Chapter 1565: Our Generation's Role Model Sang Qiye, the Spirit Refining Master Punishes the Rebellious Disciple

"The road is forged through killing."

"From daylight to nightfall, from the mortal realm to the underworld, just lock onto one direction and keep fighting. Once the enemies are scared and retreat, the road will open up."

In the instant Shen Yi Court shattered, darkness gave way to dawn, and even the hazy skies of the divine ruins felt refreshingly clear, with the air gaining a hint of sweetness.

Yue Gongli remained silent, but those words echoed in his mind.

That was the calm and earnest response given by the bald man when he, posing as a wandering bard, had jokingly interviewed him during Shen Yi's rise to fame.

He was as calm as he was now, pummeling the Di Ying Sheng Zhu.

Yet Yue Gongli vaguely remembered the scene back then:

Shen Yi, holding the hand of that obscure woman, stood out in the crowd as the most imposing figure, towering a head or two above everyone else.

Accompanying them on that interview—well, more like being dragged along—was a fortune-teller who claimed to read fates but only ever predicted marriages.

That man was even less known than Shen Yi at the time.

Only Yue Gongli knew how scheming this childhood friend of his truly was.

Glancing at the fortune-teller, he asked Shen Yi, "Suppose you encounter an unbeatable illusion array, like a ghost wall that traps you inside. In that case, how would you kill your way out?"

Shen Yi remained just as calm, his heart steady as a millennia-old rock weathered by storms:

"Kill your way through."

Unwilling to accept that, Yue Gongli pressed on, "What if the array is one-of-a-kind, or far superior to any spiritual array in the world?"

Shen Yi replied calmly:

"The mortal world holds no prison for me; what is one array worth?"

As soon as he said that,

The fortune-teller rolled his eyes skyward.

The woman in Shen Yi's arms nestled closer, her eyes filled with stars of adoration.

Finding it amusing, Yue Gongli turned to the fortune-teller: "What do you think?"

"What do I think?" The fortune-teller didn't even bother with his usual gestures, blurting out, "I wish them eternal love, that's what!"

Later...

Everything turned out to be prophetic.

After the battle of the Ten Venerable Seats, some lived, some died, and all gained fame.

Shen Yi became the most powerful man.

Xiang Yaoyao became the happiest woman.

The arrogant and tsundere Dao Qiong Cang achieved a stunning transformation from nothing to everything, finally earning his family's recognition, though at the cost of losing his research rights, and ending up in the very position he once craved and despised.

He became a contradictory person—flamboyant yet restrained, eccentric and odd.

Everyone shone brightly on their own paths.

"Only me..."

Yue Gongli touched his chest, gazing at the distant light flickering on the horizon after Shen Yi Court's destruction, his expression forlorn.

Only he, after his impersonation as a Wayfarer of the Han Gong Emperor Realm was exposed, was captured by his real Wayfarer sister and subjected to the merciless, cruel, and torturous needle whip punishment back in their clan.

When he emerged again,

Things had changed beyond recognition.

He, Yue Gongli, had become the revered Red-Clad Chief Sovereign.

Yet Shen Yi remained the same as decades ago—calmly arrogant.

"No!"

"There's a slight change."

Yue Gongli quickly shook off his sentimentality, his gaze turning heavy as he followed the crowd toward the main battlefield.

Shen Yi had grown stronger.

Though he had claimed two seats in the Ten Venerable Seats, that didn't mean he could securely hold the title of "top fighter."

Quite the opposite!

In public opinion, there were a few who were said to be stronger than Shen Yi.

Those former Ten Venerable Seats members, unseen for decades, had returned today. With Shen Yi chasing and beating the Di Ying Sheng Zhu, what about the others?

Once they broke free from their constraints, would the heavens of the Sheng Shen Continent truly be overturned?

As Shen Yi Court dissolved, merging into the battlefield direction, the surroundings grew chaotic:

"The ancestral tree! That's the ancestral tree!"

"I've seen portraits in my clan—it's the Di Ying Sheng Zhu! My Yuan Ping Cheng clan rose because our ancestor obtained a dao fruit from an ancestral tree!"

"The one chasing the ancestral tree..."

"Shen Yi! The one they call a god at the ghost gate!"

"Wow, he's that fierce! I personally participated in the Ten Venerable Seats battle back in the day and faced Shen Yi from afar. He wasn't this ferocious then."

"Huh? A big shot from the Ten Venerable Seats?"

"Heh, from afar... Back then, he sent me flying with a single punch through the air. You could say I've brushed against that Venerable Seat myself..."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battlefield raged on.

Heavenly Dao Shen Yi shattered several roots of the Di Ying Sheng Zhu, reducing them to dust.

Half of the ancestral tree was destroyed, and the remaining crown with its human-like face was fleeing in panic.

The six thickest branches on its upper half, once like tentacles, no longer dared to clash with the overlord's might; they transformed into spider legs for crawling, like a drowned rat.

Heavenly Dao Shen Yi pursued relentlessly.

"Shen Yi is this strong?"

Xu Xiaoshou grew more astonished the longer he watched.

On one hand, he was shocked by the sheer value of the Nine Seats of the Holy Servants, elevated single-handedly by this man to unimaginable heights.

On the other hand, he couldn't help but think:

"The great war with Shen Ai..."

Yes, before he entered the divine ruins, a battle of the Ten Venerable Seats had occurred here.

It was said to have been a world-shattering fight that lasted days without a victor.

In the end, Ai Cangsheng chose self-destruction out of love for the world, drawing a absurd conclusion.

The world might think Ai Cangsheng had lost.

But Xu Xiaoshou, from outside, knew that Shen Yi had lost his limiter, Xiang Yi, while Ai Cangsheng had gained the burden of Dao Xuanji.

So that battle ended in a stalemate.

Yet a stalemate was the worst omen!

Now, with the ancient martial six paths, Shen Yi had only unlocked the Heavenly Dao, relying on a single overlord pillar to beat the ancestral tree Di Ying Sheng Zhu into retreat.

How much weaker could Ai Cangsheng, who had battled him for days, really be?

At that moment, Xu Xiaoshou felt it wasn't Shen Yi who had become arrogant—it was himself.

"How dare I charge into the Holy Mountain and act tough in front of Ai Gou?"

If he went back now, wouldn't he have to fight a "perfect state" Ten Venerable Seats Ai Cangsheng for real?

Should he back out?

But what about Sang Lao? Just abandon him?

Well, abandoning him wasn't entirely impossible...

Ah, Li Fugui, I regret not listening to your advice!

When you were trying to persuade me, couldn't you have been more direct? If you'd just forced me into the Ran Ming ruins, I wouldn't have all these troubles!

"Xu Xiaoshou."

As he was lost in wild thoughts, a familiar voice reached his ears.

Cen Shuibai, Yue, and the others suddenly turned back, and Xu Xiaoshou whipped around as well. The scattered crowd also glanced over.

There, in the distance, stood a new figure.

He wore tattered white prison clothes, stained pitch black, with his exposed arms withered and charred like two charcoal sticks. Cracks in the texture faintly flickered with white flames.

Not just his arms—his neck, feet, and all exposed skin except his face looked like scorched charcoal.

"Wu Xiu!"

"The Holy Servant Wu Xiu!"

"Heavens, he's here too. Does that mean..."

Yue Gongli's gaze flickered as he scanned the person before him.

Wu Xiu, Shen Yi, Cen Qiaofu, Shui Gui.

Outsiders might not count Shen Yi or know about Shui Gui.

But as a semi-insider, Yue Gongli had heard plenty of inside stories from his sister over the years. He knew full well that these people were the top combat lineup of the Holy Servants back then:

The second, third, fourth, and fifth in command!

Oh, and now that one was the former second in command.

The current second was the blue surpassing the master—Lord Shou.

So...

"The Five Seats of the Holy Servants!"

"If we could slay them all here, the Holy Servants would lose half their territory overnight, and the Eight Venerables would regress to thirty years ago, unable to achieve anything!"

But soon, Yue Gongli frowned and melted into the crowd.

A wise man doesn't stand under a dangerous wall.

What he should consider isn't whether we can kill them here, but whether I'll get taken out by them first!

"Sang Lao..."

Looking back, even the battlefield's roars seemed distant now.

Xu Xiaoshou felt the surrounding figures fading away, leaving only that familiar yet strange silhouette growing clearer.

Sang Lao had changed!

He had completely transformed!

Utterly different from his appearance in the Tai Xu world.

The simplest way to describe it: the "Wu Xiu Red Scorched Hand" variant had become the "Wu Xiu Red Scorched Body."

"How did you end up like this?"

Xu Xiaoshou grinned, rushing forward to grab the old man's arm for a closer look.

It had been so long!

Far too long!

Counting it out, aside from the two Tai Xu world encounters, this was the first time he'd seen Sang Lao since the Eight Palaces battle—it felt like ages.

If his junior sister were here, she'd probably be crying like Lei Xi'er out of excitement.

But Xu Xiaoshou felt fine.

Though it had been a while, it wasn't dramatically long; all in all...

It had only been about a year!

"A year!"

"I've become this strong!"

"And you, my master, how did you turn into this? Did you mess up your cultivation? Ha, ha, cough, um."

This wasn't just in his head—Xu Xiaoshou pushed through the crowd, stood before Sang Lao, and said it all out loud, growing more amused as he grabbed his clothes and started rubbing them.

"How did your clothes survive?"

"Wu Xiu Red Scorched Body? Wait, no, it should be No Clothes Red Scorched Body. What material is this..."

Xu Xiaoshou quickly realized this wasn't ordinary prison garb.

It had been specially refined, carrying the scent of burnt pills and the aura of the second-generation Che Shen Nian Dragon fusion.

"Is this fake clothing?"

"No, it's real mixed with fake—half made from the Che Shen Nian Dragon fusion, so..."

Xu Xiaoshou looked at the old man, who was clearly shorter than him, his bald spot plainly visible, and asked in wide-eyed shock:

"Are you running around naked?"

Sang Lao listened in silence, staring at the young man before him. His dark eye bags twitched twice, and any heartfelt reunion emotions vanished.

He kept telling himself:

Be tolerant, be magnanimous...

No need to argue with a young punk; so many people are watching—it's not worth it, not dignified, and beneath his stature.

"I didn't want to end up like this." Sang Lao shook his head slightly.

"What?" Xu Xiaoshou didn't quite catch the old man's murmur.

"Step back."

Sang Lao pointed a finger at the hedgehog-haired forehead and thrust forward, as if to pierce this ungrateful disciple.

The void rippled with explosions, the ground crumbled, and Xu Xiaoshou was pushed back several steps, looking slightly surprised.

"You..."

Before he could finish,

Sang Lao lifted his chin, his lips curving into an evil smirk as he raised one hand.

Brilliant light swirled from beneath his feet, enveloping everyone in the area, spreading across thousands of miles with overwhelming momentum.

An Ao Yi array!

In an instant, the surrounding people erupted in shock.

"What? Fire system Ao Yi?"

"The Holy Servant Wu Xiu has comprehended fire system Ao Yi?"

"No, wait—he doesn't have Ao Yi. When he was on the throne, he wasn't an Ao Yi throne..."

"Did I remember wrong? Who tampered with my memory? Wu Xiu isn't an Ao Yi throne; he should be a Tai Xu without Ao Yi, right? The first Ao Yi spiritual refiner was Yu Ling Di, wasn't it?"

"No, it's Yu Mo!"

"Or Yan Wuse?"

"Yan Lao doesn't have Ao Yi—you've got it wrong. But Wu Xiu did have Ao Yi; that's why he's the Holy Servants' second in command."

"Ah? Is that how it is?"

This display of fire system Ao Yi stunned not just the onlookers but even the semi-saints.

Cen Qiaofu, Bai Zhu, Yue Gongli—all were astonished.

Shui Gui was floored; as the Ao Yi semi-saint from the Tai Xu realm, he knew better than anyone that Wu Xiu's fire system Ao Yi was genuine.

But...

He knew better than anyone that the Holy Servants' second in command, Wu Xiu, hadn't had fire system Ao Yi before!

Had he comprehended it after Tai Xu?

That comprehension speed was terrifying!

Yet soon...

Like Shui Gui, everyone looked at Wu Xiu standing with hands behind his back on the Ao Yi array, his face proud, lips barely suppressing a smile, and then glanced at Lord Shou.

In that instant, everyone's expressions turned odd.

Xu Xiaoshou's expression was odd too.

Wait...

After all that, you're showing off in front of me?

"Awesome!"

At that moment, seeing the complex mix of confusion and reluctant admiration on the surrounding faces,

Sang Lao admitted he did it on purpose.

Just for this shallow thrill!

After researching for so long, pondering for over thirty years, even defecting from the Holy Palace and seeking "heretical paths" outside—all to achieve this with a Tai Xu body: re-proving Ao Yi!

My path is complete!

This road leads to the heavens!

So what if I show off a bit?

On a long-awaited reunion, showing off in front of my disciple—what's wrong with that?

I didn't want to be like this; you forced my hand.

I was planning to catch up first, exchange some warm master-disciple pleasantries... then build up and deliver this big reveal!

But your mouth just keeps babbling—it's annoying!

So, I'll just lay it out!

Speechless now, aren't you?

Shocked by your old man, right?

You're the genius, aren't you? Debuted in half a year, shook the five domains, even got praised by the Eight Venerables Yin as "three breaths to innate, three years to sword immortal"?

Lord Shou?

Heh.

In front of the real boss, you're nothing!

Kid, remember, when the Holy Palace's Four Sons were making their names, you weren't even born yet!

"Senior Fen Qin..."

The intelligence officer following Sang Lao couldn't stand it anymore and twitched, about to speak up.

But Sang Lao didn't care at all!

With a wave of his hand, in a tone that was slightly arrogant and lecturing, right in front of Xu Xiaoshou and everyone else, he declared:

"Back in the day, as a special envoy of the Holy Palace, I was sent to Gui Zhe Holy Mountain and met a semi-saint elder. We discussed some spiritual refining insights."

"I believe the great dao has no fixed rules; spiritual refiners shouldn't be bound. He was inspired and agreed with me."

"Thus, the theory arose: that only the throne dao realm can comprehend Ao Yi is nonsense, a misconception in spiritual refining!"

Lifting his chin further, nose in the air, Sang Lao even floated off the ground, completely ignoring the hesitant expressions of his Fen Qin subordinates:

"Regardless of throne dao realm, Dao Severing, Tai Xu, or semi-saint—if your comprehension is strong enough, anyone can grasp Ao Yi; that's the truth!"

"The Ao Yi array under my feet isn't even called an Ao Yi array; I call it the evolvable..."

"Dao Diagram?" Xu Xiaoshou suddenly interjected.

"Exactly, the Dao Diagram!" Sang Lao nodded with a smile, then froze. "How did you know?"

Xu Xiaoshou fell silent.

The whole scene fell silent with him.

Shui Gui pinched his hollow half-golden beast mask, suddenly wishing he could cover his entire face.

Sang Lao scanned around, sensing something was off.

The crowd's reactions were odd, but too calm—as if hearing such explosive spiritual refining news shouldn't elicit this.

Where are your "heavens," your "damns," you rebels? Why the sudden silence? Are you all mute?

You're all roughnecks; why act all proper and civilized now?

Is this the time to be quiet?

Applaud, damn it!

Clap clap clap...

Xu Xiaoshou started clapping, shaking his head as he sighed and stepped forward, even bending down to touch Sang Lao's floating, illusory Ao Yi array—now Dao Diagram.

"Sang Lao, you're incredible!" He clicked his tongue.

Sang Lao's lips pressed down hard, and he flicked his sleeve—oh, wait, no sleeve.

He slowly extended two fingers, lightly tapping the void, as if striking something, his face nonchalant as he said:

"Just average."

Xu Xiaoshou squatted down, looked up, and his admiration grew: "Comprehending fire system Ao Yi with a Tai Xu body—this is a model for us all. Don't be modest; that's just being hypocritical!"

Was this the first time he'd heard such respect from this rascal?

Sang Lao's corners finally lifted, uncontrollably, as he touched his nose like Shui Gui and huffed:

"A mere Ao Yi is nothing."

Xu Xiaoshou jumped up, excited: "Nothing? Then what would be something? Breaking through shackles to comprehend the Dao Diagram, re-proving Ao Yi with Tai Xu—this isn't a model for us? What is?"

Heh, trivial matter.

Sang Lao calmed his emotions.

He was someone who knew when to stop and was about to let it go.

He'd only act like this with Xu Xiaoshou; normally, he wouldn't be so flashy.

"Oh, right."

Fen Qin Bo He, the Holy Servant Wu Xiu, was sharp-minded.

Sang Lao quickly recalled the oddity and wanted to ask Xu Xiaoshou how he knew about "Dao Diagram."

But Xu Xiaoshou was gesturing wildly, unwilling to stop:

"Comprehending fire system Ao Yi with a Tai Xu body—this is 'a model for us all.'"

"Then!"

He looked around at everyone:

"If someone could fully comprehend multiple great spiritual refining Ao Yi in the Dao Severing realm, mastering various Dao Diagrams, what would that be called?"

Everyone fell silent again.

The Fen Qin subordinates wisely backed away.

Lord Shou had steered the conversation to this edge; any extra words from them would be tactless, rude, and suicidal.

Let the master and disciple handle their own business.

Sang Lao clasped his hands behind his back, smirking at his ever-surprising foolish disciple: "Impossible."

"What if it is?" Xu Xiaoshou asked.

"Since you call me 'a model for us all,' if such a person exists as you describe, I'd call him 'the master of spiritual refining!'" Sang Lao declared firmly.

No sooner had he spoken,

Xu Xiaoshou lifted his chin, hands behind his back, and floated into the air.

His black clothes and hair fluttered without wind, layer upon layer of dazzling light emerging from beneath his feet.

"Boom!"

In the distance, the overlord repelled the ancestral tree, but the roar wasn't as piercing as this.

Buzz buzz buzz buzz...

Layer upon layer!

Truly layer upon layer!

Sang Lao was stunned, his pupils losing focus.

In that moment, his eyes seemed to serve only to reflect the Dao Diagrams repeatedly appearing, vanishing, and flashing under his disciple's feet without repetition.

Life's, sword's, space's...

Fire, array, gold, time, body, spirit, intent...

Those he could understand...

Those he couldn't...

The world froze at that instant, the heavens stripped of color, all claimed by that disciple.

Sang Lao felt a lump in his throat, a thorn in his back, his soul adrift.

It was as if he'd waited ten thousand years for Xu Xiaoshou's lofty, dimension-dropping calm voice:

"The master of spiritual refining?"

"Very well, I'll accept that."

"And now, my disciple, it's time for you to call me master."