139: Chapter 139 The Barren Cliff

Liu Yun took the Jade Slip and sent her Divine Thought inside.

The next moment—

Her pupils contracted sharply!

Inside the Jade Slip was an image.

The image was a bit blurry, clearly recorded in a hurry using a projection technique, but the general scene could still be seen clearly.

Above Tianque Holy Land, a pitch-black banner floated in mid-air. Countless ferocious faces surged on the banner, emitting a heart-palpitating Devilish Qi.

Around the banner, space twisted and collapsed, and countless pitch-black cracks spread out like spiderwebs, a shocking sight.

And below the banner, Tianque Holy Land had already turned into ruins.

Mountains collapsed, palaces toppled, the ground cracked, and the vegetation withered.

Those once majestic and magnificent buildings were now nothing but broken walls and ruins.

Those mountains that were once surrounded by Immortal Qi were now just charred remains.

"This... what a terrifying banner..." Liu Yun's voice was trembling.

"The ten thousand soul banner." Saint Lingyuan said word by word, "That day in the Secret Realm, I saw with my own eyes that Senior take away the ten thousand soul banner."

Liu Yun gasped, her mind blank.

The ten thousand soul banner!

The life-bound Saint artifact of the Heavenly Fiend Demon Venerable!

The terrifying existence that three Saints working together couldn't handle that day in the Secret Realm!

The ten thousand soul banner that was casually suppressed and pocketed by that Senior!

Now, it had appeared at the Tianque Holy Land in the Eastern Wasteland!

And the Tianque Holy Land had turned into ruins overnight!

"Revered Master, do you mean... Tianque Holy Land was destroyed by that Senior?" Liu Yun's voice was shaking.

Saint Lingyuan did not answer, just looked at her quietly.

In those cold, clear eyes, there was no denial, nor was there any admission.

But Liu Yun already understood.

No wonder.

No wonder Revered Master wanted her to marry that old thing Xu Jianan.

No wonder Revered Master, despite her status as a Saint, personally took action to drag Xu Jianan from Guangnan City to the Tianxuan Sect.

Because Xu Jianan was by the side of that terrifying existence who could casually destroy Tianque Holy Land.

"Disciple understands." Liu Yun lowered her head, her forehead touching the ground, "Disciple will go and bring Xu Jianan back now."

"No need."

Saint Lingyuan shook her head, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness: "Once is enough, don't try twice. Since this matter didn't succeed, it means my Tianxuan Sect has shallow fate. You must not offend that Senior because of this matter."

Liu Yun felt depressed. After a moment of silence, she suddenly raised her head, looking at Saint Lingyuan with a firm expression.

"Revered Master, I want to enter Kudao Cliff."

Saint Lingyuan sat cross-legged on the ice platform, white clothes like snow, black hair like a waterfall. Those cold, clear eyes watched Liu Yun kneeling in front of her, a flash of complexity in her eyes.

"Have you thought it through?"

Liu Yun's forehead touched the ground, her voice firm, without any hesitation: "Disciple has thought it through."

"I ruined Revered Master's plans and should be punished. I only wish to enter Kudao Cliff to seek a glimmer of survival. Furthermore, Revered Master supports the Sect alone, while I can only live comfortably under Revered Master's wings, which truly makes me uneasy."

She raised her head, her eyes full of determination: "Disciple wants to go to Kudao Cliff for a death retreat. If I don't become a Saint, I won't come out."

Saint Lingyuan was silent for a long time.

Kudao Cliff was deep in the back mountain of the Tianxuan Sect.

It was a dojo left behind by a Great Saint Realm powerhouse of the Tianxuan Sect who failed in Undergoing Tribulation.

There, the obsession and dao rhyme of that Great Saint before death remained, as well as space cracks torn by the Heavenly Dao Law during the tribulation, which were extremely dangerous.

But at the same time, it also contained the dao rhyme and Law of the Saint Realm. It was an excellent place for Cultivators below the Saint Realm to comprehend the Saint Dao.

Since the founding of the Tianxuan Sect ten thousand years ago, many Elders at the Peak of the Asking Dao Realm had entered this forbidden land for a death retreat, attempting to use this to achieve a Breakthrough to the Saint Realm.

But very few succeeded.

Most people who went in never came out again.

"Do you know what it means to enter Kudao Cliff for a death retreat?" Saint Lingyuan spoke slowly, her voice still calm.

Liu Yun nodded: "Disciple knows. Success means becoming a Saint, failure means death."

"Since you know, you still want to go?"

"Yes."

Saint Lingyuan looked at her most proud Disciple, and a ripple finally appeared in those cold, clear eyes.

Liu Yun was the most talented Disciple she had seen in three thousand years.

At twenty, she reached the Dharma Aspect Realm; at fifty, she reached the fifth level of the Hunyuan Realm; in just two hundred years, she reached the Asking Dao Realm, becoming the youngest Elder of the Tianxuan Sect. Now, she even has the cultivation of the sixth level of the Asking Dao Realm.

This cultivation speed was rare even in the entire Southern Region.

She had high expectations for Liu Yun and had always believed that Liu Yun would be the next Saint of the Tianxuan Sect.

"Revered Master still has several hundred years of Lifespan, I can think of other ways." Saint Lingyuan said.

"No." Liu Yun shook her head, interrupting Revered Master's words, "Disciple's hope of becoming a Saint is slim. I must burn my bridges and seek a glimmer of Opportunity from Kudao Cliff."

Saint Lingyuan was silent.

She looked at Liu Yun's firm eyes, at the face that resembled her own when she was young.

After a long time, she nodded slowly.

"Go."

Liu Yun kowtowed three times heavily, her forehead hitting the cold black jade floor, making a dull sound.

"Revered Master, take care."

She stood up, turned around, and walked out of the hall.

Her steps were steady, her spine straight, and her whole body exuded a determination to face death.

Saint Lingyuan watched her back, and a trace of imperceptible sadness flashed in those cold, clear eyes.

...

Guangnan City, at the end of East Street.

A quiet courtyard was hidden behind a few old locust trees. The courtyard walls were mottled with moss, looking ordinary and inconspicuous.

But if someone walked close, they would find that this small courtyard was covered with a layer of extremely subtle Spiritual Qi fluctuations, completely isolating the inside from the outside.

In the courtyard, under an old locust tree.

Sun Buer was squatting on the ground, with several large and small wooden boxes in front of him. The boxes were filled with all kinds of Spirit Cuisine Materials—hundred-year-old Lingzhi, thousand-year-old Polygonum multiflorum, Dragon blood grass, Phoenix tail flowers... dazzling and filled with Spiritual Qi.

He was counting the goods, muttering to himself.

"This batch of Spirit Materials is of good quality and can make a few top-notch Spirit Cuisines."

He picked up a translucent white Lingzhi, weighed it in his hand, and a look of satisfaction flashed in his eyes, "Especially this ten-thousand-year-old Snow Lingzhi. Making a 'Snowy Spectacle' will definitely sell for a good price."

As soon as he finished speaking—

"Pat."

A folding fan reached over from behind and tapped him on the head lightly.

Sun Buer stiffened and turned his head abruptly.

He saw a middle-aged man appear behind him at some point, looking at him with a smile.

The man was about forty years old, with a slender figure, wearing a moon-white robe, with a black belt tied around his waist, and a jade pendant of emerald green hanging from it.

His face was handsome, with a bit of scholarly elegance between his brows, and a faint smile on the corner of his mouth. The whole person exuded a gentle and jade-like temperament.

But the most eye-catching thing was the folding fan in his hand—it was pitch black, the ribs of the fan were made of some unknown material, and the fan surface was painted with a roaring Taotie pattern, lifelike, with faint Spiritual light flowing.

"Se, Second Uncle?!"

Sun Buer widened his eyes, his mouth wide open, and he froze in place as if struck by lightning.

He subconsciously rubbed his eyes to confirm he wasn't seeing things, then stood up with a start, his voice trembling: "Second Uncle, why did you come to Guangnan City?!"