During this ti, he had always believed that he had been defeated by Nie Wushuang, not Li Chang’an.
But the Sword Array that materialized in Li Chang’an’s hand shattered that belief entirely.
"It was you! It was really you that day! This is impossible!"
Sima Rui couldn’t accept it.
He was a Golden Core Disciple! To think he’d lost to a Loose Cultivator like Li Chang’an. And the defeat had been so crushing—he had been beaten without any chance to fight back!
"Li Chang’an, you only have a Low Grade Spirit Root. How could you possibly be on par with a Celestial Pride like Nie Wushuang?"
"Daoist Sima, you are mistaken."
Li Chang’an said calmly, his expression serene.
"Ten thousand years ago, Mo Qingkuang had only an Inferior Grade Spirit Root. Didn’t he still slay countless Celestial Prides and beco a Nascent Soul expert of his generation?"
"You..."
Sima Rui’s expression soured, and he was about to retort.
But he didn’t know how, because Li Chang’an was right.
Mo Qingkuang and his Demon Planting Technique had made everyone understand that a Spiritual Root wasn’t everything.
But in the last ten thousand years, there had only ever been one Mo Qingkuang.
’Could Li Chang’an beco the second?’
"The heavens are unfair! Why would they grant you such an opportunity!"
Pained and resentful, Sima Rui still couldn’t accept his reality.
After that, no matter what Li Chang’an asked, he refused to say a word.
’Looks like it’s ti for the Evil Soul to teach him a lesson.’
With a thought from Li Chang’an,
the Evil Soul cackled and drifted out of the Soul Banner. It seized Sima Rui’s Soul and dragged it deep inside the banner.
Until now, Sima Rui had been confined to an isolated area.
Now, he could finally see the entirety of the Venerable Soul Banner’s interior.
He also saw the tens of thousands of souls within!
Sima Rui gasped.
’How can there be so many souls? Just how many people has this Li Chang’an killed?’
Hearing the wails of those thousands upon thousands of souls made his skin crawl.
Among them, he saw several familiar figures.
"Junior Brother Chu, Xiahou Kun, Cao Shaolong, Huang Feng..."
Sima Rui was utterly shaken, staring at them in disbelief.
All of these people.
They had all been killed by Li Chang’an!
At that mont, so of the questions that had been nagging him were finally answered.
For years, he had sensed an unseen hand at work, secretly manipulating events to slowly weaken the Yellow Crane Mountain Lineage.
He had suspected many people, but never Li Chang’an.
Li Chang’an’s thods and personal strength simply didn’t seem to fit the profile of such a mastermind.
But now, everything was clear!
"Sixth Senior Brother, you’re here too?"
Chu Xiong and the others had noticed Sima Rui’s soul.
Sima Rui was speechless.
He never imagined that he would be reunited with his martial brothers inside a Soul Banner.
Chu Xiong called out, "Sixth Senior Brother, co over here! I’ll tell you the rules of survival inside this Venerable Soul Banner."
"You idiot! We’re already dead. What’s there to say about survival?"
The mont the words left his mouth, Sima Rui felt countless prying eyes on him from all directions.
It was as if countless greedy souls were lurking nearby, ready to swarm and devour him the instant he let his guard down.
...
「A few days later.」
After being "disciplined" by the Evil Soul,
Sima Rui finally broke, obediently answering Li Chang’an’s questions.
Li Chang’an sat deep within his cavern estate, questioning him patiently.
"Daoist Sima, what is your master Huang He Master’s current realm? And what is the quality of his Golden Core?"
"Master is at the Middle Stage of Golden Core, and his Golden Core Quality is a Superior True Pill."
Golden Core Quality is divided into the Fake Pill, the True Pill, and the Immortal Golden Core.
The True Pill is further divided into Lower, Middle, and Superior grades.
Huang He Master’s Superior True Pill was of a fairly high quality. If he could advance to the Late Stage of Golden Core, he might even have a chance of reaching the Nascent Soul Realm in the future.
No wonder he had ambushed the other Golden Core Cultivators in the ruins for a chance at a Nascent Soul-level opportunity.
Li Chang’an asked another question, "How confident is Huang He Master in breaking through to the Late Stage of Golden Core?"
"I don’t know for certain, but Master reached the Peak of the Middle Stage of Golden Core many years ago. With so many years of accumulation, he should be able to break through."
"Is that so..."
Li Chang’an fell silent for a mont.
’If Huang He Master manages to reach for the Nascent Soul Realm, things will get troubleso.’
Fortunately, he hadn’t revealed his true identity any of the tis he’d made a move, so Huang He Master wouldn’t be targeting him for now.
"Daoist Sima, what about the strength of that Tier Three Yellow Crane?"
"The Yellow Crane is a Tier Three Middle Stage beast, also preparing to break through to the Late Stage. But Master once said its bloodline is a bit weak, and it lacks the necessary foundation."
Sima Rui answered honestly.
The reason he knew so much was that he had been in charge of allocating and recording all the cultivation resources on Yellow Crane Mountain, which allowed him to et with Huang He Master frequently.
He was also very clear about the strength of the other disciples on Yellow Crane Mountain.
"First Senior Brother, He Qianshan, is currently at the Early Stage of Golden Core. His Golden Core Quality is a Lower Grade True Pill. His preparations were insufficient back then; he nearly ended up with a Fake Pill."
"As for Second Senior Brother, Xiahou Hong..."
At this, Sima Rui glanced at Li Chang’an.
He knew full well.
Li Chang’an’s main target right now was Xiahou Hong.
"Second Senior Brother has a Fake Pill Cultivation. Fake Pill Cultivators can’t advance any further, so their realm is fixed. His strength is only about half that of an ordinary True Pill Cultivator with a Lower Grade True Pill."
He added that the four disciples from Yellow Crane Mountain who had died in the Black Dragon Mountain Range all had the potential to attempt Core Formation.
Sima Rui gave a brief overview.
As of now, the third through seventh disciples of the Yellow Crane Mountain Lineage were all dead.
The eighth disciple, Bai Hao, was the one who had bought that strange, withered branch, which led to the appearance of a monster on Yellow Crane Mountain.
"The eighth disciple is the sa as , at the Middle Stage Foundation Establishnt Cultivation. But Ninth Junior Sister is very strong. Master said she also has a good chance at Core Formation and might even form a Superior True Pill!"
Li Chang’an agreed with this assessnt.
Pei Yingyao’s strength spoke for itself.
"Daoist Sima, what is the cultivation of your tenth junior brother, Fang Yi?"
Li Chang’an asked about the remaining disciples.
Fang Yi was the one who had destroyed Ye Hao’s sect.
"Tenth Junior Brother is also at the Middle Stage of Foundation Establishnt, but like , his cultivation has been stagnant for a long ti."
’Middle Stage of Foundation Establishnt...’
Li Chang’an considered this for a mont.
At Ye Hao’s current rate of cultivation, getting his revenge shouldn’t be a problem.
The last ti they t, Ye Hao had ntioned he was on the verge of a breakthrough.
Sima Rui continued, "Eleventh Junior Brother is a recluse. His talent is poor, so he spends all day in seclusion and rarely sees anyone. You’ve already killed the twelfth, Chu Xiong. As for the thirteenth..."
Here, Sima Rui’s voice trailed off.
The thirteenth junior brother was, of course, Murong Kang.
Li Chang’an asked, "Daoist Sima, is Murong Kang a Demonic Cultivator?"
"He..."
Sima Rui thought for a long while.
He had already t the souls of Huang Feng and Huang Liang, so he knew that both of them had a Bloodline inside them.
"I always felt that Junior Brother Murong had his secrets. He often t with strange people and frequently had an inexplicable sll of blood on him. I didn’t think much of it before, but now... not only is he a Demonic Cultivator, he’s even joined a Demonic Influence!"
As he said this, Sima Rui’s expression turned grave.
Orthodox Demonic Cultivators hadn’t appeared in the Zhao Country Cultivation Immortality Realm for many years.
If his guess was true, it ant a Demonic Influence might have already secretly established itself near Yellow Crane Immortal City.
"Daoist Sima, does Murong Kang have any weaknesses?"
"None."
Sima Rui explained that Demonic Cultivators have always been a heartless and treacherous lot.
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