Vol 5 Chapter 76: Return Journey

After entering the Origin Realm and contacting Lin Jing, Senior Brother Ouyang began pouring out his grievances.

"Senior Brother Ouyang, long time no see. No rush, take your time explaining," Lin Jing said thoughtfully as he poured tea, "Could it be that the Star Heaven Veil Array failed and the Heavenly Demon Sect still found the Tianyuan Realm?"

If that were the case, it would indeed be disastrous.

"Heavenly Demon Sect? No!" Ouyang Hao shook his head repeatedly. "It's not an external threat—it's from within the realm!"

He took a sip of tea before continuing, "Junior Brother, have you heard of the Refining Dao Sect?"

Lin Jing searched his memory and nodded. "The Refining Dao Sect—one of the four core sects that destroyed the Immortal Palace and later founded the Immortal Alliance. They excelled in both alchemy and artifact forging, supplying the alliance with countless premium magical treasures and pills..."

"Then Junior Brother should also know about their later developments," Ouyang Hao added. "Years after the Immortal Alliance began ruling the Tianyuan Realm, the Refining Dao Sect produced a born immortal physique—the Heaven Refining Immortal Physique! This person... was utterly despicable. Spoiled by his elders, he abandoned righteous paths—using living humans and beasts as materials for his alchemy!"

Lin Jing and the Dragon Carp: "......"

"For artifact forging, he used living sacrifices too."

"Later, he descended further into depravity—researching living refinement, soul refining, corpse refining, and human gu cultivation. He eventually had a son, who in turn took two personal disciples..."

Lin Jing's gaze sharpened. "The Netherworld Hall Master—the Corpse Emperor, and the Yin Household Sect Leader—Emperor Hu."

"Exactly! By seniority, this Heaven Refining Immortal Physique could be considered their grandmaster, and the root of the Refining Dao Sect's corruption."

"All three major demonic sects in Tianyuan today trace their origins to him."

"But records say he died long ago, unless..." Lin Jing questioned. Historical accounts described how the man nearly went berserk in his later years, endlessly refining himself in pursuit of immortality before ultimately failing and perishing.

Ouyang Hao fell silent before revealing, "He should have died... but apparently didn't completely perish. Though most immortality methods failed, some weren't complete failures—just lacking a final catalyst."

"The arrival of the Golden Age provided that catalyst, allowing the buried Heaven Refining Demon Ancestor to revive."

"In fact, he may have awakened long ago. It wasn't until ten years ago that major factions discovered him. By then, he'd already reclaimed the Netherworld Hall, the Gu God, and the reincarnated Corpse Emperor—rebuilding the Refining Dao Sect to seek vengeance, becoming a major threat to the Tianyuan Continent."

"Originally, Tianyuan's Dao Seekers had recovered enough to send more cultivators here. But the Refining Dao Sect's resurgence forced them to conserve energy—activating the Origin Realm teleportation array for nine geniuses requires significant resources, unwise during such tense times."

"So they only sent me first to explain the situation..."

"Refining Dao Sect..." Lin Jing frowned deeply. "We avoided the Heavenly Demon Sect only for this to emerge. What about the Demon Emperor?"

"I prepared premium immortal sources for her—shouldn't she have ascended to immortal beast status by now? That would surely eliminate this Demon Ancestor."

Ouyang Hao replied, "Not yet... But as you said, if Her Majesty follows the proper path, the Refining Dao Sect won't pose a real threat—it just requires more time."

"Thus, she sent me to tell you not to rush—give her time to cultivate."

"Once her immortal beast bloodline matures, she'll eliminate the Refining Dao Sect and continue assisting your plans."

Lin Jing nodded. "This Heaven Refining Demon Ancestor must be formidable indeed—a born immortal physique. Without the Demon Emperor reaching immortal beast status, even the First Ancient Emperor's reincarnation or united Dao Seekers could only contain, not eradicate him. Especially after years of scheming and absorbing those three demons."

"Exactly," Ouyang Hao said bitterly. "Since Her Majesty destroyed the Yin Corpse Sect and Gu God Sect, plus you seizing the Netherworld Hall's opportunities, these demonic factions now fiercely oppose the Demon Court and Beast Master Sect."

"Aside from the ancient kingdom that originally destroyed the Refining Dao Sect, Qingzhou's battles are the most chaotic."

"But no major issues... once the Demon Emperor..."

"Few know about her possessing premium immortal sources for evolution, right?" Lin Jing asked.

Ouyang Hao nodded. "Only a handful—I learned just before departing. The Refining Dao Sect, ancient kingdom, and other Tianyuan forces remain unaware you gave them to her. She's been cultivating in secret."

"Understood." Lin Jing nodded. "No wonder no Beast Master Sect disciples have arrived. In that case, stay and cultivate here until reaching peak Nascent Soul Transformation. Then I'll help you tame an Origin Realm spirit for research on bringing them to Tianyuan."

"I'll ask Lady Nethersoil to assist you—I'll return shortly."

"Huh?" Ouyang Hao blinked. "Where are you going? We've been apart so long—I wanted to catch up!"

Lin Jing pondered before answering, "Back to Tianyuan Realm."

"What?!" Ouyang Hao gaped. "Have you gone mad? Leaving the safe Origin Realm for Tianyuan's chaos? With your status, you'd top every assassination list!"

"Besides, how would you even return?"

Lin Jing chuckled. "Through my Heavenly Demon Physique, I can temporarily boost to Void Mystical Stage to get expelled from here. Back in Tianyuan, reverting to Nascent Soul level would requalify me for reentry—many Heavenly Demon cultivators use this method."

"While risky for losing control, your words gave me an idea worth the gamble."

"What words?"

"That the Heaven Refining Demon Ancestor and his sect specialize in life and soul fusion techniques."

"If I use Dao Fruit to absorb their research from the Demon Ancestor, Emperor Hu, and Corpse Emperor, then transfer it to the Pine Leaf Mouse... could that advance its Glazed Immortal Eye to achieve life-soul synthesis?"