175: Chapter 175 Seizing the Foundation of the Saintly Path?

"Senior..." Great Elder Yun Zhongzi's voice was hoarse. "Are you telling the truth? Can you really help me become a Saint?"

Shen Qingyuan nodded slightly. "You are already at the Peak of the Asking Dao Realm; you only need to undergo the Saint Tribulation. It is not difficult."

He glanced into the depths of the Tiangang Sect and smiled. "However, before you undergo the Saint Tribulation, we need to see the Old Ancestor of the Tiangang Sect first."

Old Turtle, standing to the side, looked thoughtful. "Exalted One, do you intend to use the Saint Dao Foundation of the Tiangang Sect's Old Ancestor to help Great Elder Yun Zhongzi become a Saint?"

As soon as Old Turtle finished speaking, the courtyard fell into a brief silence.

The excitement on Great Elder Yun Zhongzi's face had not yet faded, but upon hearing this, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

Use someone else's Saint Dao Foundation?

He had naturally heard of such things.

In the cultivation world, there were indeed some Evil Path Cultivators who would use such methods to plunder the Saint Dao Foundation of others and forcefully fuse it to Breakthrough to the Saint Realm.

However, this method had huge drawbacks—others' Dao and one's own Dao were difficult to fuse perfectly. If forcefully fused, at best, the Foundation would be unstable, making future cultivation difficult to advance; at worst, one's Dao Heart would collapse, leading to Qi Deviation, and death.

Even if one became a Saint, they would be far inferior to a normal Saint.

Great Elder Yun Zhongzi had cultivated for two thousand years, and his Heart-Nature was as firm as a rock; naturally, he was unwilling to take this shortcut.

"Senior..." He looked at Shen Qingyuan, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Shen Qingyuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Use someone else's Saint Dao Foundation?"

He shook his head, his tone nonchalant. "Is that thing even worthy of being called becoming a Saint?"

Old Turtle was stunned.

Great Elder Yun Zhongzi was also dumbfounded.

Shen Qingyuan put down the teacup, his gaze sweeping over the two of them, and said indifferently, "Others' Dao is ultimately theirs. Using it is, after all, an external path. The path of cultivation emphasizes one's own insights, one's own accumulation, and one's own Breakthrough. Using someone else's things, even if one becomes a Saint, would only be the weakest kind, and wanting to advance further in the future would be as difficult as ascending to heaven."

He paused and looked at Great Elder Yun Zhongzi. "You have cultivated for two thousand years and have been stuck at the Peak of the Asking Dao Realm for three hundred years. Your understanding of the Dao is sufficient; you, even more so, cannot use such a method."

Great Elder Yun Zhongzi trembled all over.

"Senior, what do you mean..."

Shen Qingyuan stood up, hands tucked into his sleeves, and looked toward the mountain Peaks shrouded in clouds and mist in the depths of the Tiangang Sect.

"My trip here was originally to destroy the Tiangang Sect. The reason I was waiting for that Old Ancestor of the Tiangang Sect to become a Saint was to let Second Grand-Uncle witness the Saint Tribulation and gain some experience."

He turned to look at Great Elder Yun Zhongzi and smiled. "Since I am going to help you become a Saint, there is no need to keep that Old Ancestor of the Tiangang Sect alive."

Great Elder Yun Zhongzi's body stiffened, his cloudy old eyes filled with shock.

He had originally been somewhat curious about the purpose of Shen Qingyuan and the others' trip.

Shen Qingyuan was an absolute powerhouse in the world; there was absolutely no need for him to attend a small Saint-Sealing Ceremony.

Now, hearing this, he suddenly realized.

Shen Qingyuan's trip to the Tiangang Sect was not to attend the Saint-Sealing Ceremony, nor to observe the Saint Tribulation, but to destroy the sect?!

Destroy the Tiangang Sect!

What shocked Great Elder Yun Zhongzi even more was Shen Qingyuan's next sentence— "Keeping the Old Ancestor of the Tiangang Sect was to help Second Grand-Uncle gain experience."

Help Elder Ancestor Shen Haocang gain experience?

Take an Asking Dao Realm ninth-level Peak powerhouse who was about to become a Saint, and use him to help a Primal Chaos Realm ninth-level Cultivator gain experience?

What kind of spirit was this?

Shen Qingyuan glanced at him, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. "What, do you think I'm joking?"

Great Elder Yun Zhongzi shook his head hurriedly, cold sweat rolling down his cheeks.

Joking?

This Senior could crush a Primal Chaos Realm fifth-level Cultivator with a casual wave of his hand, scare away an Asking Dao Realm seventh-level Cultivator with a single glance, and even destroy a behemoth like the Tianque Holy Land, which had a Saint King Realm expert sitting in it, just like that.

Such a person, saying he would destroy the Tiangang Sect, could truly destroy it!

"This Junior wouldn't dare!" Great Elder Yun Zhongzi took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart, and cupped his hands. "Senior's actions must have deep meaning. This Junior is just... just too shocked."

Shen Qingyuan waved his hand. "A mere Tiangang Sect; if it's destroyed, it's destroyed."

Great Elder Yun Zhongzi's mouth twitched.

Only this Senior could look down on the Tiangang Sect, the head of the seven sects in the Southern Region.

"Let's go." Shen Qingyuan raised his hand and slashed, a rift appearing in the Void Realm. "Let's go, let's go see that Old Ancestor of the Tiangang Sect."

Hearing this, Elder Ancestor Shen Haocang and the others immediately followed.

Great Elder Yun Zhongzi did not hesitate either and stepped inside.

...

Tiangang Sect, in the depths.

In the towering Main Hall, the candlelight was bright, illuminating the runes on the walls, making them flicker on and off.

The Sect Leader of the Tiangang Sect, Li Tianxiao, sat upright on the main seat. He wore a black robe, had a square face, thick eyebrows like blades, and the aura around him was as deep as an abyss.

He had remarkably already reached the third level of the Asking Dao Realm.

Before him, several Elders sat on both sides, the atmosphere grave.

"Sect Leader, we just received news." A gray-robed Elder stood up, his face looking somewhat ugly. "The people sent by the Xuanyu Palace to attend the ceremony are dead."

Li Tianxiao raised an eyebrow, a trace of anger appearing on his face. "Dead? Who did it?"

"Yinxian Village, Great Elder Yun Zhongzi." The gray-robed Elder swallowed. "Young Palace Master Yu Wushuang of the Xuanyu Palace led people to break into the courtyard of Yinxian Village. Great Elder Yun Zhongzi personally took action and killed Young Palace Master Yu Wushuang, Su Wanqing, and the dozen or so Dharma Image Realm Disciples who accompanied them."

Li Tianxiao's expression froze. He picked up the teacup on the table and took a sip, the anger from before gone from his tone. "The people of the Xuanyu Palace really have such great courage, daring to provoke Yinxian Village. They deserve to die."

"Sect Leader is right." Another Elder sneered. "The Xuanyu Palace has become increasingly arrogant over these years. Yinxian Village is a Holy Land; is that something they can provoke? They deserved it."

"However..." The gray-robed Elder paused, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Li Tianxiao put down the teacup and looked at him. "However, what?"

"Subordinate heard that the target of Yu Wushuang's trip was someone from the Shen Family in Guangnan City." The gray-robed Elder lowered his voice. "Those people from the Shen Family happened to be staying in the courtyard of Yinxian Village."

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall became quiet for a moment.

Several Elders looked at each other, a trace of gravity flashing in their eyes.

The Shen Family in Guangnan City.

This name had appeared too frequently among the high-level members of their Tiangang Sect recently.

First, Senior Brother Sun Zhengyang suffered a loss in Guangnan City, and subsequently, the entire force was wiped out in the Secret Realm.

Then Zhou Yanchang went to investigate, but was forced back halfway by people from the Shen Family.

And then Supreme Elder Li Tianxiong, a dignified peerless powerhouse at the seventh level of the Asking Dao Realm, personally took action but inexplicably triggered a Lightning Tribulation and was struck by heavenly lightning until not even bones remained.

One by one, each incident was vaguely related to this inconspicuous Shen Family.

"Sect Leader, this Shen Family..." A white-haired Elder spoke in a deep voice, his eyes full of wariness. "Could there be a problem?"

Li Tianxiao was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "A small Family with an eight-thousand-year Legacy might have some personal connections, and at most, they just have someone backing them."

He stood up, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked toward the mountain Peaks shrouded in clouds and mist outside the hall, a deep light flashing in his eyes.

"The Saint-Sealing Ceremony is imminent, and the Old Ancestor's secluded cultivation has reached the most critical moment. The most important thing now is to ensure the Old Ancestor successfully becomes a Saint. As for other matters, we will talk after the ceremony."

He paused, a trace of coldness flashing in his eyes.

"Once the Old Ancestor becomes a Saint, our Tiangang Sect will be a Holy Land. By then, let alone a Shen Family, even the Three Great Holy Lands will have to give my Tiangang Sect some face!"