136: Chapter 136 The Merciful Lord, Rumors Escalate!

The surviving assassin's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice as dry as if it had been scoured by sandpaper, every word trembling with the terror of having survived a catastrophe.

"So... the Alliance Leader killing Old Third and Old Seventh wasn't to vent his anger, but... to save us?"

This question echoed through the deathly silent canyon, striking deep into the Divine Soul of every survivor.

Their remaining reason clashed violently with the bloody scene they had just witnessed, causing even more cracks to appear in their already crumbling worldview.

Qian Tong stood with his back to the others, his silhouette casting a twisted, elongated shadow against the dark red glow of the scorched earth and magma.

He did not turn around immediately, but instead raised his head to look at the firmament ravaged by the "miracle," as if savoring the lingering strand of supreme Dao Rhyme in the air that made even his Divine Soul tremble.

A moment later, he turned around.

Bloodstains had hardened into a crust on his face, and fresh wounds were still oozing beads of blood, yet his eyes were terrifyingly bright; a near-manic clarity and thorough realization had replaced all fear and wretchedness.

"Correct."

He spat out the two words, his voice hoarse yet possessing the texture of metal and stone, allowing for no refutation.

"You think that Senior truly couldn't kill us?" Qian Tong's gaze was like a knife, sweeping over the pale faces of his subordinates one by one. "If he wanted to, a single thought would suffice."

"Never mind you and me, even this ghost bone boat and this entire mountain range would turn into the most primal dust in an instant."

He raised his arm, pointing to the abyss where golden-red magma was still flowing and black smoke was constantly rising.

"He stepped down, the earth cracked, and the subterranean fire surged upward—that was an apocalyptic disaster! Look closely, that was not the spell or Divine Ability commonly used by a Cultivator, that was 'Dao'! It was the manifestation of the supreme laws of this world in his words! It was Words Become Law!"

"Dao"! "Words Become Law"!

These words were like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens, exploding in the minds of the surviving assassins. Remembering that scorched purgatory and that irresistible, incomprehensible might, their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably, their teeth chattering.

That kind of power had long since exceeded their entire understanding of "Cultivate." It was the distance of a Mortal looking up to a deity.

"But... but why did he... let us go?" Another assassin finally mustered the courage of a lifetime to ask the biggest question in everyone's heart. Since he was a deity, why show mercy to ants?

"Because of mercy!"

Qian Tong's voice rose, carrying a fanaticism like that of preaching a doctrine.

"Senior was giving us a chance! He saw through the cowardice and disrespect in Old Third and Old Seventh's hearts at a glance, saw that their Dao Heart was covered in dust and beyond saving! That is why he used my hand to remove them from our ranks!"

He opened his arms, as if embracing some invisible glory.

"This was not a slaughter! This was a purification! A baptism! A supreme enlightenment!"

"He did not kill us himself, which was his way of using his supreme Realm to tell us—even if you are of the Evil Path, even if you are full of sins, as long as you hold reverence in your heart, the Great Dao will always leave you a glimmer of survival!"

Every word of this speech was wrapped in Qian Tong's own intense will and the aura after his Epiphany, striking the hearts of every assassin like a morning bell or evening drum.

So that was it!

The Alliance Leader wasn't crazy! He was carrying out the will of a deity!

That Senior wasn't just cold in his power; he... he actually possessed a heart that sought to save all living beings! He was even willing to provide guidance to them, these Evil Cultivators!

In an instant, the look the few assassins gave Qian Tong changed completely. Their former fear and confusion vanished, replaced by a burning light mixed with worship and fanaticism.

"The Alliance Leader is wise! We... we were foolish and almost misunderstood the Alliance Leader, and even more so, misinterpreted Senior's supreme profound meaning!"

"Please punish us, Alliance Leader!"

The group knelt on the ground in unison; this time, it was heartfelt submission, a reverence originating from their Divine Souls.

Qian Tong nodded with satisfaction, his chest heaving as he greedily breathed in the air in this canyon that still held "Dao Rhyme."

He could clearly perceive that his cultivation Bottleneck, the shackle that had plagued him for nearly a hundred years, had actually shown a faint, imperceptible loosening under the intertwining of this pressure and Epiphany.

A miracle! This was the reward for following in the footsteps of a deity!

"Pass on my decree, proclaim it to the entire Alliance!" His voice regained its majesty, even adding a weight of irrefutable authority more than before.

"Our trip this time was not a defeat, but the good fortune of seeing a True God and being bathed in the divine grace and enlightenment of the 'Dao Ancestor' Senior!"

"Let everyone know that 'Dao Ancestor' Senior not only possesses the world-destroying power of creation but also has a broad mind that encompasses the heavens and earth and feels compassion for all living beings!"

"From this day on, our Evil Cultivator Alliance must hold the word 'reverence' high in our hearts! Revere the Heaven, revere the Earth, and above all, revere the Dao Ancestor!"

"Yes! We will strictly obey the Alliance Leader's decree!"

The roar shook the heavens in the valley.

Su Changge was naturally completely unaware of everything that had happened here.

He was lying on the broad back of the Old Yellow Ox, wishing he could attach four more legs to this slow-moving old partner. The bloody and bizarre scene just now had truly frightened him quite a bit; his heart was still pounding, and his spiritual power was somewhat chaotic due to excessive nervousness.

In broad daylight, under the bright sky, a group of Cultivators first prostrated themselves and swore oaths, then the scar-faced brute leading them drew his blade and hacked two of his own men, blood splashing three feet high.

This was even more shocking than the most wicked Devil Head in the storybooks.

"The Cultivation world is just too dangerous; people's hearts are not what they used to be, and the world has gone to ruin." Su Changge patted his chest, warning himself with lingering fear, "In the future, I should run to these desolate wildernesses less often; even if I must, I should choose main roads with more people."

The Old Yellow Ox seemed to sense its Master's unease, let out a moo, and quickened its pace slightly.

After traveling several dozen more miles, the human presence on the road ahead gradually became denser.

Most were Cultivators carrying swords, or traveling on the wind, or riding various Spirit Beasts. Judging by the direction, they were all heading to the Falling Immortal Secret Realm.

However, when these people passed by him, the looks they cast contained an indescribable strangeness.

At first, it was just whispering, but gradually, the discussion grew louder and clearer, reaching his ears.

"Look quickly, that's him! The Senior riding the green ox, wearing plain clothes!"

"Who? Oh! I see... He looks so young, and his aura is... so ordinary."

"What do you know! This is called the Dao is simple, Return to Simplicity! I heard that not long ago, the Ten Yama Kings of the Evil Cultivator Alliance, along with their Alliance Leader Qian Tong, fell into the hands of this Senior!"

"I heard that too! Rumor has it that Senior just gently stomped his foot, and the entire Tianduan Canyon collapsed, subterranean fire and magma erupted thousands of feet high, and the Evil Cultivator Alliance's ghost bone boat was burned to ashes on the spot!"

Su Changge, riding on the ox's back, felt his face begin to twitch uncontrollably.

Stomping his foot?

When did I stomp my foot? I was clearly so scared my legs went weak and I almost fell off the ox's back!

Just as he was complaining inwardly, a sharp-faced Cultivator who seemed extremely well-informed lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously to the people around him: "Your information is all outdated! My seventh great-uncle's disciple's Dao Companion was picking herbs near Tianduan Canyon, saw it with their own eyes, and told me the first-hand inside scoop!"

As soon as these words were spoken, several surrounding Cultivators immediately gathered around.

"Oh? Brother, tell us quickly! What exactly happened?"

The sharp-faced Cultivator cleared his throat and said with feigned profundity: "The truth is, that Senior, from beginning to end, didn't move a single finger!"

"Ah? Then how were Qian Tong and the Ten Yama Kings under his command defeated? They couldn't have just fallen to their deaths, could they?"

"That's where you don't understand." The sharp-faced Cultivator wore an expression of "your Realm is too low." "When Qian Tong led the crowd to block Senior's path, Senior just glanced at him indifferently and asked a question."

"What question?" Everyone held their breath.

The sharp-faced Cultivator paused, and in a tone full of Zen, said word by word: "'Dao is within you, why seek it outside? Lay down the butcher's knife, and you shall see your true self.'"

"'Dao is within you, why seek it outside...'" A Cultivator muttered to himself, a light of Epiphany bursting in his eyes. "High! Truly high!"

"And then?"

"And then? Then the Evil Cultivator Alliance Leader Qian Tong knelt on the spot, tears streaming down his face, saying that he had sought the Great Dao in bitterness but failed, and it turned out he had taken the wrong path!"

"He was grateful for Senior's grace of enlightenment, and to show his determination, he personally cleared out the stubborn demons within his sect and swore a Heavenly Dao oath to lead the entire Evil Cultivator Alliance to abandon evil and follow good, reciting Senior's 'true words' day and night to seek the true understanding of the Great Dao!"

"Heavens! A single sentence can convert an unparalleled Devil Head? This Senior's Realm has likely already reached the legendary 'Saint' Domain, hasn't it?"

"That is why the world respectfully calls him 'Dao Ancestor'! With such a Realm, Cultivators of our generation don't even have the qualifications to look up to him!"

Su Changge listened to these increasingly outrageous rumors, which even he was starting to believe, and he felt completely numb.

"Dao is within you, why seek it outside?"

When did I say something so philosophical? I was clearly so scared that I couldn't say a word at the time!

Is this how rumors are born? This spreads faster than a plague!

He had a momentary impulse to rush over, grab that sharp-faced Cultivator by the collar, and loudly tell them that he was just an ordinary person passing by, that he hadn't done anything, and that everything was a misunderstanding!

But thinking of the scar-faced brute whose face was covered in blood from kowtowing and whose eyes were filled with fanaticism, he forcibly suppressed this impulse.

You can't reason with a group of lunatics who have already fallen into self-delusion. If they interpret him as some kind of "divine oracle" and kneel down to kowtow again, that situation would be too hard to handle.

Forget it, let them be. The mouths belong to others; anyway, he was about to enter the Secret Realm, and when he came out, the spotlight should have passed.

This world is truly becoming harder and harder to understand.

He sighed helplessly and looked up into the distance.

At the end of the heavens and earth, a huge, incomparable spatial rift spanned the horizon, like a scar on the sky that could never heal.

At the edge of the rift was a twisted and chaotic spatial turbulence, from which seven-colored rays of light and auspicious Chaos Qi gushed out from time to time, illuminating half the sky in a magnificent and bizarre way.

That was the destination of this trip—the entrance to the Falling Immortal Secret Realm.

"Whatever, I'll enter the Secret Realm first to avoid the limelight."

Su Changge patted the Old Yellow Ox's neck, urging it to speed up.

He did not notice that as he silently moved forward, the discussions of the Cultivators behind him not only did not stop but became even more filled with reverence and piety.

"Did you see that? Senior heard our discussion, but said nothing, his expression indifferent—this is tacit approval! This is the bearing of a Master!"

"Senior truly has the heavens and earth in his heart; he has long ceased to care about the vain names fabricated by us Mortals!"

"Quick, quick, keep up! Being able to follow behind the Dao Ancestor, even if it's just to get a trace of the Dao Rhyme that he inadvertently exudes, is a massive Opportunity!"

Ahead, the huge and terrifying entrance to the Falling Immortal Secret Realm was already visible in the distance.

And in that entrance area where the Origin Qi was boiling from the spatial turbulence, several powerful and incomparable auras, far exceeding that of Qian Tong's ilk, were lurking, intertwining, and colliding from different directions.

One aura was sharp like an unsheathed divine sword, cutting through the Void Realm.

One aura was deep like a ten-thousand-foot dark pool, swallowing light.

And another was blazing like the Nine Nether Devil Fire, domineering and peerless.

Their target, it seemed, was that ancient Secret Realm that was about to open.

Su Changge felt his scalp go slightly numb, a stinging sensation of being stared at by countless wild beasts coming from all directions. He subconsciously shrank his neck, assuming it was just a normal reaction to being too close to the Secret Realm entrance and being affected by the spatial turbulence.

A greater and even more incomprehensible storm was already quietly gathering without his knowledge.