CHAPTER 150: INTERLUDE: GU YIN’S THOUGHTS

During the time that Li Ling was in a daze handling the second and third glyphs, as well as the aftermath, there were some shocking events occurring outside the Shen Clan Estate as well.

For one, two Dao Integration Path Elders had bolted off in a furious chase after a resplendent light that shot out from the edge of the outpost that was still able to somehow move despite Elder Gu Yin suppressing the area with her full power.

This action left those who were pressed to the ground around the area of the estate—the fellow core disciples and even the five Soul Formation powerhouses of the Six Paths Demon Sect, much less those of the Boundless Joy Sect—feeling shocked in their hearts.

As for being pressed to the ground like this, they had no qualms. This was not just because of the power gap between them and the status of the three Path Elders, but also because they understood why this was done.

The moment Li Ling’s breakthrough began to display such phenomena, it was already quite remarkable, but to understand a Rule at this level was something key to any sect.

For allied sects, it was something worth poaching! For enemy sects, it must be immediately reported and, if there is a chance, killed!

Even at the cost of their own life!

Hence, the moment Gu Yin collected herself, she began area control. Her actions woke up the other two who felt ashamed for not being aware enough to do so, so they opted to put in more ’work’ to make up for it.

As such, the moment a spy was revealed by Gu Yin’s actions, they chose to pursue the fellow and capture them at all costs to prevent the news from spreading!

This was imperative because the only thing that could move with the Dao Integration Path Elders releasing their auras to suppress was another Dao Integration powerhouse!

This meant that the opposing side had somehow planted a full sixth-realm powerhouse into their outpost all this time!!

However, this was not too shocking a concept. This was a War of Contest, an overtly underground tacit agreement between the Righteous and Demonic Path to have their people duke it out in a controlled battlefront where casualties were discouraged.

Here, it wasn’t about killing one’s foe, not even for the demonic side. It was mostly to defeat or humiliate in all-out combat that seemed like it was life-and-death combat, but each ’top contestant’ was protected by shadow powerhouses.

Of course, that was only for ’stars’ from the upper sect like Shen Ziyan and the core disciples, as well as the third realm fellows. As for those naturally from the Boundless Joy Sect and the Qing Shan Sect, this was really a life-and-death war for them.

These were the rules on a normal day, but this situation called for emergency actions! The spy who would have been left alone for the most part must now be controlled until they could get Li Ling to the sect where it would be safe.

The only thing was that the four core disciples didn’t know how to feel about the emergence of this talent. Clearly, as the person had entered the third realm, they would soon be joining them in the core disciple hierarchy and become a competitor.

But to compete with someone who mastered a rule? Were they sick in the head?

It was around this time that the second glyph was completed, and its energy exploded outwards in the same manner as the first. This change caused those here to be caught off guard, as they were being suppressed and unable to protect themselves.

Just when they feared that they were about to be crushed, they found that the power breezed over them harmlessly as a barrier created by Gu Yin appeared to cover them, including those from the Boundless Joy Sect.

However, they didn’t have the presence of mind to be thankful, their bodies frozen from the renewed shock of knowing that this person hadn’t comprehended just one rule, but two!

What the hell!

This was as if the pig that had flown away did a few circles in the sky, then came down, stood on its hind legs, and started running on a treadmill, claiming it wanted to lose weight because it was too chubby.

Nothing prepared them for the third rule being comprehended and its energy releasing, making them begin to tremble fiercely even as they were pressed down.

However, they heard a barely audible sigh that seemed to originate from deep within each of them yet also from miles away, using a voice that they could all recognize but could not put a name to.

However, Gu Yin wore an expression of strangeness, as if she couldn’t quite believe it.

"That was the voice of the Dao. You only get to hear it briefly when you build the Heaven and Earth Bridge in the Dao Integration Realm, and I get to hear it again like this?" Gu Yin muttered to herself, not caring that others could hear.

The voice of the Dao?!

The heck—of course they knew what that was, but their minds would never have come onto that without confirmation from someone in the know.

Whether it was those here of the Boundless Joy Sect or the Six Paths Demon Sect, they had information on the details of the entire Spirit Path, so they knew what this meant!

Just who was this person breaking through? It was the goddamn Third Realm, not even the Fourth Realm!!

If they were doing things like this now, then what about when they were going through the higher, more intense realms that were to come?

It was just a mere Qi Path realm, the energy-absorbing stages. As people in the Spirit Path, they were the most qualified and most poignant to agree with the statement that the first three Qi cultivation realms were nothing special, just about mindlessly sucking spiritual energy without needing to think!

Only from Nascent Soul onward did things change.

"And the voice of the Dao actually sighed. Did it sigh because the person’s comprehension was lacking, or because it couldn’t believe such a genius existed?" Gu Yin murmured to herself, her gaze becoming deep as the torrent of energy in the Shen Clan Estate began to rapidly recede.

Gu Yin’s expression condensed when this happened, for this was the critical time. She had to defend Li Ling from three types of entities who would be rushing here or in his general direction to make use of him.

The first were solicitors! Those in the sect who had seen this talent and wanted to either control it, work with it, or subordinate themselves to it!

The second were detractors, who wanted to suppress him or harm him in a controllable way in order to limit the threat he may or may not pose to them.

The third were the killers, those who wanted to permanently and thoroughly snip the talent in the bud!

Gu Yin ranked them in order of danger and placed the solicitors at the highest slot!

Because she herself had her own ideas about this emerging genius and wanted to firmly drag him into her camp, for she felt that such a person would definitely become a very capable subordinate now and a supporter in the future!

She was in the Dao Integration Realm, but whether it was her or the other two, they had basically exhausted their potential and were crawling through the realm at a snail’s pace, their lifespans being consumed idly as no progress was made.

Otherwise, why would they go down the elder track and, more importantly, be stationed out here in what they felt was the equivalent of the boonies?

For cultivators like Gu Yin, resources could not be easily earned through normal operations, at least not fast enough and solidly enough to get them to their goal.

However, raising a competent next generation would solve all of that, especially if they also reached your level then soared above!

"Watch the area and make sure no interlopers come close. You have my express permission to kill on sight and explain later." Gu Yin turned to the Six Paths Demon Sect’s group and said coldly before releasing her aura from them and rushing into the Shen Clan Estate.

Even though she had sensed Shen Ziyan rushing into the place, she felt nothing of it, for her assumption was that the person responsible for all this was already a member of the Shen Clan.

She was even thinking of how to satisfy Shen Ziyan, as she was still the Clan Matriarch and things had to follow official procedure for something like this to not leave any sequelae in the future.

RUMBLE! RUMBLE!

However, the world shook again, and not because of any Dao laws, but due to something far more aggressive and frightening. Gu Yin felt her entire body’s hairs stand on end, which was impossible since her body was not ’alive’ in the nominal sense.

When she looked upwards, her expression showed stark horror for the first time today.