337: Heaven and earth are cruel

Zuoqiu Zhen smiled faintly and revealed a secret, “This Formation, named the Soul-Gathering Life-Preserving Grand Formation, was created by the Four Venerables Seeking Immortality Sect back then. Its power is boundless and extremely mystical.”

Xu Sanyan was startled and pondered with downcast eyes. He seemed to have heard of this Four Venerables Seeking Immortality Sect somewhere…

“Qiyang Mountain!” He suddenly remembered and blurted it out.

Zuoqiu Zhen’s eyes held surprise, “Oh, you know about it too?”

Xu Sanyan nodded, recalling that when he first arrived in the Central Plains, he encountered a ghost Realm. There was a nunnery within it; he had forgotten its name, but the nun had left a deep impression on him.

Moreover, that ghost Realm was also the place where he and Qin Manyang first met.

At that time, Qin Manyang had said that behind the ghost Realm was a mountain called Qiyang Mountain, and within the mountain was an ancient Sect ruin called the Four Venerables Seeking Immortality Sect, famous throughout the world for its ghost and Soul Refining techniques.

However, they later used the entire Sect’s power to refine a ghost Immortal, but were ultimately devoured by the ghost Immortal, leaving no one in the entire Sect alive.

These tidbits of information were also obtained by Qin Manyang from ancient texts, their veracity unknown. He just never expected to hear this name again after such a long time.

“Is this Wang family related to the Four Venerables Seeking Immortality Sect?”

Xu Sanyan frowned deeply. He remembered the strange painting hanging in Wang Zixuan’s room; perhaps there was a connection there too.

Zuoqiu Zhen shook her head and sighed, “I’m not sure. Perhaps the Wang family’s Old Ancestor accidentally obtained a partial Legacy of the Four Venerables Seeking Immortality Sect.”

Xu Sanyan nodded, “Continue telling me about this Soul-Gathering Life-Preserving Grand Formation.”

“Speaking of this Grand Formation, one must mention the Four Venerables Seeking Immortality Sect. This Sect existed in the same era as the Yaotian Holy Sect, and was jointly founded by four Immortal Venerables, who sought to explore the Realm beyond the Immortal Dao.”

“Hmm? There’s a Realm beyond the Immortal Dao?” Xu Sanyan’s tone was surprised.

Zuoqiu Zhen replied, “I don’t know, that’s why I said they were exploring.”

“Four Immortals jointly created this set of Formations, gathered countless treasures as Formation eyes, slaughtered billions of living beings as the Formation body. The Formation’s vastness covered thousands of miles, exhausting countless methods, all to refine a ghost Immortal that surpassed Immortals!”

The more Xu Sanyan listened, the more something felt off. He couldn’t help but ask, “With the Four Venerables Seeking Immortality Sect acting so recklessly, did the Yaotian Holy Sect not intervene?”

Although the Four Venerables Seeking Immortality Sect was very powerful, with four Immortals, the Yaotian Holy Sect definitely had more. After all, in that era, the Yaotian Holy Sect was the emperor of this world!

Zuoqiu Zhen shook her head, “It wasn’t that they didn’t intervene, but that they didn’t discover it. By the time the Grand Formation was activated, everything was already too late.”

She seemed to recall the scene from that time, her tone still filled with shock, “On that evening, red clouds illuminated the sky, but in an instant, a layer of blood-red light curtain suddenly rose in the western part of the Central Plains. Infinite crimson dyed the heavens and earth, as if it were the end of the world, clearly visible even outside the Central Plains.”

Zuoqiu Zhen gazed out the window with empty eyes, muttering, “No one expected such a thing to happen. The moment the Grand Formation activated, blood rain simultaneously fell from the sky. The falling scarlet raindrops seemed as if the Heavenly Dao was weeping.”

“The Grand Formation enveloped over a hundred cities and dozens of Sects, with countless Cultivators and common people within. Regardless of their cultivation level, they were all annihilated in a short while.”

“Their flesh and blood became nourishment, their Divine Souls condensed and reformed. There was no living thing left within the Grand Formation, even the flowers and plants all withered.”

Xu Sanyan imagined this scene in his mind: a Grand Formation like a transparent bowl, encompassing over a hundred cities in the Central Plains. Outside the Formation, blood rain poured down, while inside, panicked screams filled the air.

What a human tragedy!

Admiration welled up in Xu Sanyan’s heart, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, these are the true Devil Heads.

Slaughtering billions of living beings, just for the obsession in their own hearts.

“What happened in the end?” Xu Sanyan asked.

“In the end… the Four Venerables Seeking Immortality Sect was destroyed.”

“By whom?”

“By that ghost Immortal.”

Xu Sanyan slowly nodded. This was indeed consistent with what Qin Manyang had said.

“What about that ghost Immortal?”

“It died. The Yaotian Holy Sect dispatched seven Immortals to kill it.”

Xu Sanyan looked at her, “So… the Wang family is also refining a ghost Immortal?”

“Heh, does the Wang family even deserve to? Even if you let them Cultivate for another ten thousand years, they wouldn’t compare to a single toe of the Four Venerables Seeking Immortality Sect.”

Zuoqiu Zhen scoffed disdainfully, “They only learned a little bit of the superficial knowledge. They are using the souls of their own people to nourish the Wang family’s Old Ancestor.”

Nourish the Wang family’s Old Ancestor?

Xu Sanyan was puzzled and turned to ask, “What do you mean?”

Zuoqiu Zhen looked in the direction of the Wang family ancestral hall and explained, “The Wang family’s eighth-generation Old Ancestor Cultivated a forbidden art and has long since turned into a calamity. Although he barely recovered his consciousness, the after-effects are endless. Once the soul nourishment stops, he will die instantly.”

So that’s how it is.

“What do you want to do?” Xu Sanyan heard from her words that she seemed to be eyeing this Formation.

Zuoqiu Zhen looked at him with a sincere expression, “I presume you have some guesses about my situation, so I won’t hide it from you. I need this Formation to help me stabilize my Divine Soul.”

Xu Sanyan secretly frowned. Although he knew this old demoness was up to no good, he didn’t expect her to be targeting someone’s Old Ancestor.

If the Wang family discovered any hint of this, they would definitely try to kill them at all costs.

This matter was too risky; it wasn’t worth him getting involved in this mess.

“Walk slowly, I won’t see you out. Let’s just pretend we never met today, and I will absolutely not spread this matter.” Xu Sanyan pointed outside the door and said decisively.

Zuoqiu Zhen bared her teeth in a smile, as if she had expected this, “Don’t be impatient. It’s not too late to refuse after you’ve heard my conditions.”

Xu Sanyan pouted. No matter what the conditions were, he wouldn’t agree.

“I will give you the Formation diagram of the Soul-Gathering Life-Preserving Grand Formation.”

“Heh, what use do I have for that thing?” Xu Sanyan shook his head in refusal. He wasn’t planning on refining a ghost Immortal.

Zuoqiu Zhen understood his thoughts and said with a smile, “Do you think this Formation can only refine ghost Immortals?”

“Hmm? What else is it used for?”

“Its uses are vast. This is a Grand Formation jointly created by four Immortals, containing countless variations. The Wang family’s method is just one of them. With a slight modification, it can nourish my Divine Soul.”

“So?”

Xu Sanyan still didn’t understand what benefit this had for him.

“This Formation can seize the creation of heaven and earth, plunder the essence of all things, and is thus against the Heavenly Dao.”

“Speak in plain language.”

“…”

Zuoqiu Zhen silently rolled her eyes, somewhat helpless with this illiterate person, and had to explain again, “I see that you have already performed Soul Refining. The next step is Dao Integration. Do you know what Dao Integration is?”

Xu Sanyan nodded. He knew this, and proudly lifted his head, “Integrate with the Grand Dao of heaven and earth, and control the authority of the Grand Dao!”

“Yes, and no.”

Zuoqiu Zhen first nodded, then shook her head, “What you can use is only one-billionth of the Heavenly Dao’s power, and this is only borrowed from the Heavenly Dao. It is ultimately not yours.”

Xu Sanyan thought of something. This seemed somewhat similar to the Cultivation Technique he Cultivated.

The Cultivation Technique he Cultivated came from the Demonic Sect’s Saintly Book, named the Duo Dao Qi Yuan Scripture. When Cultivated to its depths, it could plunder the Heavenly Dao for one’s own use. If combined with this Formation…

Could it plunder even more?

“So…?”

“This Formation can refine the power of the Heavenly Dao into oneself, which is why it is not tolerated by heaven and earth!”

The blood rain tens of thousands of years ago was not the Heavenly Dao weeping for the departed living beings, but for itself.

It has no emotions, so how could it weep for others?

Heaven and earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs.