Chapter 413: Rotten Mess

Daoist Monarch Xiaoyao finished speaking, cast no further glance at Xu Yang, turned, and silently vanished into the darkness.

"Whenever you're ready, send a trace of your aura towards the depths of the Tomb of Buried Cultivators, and I will appear before you immediately."

Watching the unfamiliar yet familiar figure recede into the distance, Xu Yang's heart was filled with a complex surge of emotions. He now finally believed that Little Hua and Daoist Monarch Xiaoyao were one and the same person. It was just that in the real world, Daoist Monarch Xiaoyao exuded a calmness and serenity born from countless life experiences. Little Hua, in the fantasy world, was more like the innocent and carefree side of her from a time when she was still young and inexperienced.

Regardless, the bond between himself and the Daoist Monarch would never be erased from his life. And Little Hua would always remain an inseparable figure in Xu Yang's mind.

Returning to his teammates inside the Endless Tower, Xu Yang found them all looking tense. However, upon seeing his composed demeanor, the tension on their faces dissipated.

"Boss, what exactly happened between you and that person? What's going on? Where are they?"

Xu Yang briefly recounted his conversation with Daoist Monarch Xiaoyao to everyone, emphasizing the conspiracy involving Qilin Mountain and the necessity of their journey to Yunmeng Lake.

"My heavens, I can't believe such a secret is hidden on the continent!" Long Kun's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but exclaim in shock. "If Qilin Mountain is truly as the Daoist Monarch claims, then they have secretly hijacked the path to godhood for countless extraordinarily talented individuals on this continent over hundreds of thousands of years! If they are truly responsible for such a heinous act, they must be made to suffer eternal damnation."

While it's still too early to speak of this, without the spiritual guidance of the Nine-Orifice Exquisite Heart, we wouldn't even be able to step through Qilin Mountain's gates, as it's a true divine realm.

Everyone nodded solemnly.

"I have made an agreement with the Daoist Monarch: after we fulfill our respective obligations within the Three Thousand Dao States, we will regroup and journey to Yunmeng Lake in the Far West to find Aunt Yun."

"That's wonderful. After being away for so long, we really should go back and see. I wonder what the Three Thousand Dao States look like now."

A rumbling sound echoed!

The sound was abrupt, but Xu Yang quickly determined that its source was not within the Tomb of Buried Cultivators, but rather in another region of the Three Thousand Dao States. Perhaps this was a dangerous signal, hinting that without Xu Yang's team of top cultivators overseeing it, the Three Thousand Dao States might have already been ravaged by ill-intentioned individuals.

Although the Tuoba lineage and the Northern Jin imperial family had fallen, individuals like Feng Xiu of the Northern Jin Sword Alliance remained ambitious and treacherous. More importantly, Feng Xiu had not entered the Tomb of Buried Cultivators, yet he was extremely well-informed. If he chose to stir up trouble in the Three Thousand Dao States while Xu Yang and his team were trapped in the Tomb's secret realm, that time would be more than enough for him to execute numerous astonishing schemes.

After leaving the Tomb of Buried Cultivators, Xu Yang instructed Wushuang to return to the Cold Moon Empire with the Empress first. The others were to return to Thousand Cloud Mountain, which was now the new base for Xu Yang's Tianlan Sect within the Three Thousand Dao States. Xu Yang himself, however, was not in a hurry to return. Instead, he followed Daoist Monarch Xiaoyao's guidance and headed to the Carefree Daoist Sect. After all, having escaped the Endless Tower, Xu Yang had essentially passed the trials of the Tomb of Buried Cultivators, earning the qualification to visit the Carefree Daoist Sect.

Of course, Xu Yang wasn't going to claim Daoist Monarch Xiaoyao's name directly this time. He wanted to earn the right to challenge the Nine-Colored Qiankun Bell purely through his own strength. Xu Yang was well aware that after obtaining the Asura inheritance, his god-tier offensive abilities made him virtually unrivaled on the continent. However, in terms of defense, Xu Yang was not among the absolute top cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence Peak stage. For instance, among the Buddhist and Daoist inheritances of the southern sects, there were many reclusive and mysterious Tribulation Transcendence realm experts who possessed indestructible divine bodies. Compared to them, Xu Yang indeed lacked top-tier cultivation techniques and artifacts for defense. And this Nine-Colored Qiankun Bell was undoubtedly an excellent gift from Daoist Monarch Xiaoyao.

"Stop! Who are you?"

As Xu Yang's foot crossed the threshold of the Carefree Daoist Sect's mountain gate, he was stopped by two young Daoist cultivators in robes.

"I have passed the trials of the Tomb of Buried Cultivators and earned the qualification to visit the Carefree Daoist Sect." Without further pleasantries, Xu Yang directly stated his purpose.

"You truly earned the qualification? You seem so young; do you really possess Tribulation Transcendence realm strength?" Evidently, the two Daoist cultivators looked displeased, expressing doubt that the young Xu Yang before them truly possessed such power.

Master Xu Yang was never one for idle chatter. Seeing the surprise on their faces, he gently waved his hand, and under an unseen pressure, the two Daoist cultivators were lifted directly into the air, looking quite disheveled.

"Circumstances necessitated this, and I apologize for the offense."

The two Daoist cultivators had, of course, already sensed Xu Yang's profound strength, far surpassing the initial stage of Tribulation Transcendence. In fact, Xu Yang had not even unleashed his peak aura, merely maintaining his power at the initial Tribulation Transcendence realm. Even so, it was more than enough to intimidate the two Daoist cultivators before him.

"Our apologies, we failed to recognize your eminence. Please, come in!"

Indeed, after demonstrating his immense power, Xu Yang immediately gained the respect he deserved. Led personally by the two Daoist cultivators, he arrived outside the main hall of the Carefree Daoist Sect.

"Please wait here for a moment. We will go summon the Sect Master now!"

However, to Xu Yang's surprise, he waited for over two hours, but the supposed leader of the Carefree Daoist Sect never appeared.

"Quick, someone! The Sect Master is in trouble!"

Soon, a chaotic clamor spread throughout the vicinity of the main hall. In an instant, countless figures of Daoist sect inheritors suddenly surged from all directions, all with drawn swords and hostile expressions, surrounding Xu Yang.

"What are you doing?" Xu Yang's face showed confusion.

"Aha! You're the one who harmed our Sect Master!"

Xu Yang instantly felt a mix of exasperation and amusement; a scene eerily similar to what happened previously at the Thousand Cloud Sect was unfolding again.

"I'm speechless. Can't you come up with a new way to wrongly accuse someone? This is still so cliché. It seems significant changes have occurred within the Carefree Daoist Sect, and the culprits are likely those from Northern Jin again."

The familiar scene played out once more, only this time, the schemes of Feng Xiu and the Northern Jin Sword Alliance had targeted the Carefree Daoist Sect.

"It seems that Daoist Monarch, on the surface, was doing me a favor, but in reality, she was asking me to clean up her mess!"