Godfiends appeared. Many Godfiends came here, all silently observing.

"What?" Meng Chuan suddenly saw one of the images and was startled. "Junior Brother Ning?"

"Junior Brother Ning Yibo has fallen in battle?" Liu Qiyue was also surprised. They had just chatted with many people at the Dao Discussion Peak yesterday, but hadn't heard any news of Ning Yibo's death.

They looked closely. Among them were many they knew, but of those who had joined Yuanchu Mountain at the same time, only Ning Yibo had died in battle. Ning Yibo, that elegant young man, was amiable and well-liked among his peers. Seeing his image suddenly appear among the fallen, Meng Chuan found it hard to believe.

In the image, Ning Yibo wore a silver-white robe, carried a sword on his back, smiled brightly, and was full of confidence in the future.

"Junior Brother Ning." Meng Chuan felt a stabbing pain in his heart. Looking at the images of other fallen fellow disciples, his grief intensified. The deaths of Godfiends often seemed like mere statistics, but when it happened to a fellow disciple with whom he had shared drinks and songs, or cultivated alongside, the sorrow was far more profound.

"Let's go inside and see," Liu Qiyue murmured.

Meng Chuan nodded.

The two of them entered the cave within Scarlet Blood Cliff. The cave was adorned with embedded gems, whose faint light eternally illuminated the names inscribed on the stone walls. Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue walked all the way to the end, where the most recent names were listed, and they saw the name "Ning Yibo" among them.

"During this Great Migration period, our Great Zhou Dynasty lost a total of three hundred and twenty-five Godfiends in battle, including fifty-one inner disciples from Yuanchu Mountain," a Godfiend nearby whispered. "That's equivalent to two or three years of normal losses."

Meng Chuan also sighed inwardly. All these sacrifices were for the people of hundreds of medium and small-sized cities. The entire world, including various prefectures, saw a population loss of nearly ten million, and over eight hundred Godfiends died in battle! More than a hundred inner disciples from the three major sects also fell! Consider how few disciples they recruit each year; the losses were indeed painful. Some even wondered if it was worth it. However, the high-ranking Godfiends remained resolute in carrying out this plan.

"The losses among Godfiends this year are too high. If it continues like this every year, Yuanchu Mountain won't be able to sustain it."

"This is just for this year; things should get much better in the future. At the very least, new Godfiends must outnumber those who fall in battle for us to be able to contend with the demon race long-term," another disciple nearby murmured.

After a long period of mourning, Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue quietly departed.

Recently, a rare large contingent of Godfiends had returned to Yuanchu Mountain, and they would descend as soon as they received their deployment orders. Meng Chuan and Liu Qiyue were among those who returned later, and they had not yet received their orders.

Meng Chuan's merits were now very high. He first went to exchange for the treasures he needed and also received the complete artistic conception inheritance of the lower volume of the *Thunderclap Annihilation Demonic Body*. To receive the artistic conception inheritance, one must condense their primordial spirit. Condensing a primordial spirit at thirty-two? While considered excellent, it was no longer astonishing. After all, many Godfiends became Marquises in their thirties.

"I am currently at the peak of blade soul. If I advance further, it will be the realm of blade dao. Accepting the complete artistic conception inheritance will give me more confidence in breaking through to become a Marquis Godfiend," Meng Chuan thought to himself, at the same time returning the original lower volume of the *Thunderclap Annihilation Demonic Body* to Elder Yi.

"Meng Chuan, your accumulated merits now exceed five million. The imperial court will bestow upon you the title of Count. What title would you like?" Elder Yi asked with a smile. After Meng Chuan proactively demonstrated his condensed primordial spirit, Elder Yi's attitude became even more favorable, indicating that one of the major hurdles for Meng Chuan to become a Marquis had been overcome. Hadn't even the sword prodigy Xue Feng been left with only the primordial spirit as his remaining hurdle?

"A title?" Meng Chuan hesitated for a moment.

"Ordinarily, unless you have a specific request, Marquis and King titles usually reuse the same designation," Elder Yi explained. "Of course, if you become a Creation Realm Venerable, the imperial court would no longer have the authority to grant you a title."

Meng Chuan nodded slightly. "For my title, I'd like to use the name of my hometown. Let's call it 'Dongning'." His father had always wanted him to be the pride of their family, the pride of their hometown! Dongning Prefecture was quite ordinary in Wuzhou. In this era, he was now considered the strongest in Dongning Prefecture.

"Count Dongning? Marquis Dongning?" Elder Yi nodded slightly. "Sounds good."