Chapter 156 The Shenguang Empire
Zhou Donghuang was clear on this: With his current state, in the eyes of the Golden Core adept of the Xuanyin sect, he was no different from a grasshopper.
In his own eyes, everyone present from the Valley of the Medicine Masters, including Su Mo, was no different from grasshoppers.
The Golden Essence adept did not bother to attack them, and even if Chen Dandan had begged him to strike, he could not possibly condescend to strike.
“Teacher.”
Chen Dandan, who had finally dared to open her eyes a long time after being brought aloft by Zhong Ya, said: “I want that Zhou Donghuang dead!” Her eyes glittered coldly, and her face had a hateful expression.
“I beg you to attack and kill him for me!” Chen Dandan pleaded.
“I will not condescend to attack a mere early Connate-stage adept.” Zhong Ya said flatly.
“Moreover, I am now approaching the final trial before entering the Dharma Laws stage, and achieving mental enlightenment is paramount. If I lower myself to the level of killing an early Connate-stage adept, it would be difficult to prevent it from hindering my mental enlightenment and from there on affecting my progress to the Dharma Laws stage.”
“If you want to kill him, you’ll be able to do it yourself in a few years.”
“You will follow me back to Xuanyin sect, and I will give the returning heaven grass to the essence master of the sect and ask him to forge a returning heaven core. When the returning heaven core is ready, I will give it to you to restore your meridians.”
“After your meridians are restored, you will practice with me.”
“If you don’t slack off, you will attain the Connate stage within five years! If you work a little harder, you may even attain the Connate stage within three years.” Zhong Ya said.
Five years? Three years?
Chen Dandan’s first reaction upon hearing Zhong Ya’s words was “why that long?” when Zhou Donghuang had spent just two years on rising from a martial invalid to a Connate-stage adept.
Of course, Chen Dandan did not dare to question the old man to his face.
“Yes, Teacher.”
Chen Dandan changed the subject. “If you don’t kill that Zhou Donghuang, you should at least take away that sword sphere from him. That is good stuff!”
An early Connate-stage adept using that sword sphere had intimidated the three greatest middle Connate-stage adepts of the Valley of the Medicine Masters into submission.
This showed how fearsome the sword sphere was.
“That sword sphere?”
Zhong Ya smiled in disdain. “Something forged by a middle Primal Core adept at most, no different from rubbish to me.”
“When you attain the Connate stage, I can forge a better sword sphere for you myself.”
Zhong Ya spoke extremely casually, as though a mere sword sphere was nothing to him at all.
Chen Dandan’s eyes lit up immediately.
The old man’s words had inadvertently revealed something: The treasure obtained by Zhou Donghuang had been left behind by a middle Primal Core adept at best.
And her teacher was a supreme Primal Core adept!
The supreme Primal Core stage was a whole two levels above the middle Primal Core stage, which were as far apart as earth and cloud in terms of ability.
“Zhou Donghuang!”
With a murderous look in her eyes, Chen Dandan looked in the direction of the Valley of the Medicine Masters. “When I, Chen Dandan, return after restoring my practice, I will cut Lin Lan into a thousand pieces before your eyes, then do the same to you!”
“As for that Valley Lord Su Mo of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, since you have willingly become Zhou Donghuang’s dog, I will send you and your disciples along the same path!”
The Valley of the Medicine Masters.
The training grounds.
After Su Mo borrowed Head Elder Yu Mei’s flying demon and personally sent off a youth dressed in a robe whiter than snow, Yu Mei and the other elders of the Valley of the Medicine Masters left.
The two protectors of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Wang Tao and Yu Wei, seeing that Su Mo and the youth had ridden away on the flying demon, left as well.
Suddenly, only the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters was left in the vast training grounds.
Now, this crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters was still seething with excitement. “I never imagined that I would actually be able to see a Primal Core adept!”
“I had heard that the Primal Core adepts of legend could fly through the air, but legends are just legends, and deep down in my heart I didn’t quite dare believe it. It was only when I personally witnessed that elder flying through the air today that I finally believed those legends.”
“The same goes for me too.”
The appearance of the Primal Core adept succeeded in attracting the attention of all the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters present and completely refocused their attention.
However, once their discussion about the Primal Core adept had died away, the topic of conversation once again returned to the youth in white.
“That youth called ‘Zhou Donghuang’ has actually been acknowledged as Master by the Valley Lord?”
“If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it even if you were to beat me to death: Our exalted Valley Lord, the mightiest person in the region of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, actually acknowledged a youth who looks like a nineteen-year-old as Master!”
“I really don’t know what the Valley Lord is thinking.”
“We will not be able to even guess his innermost thoughts.”
This matter of Valley Lord Su Mo acknowledging that youth as Master that was so difficult for the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters to understand was equally incomprehensible for the group of elders.
But no matter what, the Valley Lord was supreme and unquestioned in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.
They had to support him unconditionally.
“From this day on, there is one more person above the Valley Lord. He has become the person whose word carries absolute authority in the Valley of the Medicine Masters!”
This point was extremely clear to everyone in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.
Somewhere else.
Valley Lord Su Mo personally sent the youth back to the cavern.
“Tell me about the origins of Zhong Ya.”
Zhou Donghuang stopped Su Mo just as he was preparing to take his leave.
Zhong Ya was the old man who had brought Chen Dandan away earlier, and other than being a supreme Primal Core adept, he also seemed to be from a sect called Xuanyin.
“Yes, Master.”
Hearing the youth bring up Zhong Ya, Su Mo’s expression immediately turned serious. “That Zhong Ya is one of the two forefathers of the Xuanyin sect.”
“The two forefathers of the Xuanyin sect are both supreme Primal Core adepts. Between the two, Zhong Ya is older; the other is only just over two hundred years old, just entering the prime of his life.”
“As for the Xuanyin sect, it is one of the several strongest sects of our planet of Ziyun, and they are superior to all the great empires of the planet of Ziyun.”
Su Mo’s explanation gave Zhou Donghuang not only a clear understanding of the Golden Core adept Zhong Ya’s origins, but also a deep understanding of the situation on the planet of Ziyun.
On the planet of Ziyun, the most powerful factions were the sects, including the Xuanyin sect, followed by the various great empires.
These empires were completely different from the small countries in the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley.
In those small countries, there might not even be a Connate-stage adept, while in those empires, there were not just supreme Primal Core adepts, but also numerous ordinary Primal Core adepts.
“Our Valley of the Medicine Masters is located beyond the southeast border of the Shenguang Empire. That area is remote and difficult to access, which is why the Shenguang Empire has no intention of extending its influence here.”
“To the Shenguang Empire, the area of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley administered by the Valley of the Medicine Masters is merely a rural backwater. In addition, there is nothing of value here, so they simply aren’t willing to expend manpower to occupy the area and would rather leave us to fend for ourselves.”
“It is under these circumstances, over the past few hundred years, that our Valley of the Medicine Masters has developed into what it is today.”
“That Guiyuan sect which administers the Fourteen Countries of the North Border shares roughly the same circumstances as the Valley of the Medicine Masters. Although the Fourteen Countries of the North Border are also outside the borders of the Shenguang Empire, they are to their south.”
“And the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley are to their east.”
This was what exactly what Su Mo had said.
On the planet of Ziyun, the various great empires were all under one of the powerful supreme sects of the planet of Ziyun and were vassals of that sect.
Although the imperial courts of the various great empires were hereditary, they were usually responsible only for ruling the empires, and their military strength was average.
Their greatest source of military strength came from the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun which was backing them.
“On the planet of Ziyun, there are five powerful supreme sects. The Xuanyin sect is only one of them.”
“Correspondingly, there are five empires in total on Ziyun.”
“The Shenguang Empire which is closest to us is under a sect called ‘Shenguang’ which is a Buddhist sect.”
As Su Mo paused, Zhou Donghuang narrowed his eyes, unable to help thinking about the Buddha’s lifeblood that had already been absorbed into his body.
Could Buddha’s lifeblood have been left behind by a forefather of the Shenguang sect?
It was no wonder that Zhou Donghuang was thinking of this.
Of the five great empires of Ziyun, the closest to the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley was the Shenguang Empire, and the Shenguang Empire was under the Shenguang sect.
“You mentioned earlier that on the planet of Ziyun there has not been a Dharma Laws adept for several hundred years?” Zhou Donghuang asked Su Mo.
“Yes,” Su Mo nodded.
“It is now the year 1230 in the Ziyun era, which means that the current civilization on the planet of Ziyun began over one thousand two hundred years ago. In over a thousand years, how many Dharma Laws adepts have there been from Ziyun?” Zhou Donghuang asked.
“According to ancient records, there were only two, and they were not contemporaries.”
As Su Mo continued, he seemed to remember something, and his eyes lit up. “One of them was from the Shenguang sect!”
“That person was a martial prodigy from the Shenguang sect seven hundred years ago who attained the Dharma Laws stage when he was close to three hundred years old, dominating that period. The Shenguang sect at that time was the most powerful and influential on Ziyun and was at the peak of its power!”
“However, in the following three hundred years, he remained at the early Dharma Laws stage, and was unable to advance.”
“It is said that at the end of his life, he left the Shenguang sect and did not end his life with the Shenguang sect, nor did he leave his Buddha’s lifeblood for the later generation of disciples of the Shenguang sect.”
As he finished, Su Mo could not help letting out a sigh. “It is this that left the greatest impression of that forefather on the later generations of the planet of Ziyun.”
“The question is: where did he go to end his life? And was the Buddha’s lifeblood that he left behind acquired by someone?”
Chapter 156 The Shenguang Empire
Zhou Donghuang was clear on this: With his current state, in the eyes of the Golden Core adept of the Xuanyin sect, he was no different from a grasshopper.
In his own eyes, everyone present from the Valley of the Medicine Masters, including Su Mo, was no different from grasshoppers.
The Golden Essence adept did not bother to attack them, and even if Chen Dandan had begged him to strike, he could not possibly condescend to strike.
“Teacher.”
Chen Dandan, who had finally dared to open her eyes a long time after being brought aloft by Zhong Ya, said: “I want that Zhou Donghuang dead!” Her eyes glittered coldly, and her face had a hateful expression.
“I beg you to attack and kill him for me!” Chen Dandan pleaded.
“I will not condescend to attack a mere early Connate-stage adept.” Zhong Ya said flatly.
“Moreover, I am now approaching the final trial before entering the Dharma Laws stage, and achieving mental enlightenment is paramount. If I lower myself to the level of killing an early Connate-stage adept, it would be difficult to prevent it from hindering my mental enlightenment and from there on affecting my progress to the Dharma Laws stage.”
“If you want to kill him, you’ll be able to do it yourself in a few years.”
“You will follow me back to Xuanyin sect, and I will give the returning heaven grass to the essence master of the sect and ask him to forge a returning heaven core. When the returning heaven core is ready, I will give it to you to restore your meridians.”
“After your meridians are restored, you will practice with me.”
“If you don’t slack off, you will attain the Connate stage within five years! If you work a little harder, you may even attain the Connate stage within three years.” Zhong Ya said.
Five years? Three years?
Chen Dandan’s first reaction upon hearing Zhong Ya’s words was “why that long?” when Zhou Donghuang had spent just two years on rising from a martial invalid to a Connate-stage adept.
Of course, Chen Dandan did not dare to question the old man to his face.
“Yes, Teacher.”
Chen Dandan changed the subject. “If you don’t kill that Zhou Donghuang, you should at least take away that sword sphere from him. That is good stuff!”
An early Connate-stage adept using that sword sphere had intimidated the three greatest middle Connate-stage adepts of the Valley of the Medicine Masters into submission.
This showed how fearsome the sword sphere was.
“That sword sphere?”
Zhong Ya smiled in disdain. “Something forged by a middle Primal Core adept at most, no different from rubbish to me.”
“When you attain the Connate stage, I can forge a better sword sphere for you myself.”
Zhong Ya spoke extremely casually, as though a mere sword sphere was nothing to him at all.
Chen Dandan’s eyes lit up immediately.
The old man’s words had inadvertently revealed something: The treasure obtained by Zhou Donghuang had been left behind by a middle Primal Core adept at best.
And her teacher was a supreme Primal Core adept!
The supreme Primal Core stage was a whole two levels above the middle Primal Core stage, which were as far apart as earth and cloud in terms of ability.
“Zhou Donghuang!”
With a murderous look in her eyes, Chen Dandan looked in the direction of the Valley of the Medicine Masters. “When I, Chen Dandan, return after restoring my practice, I will cut Lin Lan into a thousand pieces before your eyes, then do the same to you!”
“As for that Valley Lord Su Mo of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, since you have willingly become Zhou Donghuang’s dog, I will send you and your disciples along the same path!”
The Valley of the Medicine Masters.
The training grounds.
After Su Mo borrowed Head Elder Yu Mei’s flying demon and personally sent off a youth dressed in a robe whiter than snow, Yu Mei and the other elders of the Valley of the Medicine Masters left.
The two protectors of the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Wang Tao and Yu Wei, seeing that Su Mo and the youth had ridden away on the flying demon, left as well.
Suddenly, only the crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters was left in the vast training grounds.
Now, this crowd of disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters was still seething with excitement. “I never imagined that I would actually be able to see a Primal Core adept!”
“I had heard that the Primal Core adepts of legend could fly through the air, but legends are just legends, and deep down in my heart I didn’t quite dare believe it. It was only when I personally witnessed that elder flying through the air today that I finally believed those legends.”
“The same goes for me too.”
The appearance of the Primal Core adept succeeded in attracting the attention of all the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters present and completely refocused their attention.
However, once their discussion about the Primal Core adept had died away, the topic of conversation once again returned to the youth in white.
“That youth called ‘Zhou Donghuang’ has actually been acknowledged as Master by the Valley Lord?”
“If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would not have believed it even if you were to beat me to death: Our exalted Valley Lord, the mightiest person in the region of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, actually acknowledged a youth who looks like a nineteen-year-old as Master!”
“I really don’t know what the Valley Lord is thinking.”
“We will not be able to even guess his innermost thoughts.”
This matter of Valley Lord Su Mo acknowledging that youth as Master that was so difficult for the disciples of the Valley of the Medicine Masters to understand was equally incomprehensible for the group of elders.
But no matter what, the Valley Lord was supreme and unquestioned in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.
They had to support him unconditionally.
“From this day on, there is one more person above the Valley Lord. He has become the person whose word carries absolute authority in the Valley of the Medicine Masters!”
This point was extremely clear to everyone in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.
Somewhere else.
Valley Lord Su Mo personally sent the youth back to the cavern.
“Tell me about the origins of Zhong Ya.”
Zhou Donghuang stopped Su Mo just as he was preparing to take his leave.
Zhong Ya was the old man who had brought Chen Dandan away earlier, and other than being a supreme Primal Core adept, he also seemed to be from a sect called Xuanyin.
“Yes, Master.”
Hearing the youth bring up Zhong Ya, Su Mo’s expression immediately turned serious. “That Zhong Ya is one of the two forefathers of the Xuanyin sect.”
“The two forefathers of the Xuanyin sect are both supreme Primal Core adepts. Between the two, Zhong Ya is older; the other is only just over two hundred years old, just entering the prime of his life.”
“As for the Xuanyin sect, it is one of the several strongest sects of our planet of Ziyun, and they are superior to all the great empires of the planet of Ziyun.”
Su Mo’s explanation gave Zhou Donghuang not only a clear understanding of the Golden Core adept Zhong Ya’s origins, but also a deep understanding of the situation on the planet of Ziyun.
On the planet of Ziyun, the most powerful factions were the sects, including the Xuanyin sect, followed by the various great empires.
These empires were completely different from the small countries in the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley.
In those small countries, there might not even be a Connate-stage adept, while in those empires, there were not just supreme Primal Core adepts, but also numerous ordinary Primal Core adepts.
“Our Valley of the Medicine Masters is located beyond the southeast border of the Shenguang Empire. That area is remote and difficult to access, which is why the Shenguang Empire has no intention of extending its influence here.”
“To the Shenguang Empire, the area of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley administered by the Valley of the Medicine Masters is merely a rural backwater. In addition, there is nothing of value here, so they simply aren’t willing to expend manpower to occupy the area and would rather leave us to fend for ourselves.”
“It is under these circumstances, over the past few hundred years, that our Valley of the Medicine Masters has developed into what it is today.”
“That Guiyuan sect which administers the Fourteen Countries of the North Border shares roughly the same circumstances as the Valley of the Medicine Masters. Although the Fourteen Countries of the North Border are also outside the borders of the Shenguang Empire, they are to their south.”
“And the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley are to their east.”
This was what exactly what Su Mo had said.
On the planet of Ziyun, the various great empires were all under one of the powerful supreme sects of the planet of Ziyun and were vassals of that sect.
Although the imperial courts of the various great empires were hereditary, they were usually responsible only for ruling the empires, and their military strength was average.
Their greatest source of military strength came from the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun which was backing them.
“On the planet of Ziyun, there are five powerful supreme sects. The Xuanyin sect is only one of them.”
“Correspondingly, there are five empires in total on Ziyun.”
“The Shenguang Empire which is closest to us is under a sect called ‘Shenguang’ which is a Buddhist sect.”
As Su Mo paused, Zhou Donghuang narrowed his eyes, unable to help thinking about the Buddha’s lifeblood that had already been absorbed into his body.
Could Buddha’s lifeblood have been left behind by a forefather of the Shenguang sect?
It was no wonder that Zhou Donghuang was thinking of this.
Of the five great empires of Ziyun, the closest to the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley was the Shenguang Empire, and the Shenguang Empire was under the Shenguang sect.
“You mentioned earlier that on the planet of Ziyun there has not been a Dharma Laws adept for several hundred years?” Zhou Donghuang asked Su Mo.
“Yes,” Su Mo nodded.
“It is now the year 1230 in the Ziyun era, which means that the current civilization on the planet of Ziyun began over one thousand two hundred years ago. In over a thousand years, how many Dharma Laws adepts have there been from Ziyun?” Zhou Donghuang asked.
“According to ancient records, there were only two, and they were not contemporaries.”
As Su Mo continued, he seemed to remember something, and his eyes lit up. “One of them was from the Shenguang sect!”
“That person was a martial prodigy from the Shenguang sect seven hundred years ago who attained the Dharma Laws stage when he was close to three hundred years old, dominating that period. The Shenguang sect at that time was the most powerful and influential on Ziyun and was at the peak of its power!”
“However, in the following three hundred years, he remained at the early Dharma Laws stage, and was unable to advance.”
“It is said that at the end of his life, he left the Shenguang sect and did not end his life with the Shenguang sect, nor did he leave his Buddha’s lifeblood for the later generation of disciples of the Shenguang sect.”
As he finished, Su Mo could not help letting out a sigh. “It is this that left the greatest impression of that forefather on the later generations of the planet of Ziyun.”
“The question is: where did he go to end his life? And was the Buddha’s lifeblood that he left behind acquired by someone?”
