Chapter 427: The Mara Orthodoxy Is with Me

Chapter 427: The True Lineage of the Mara Is with Me

Within the Hongyue Abyss, purple qi leaked forth.

In an instant, the authority of the Creation Treasure activated, veiling this purple qi, yet even so, Yang Gods across hundreds of thousands of li, and even farther realms, caught a whiff of that aura.

In the Moon Goddess Palace, a Yang God of the Great Heavenly Rank revealed a grave expression.

“Purple qi like clouds, a treasure emerging—this is the territory of the Mara clan in the Hongyue Abyss!”

Even as a Yang God, she could not remain seated.

So much purple qi, glimpsed in a single glance, would likely be enough to elevate her cultivation by no small measure.

“Why must it appear in the domain of the Mara?”

This Yang God Sovereign’s expression turned bitter.

Some time ago, news spread that the Moon Goddess Primordial Lord had been gravely wounded.

All Yang Gods of the Moon Goddess Palace were tense, their nerves stretched taut.

Though the Moon Goddess Palace remained the exalted institution it had always been, a closer look revealed... that the Moon Goddess Palace had undergone tremendous changes compared to the past.

During battles, the number of traitors had increased by half compared to before.

In trade with other sacred lands, there was no shortage of those who jacked up prices.

It could be said that the entire Moon Goddess Palace was adrift in a storm.

The warfront in the Demon Abyss could not afford any misstep; otherwise... this might become the spark that led to a rout, a collapse like an avalanche.

Now, in the region guarded by the Mara clan, purple qi gathered like clouds, and a treasure manifested.

Due to the concealment of the Creation Treasure, Moon Lotus Sovereign could discern no further details.

But if the Mara clan were to increase their strength as a result, the pressure on the Moon Goddess Palace would be immense.

Having guarded the Demon Abyss for so many years, Moon Lotus Sovereign had never felt such pressure; no Yang God had ever descended to battle, and no fierce combat had occurred.

But ever since news of the Moon Goddess Primordial Lord’s severe injury leaked, she felt an intense pressure, and the fighting in the Demon Abyss escalated at that moment.

Just as she was in turmoil, a voice fell upon her ears.

“Moon Lotus Sovereign, what is your decision?”

Hearing the man’s voice, Moon Lotus Sovereign’s expression grew deep.

As Yang God Sovereigns, their communications were naturally not suppressed by the Creation Treasure.

The one contacting her was a Yang God Sovereign from a top-tier force in the Sixth Heaven—the Divine Luo Heaven.

As the saying goes: One Assembly, Two Palaces, Three Heavens, Four Abysses, and over a dozen Sacred Lands.

Among the Sixth Heaven, the number of Sacred Lands was the smallest; together, they did not even reach thirty.

Among them, the strongest were this One Assembly, Two Palaces, Three Heavens, and Four Abysses.

This ranking was not in order of precedence; the One Assembly was not necessarily the strongest.

The One Assembly naturally referred to the Supreme Principle Society.

The Two Palaces were the Grand Radiance Palace and the Moon Goddess Palace.

The Divine Luo Heaven was one of the Three Heavens.

The strongest figure in that force was a Great Principle Master who had grasped the Supreme Principle, no weaker than the Moon Goddess Primordial Lord.

This Yang God of the Divine Luo Heaven had been in intermittent contact with Moon Lotus Sovereign, seeking to poach her from the Moon Goddess Palace.

His current inquiry was merely a rehash of old matters.

“I have received kindness from the Moon Goddess Palace. If I were to leave at this moment, where would my Dao heart be? Should I one day be fortunate enough to step into the Principle Realm, how would I overcome the Root Demon Tribulation?” Moon Lotus Sovereign replied calmly, her stance firm.

“The Moon Goddess Primordial Lord is gravely wounded, and the Grand Radiance Palace watches with covetous eyes. If you don’t find a better refuge soon, you’ll only end up extinguished like the Moon Goddess Palace.” The Yang God Sovereign spoke of this with a tone of regret.

Moon Lotus Sovereign’s expression shifted slightly: “Have you heard some news?”

This Yang God of the Divine Luo Heaven was a descendant of a Yang God who had reached the Great Principle Realm.

He knew more than others.

Though it was nearly fact that the Moon Goddess Primordial Lord had been severely injured,

the Moon Goddess Primordial Lord, who had mastered the Supreme Principle, would not fall so easily.

How could the Moon Goddess Palace be in trouble?

Yet the other’s words made Moon Lotus Sovereign’s heart tighten.

“There are some rumors circulating. Wait... until the Principle Discourse Assembly begins, you will know. Oh, and Moon Lotus, a friendly tip: your Moon Goddess Palace already has a Yang God Sovereign who has defected and joined one of the Four Abysses.”

After the Yang God Sovereign finished speaking, his voice fell silent.

Hearing this, Moon Lotus Sovereign’s expression shifted violently, her face complex.

“A Yang God Sovereign has actually defected!”

This was undoubtedly a thunderbolt from a clear sky.

One must know—that was a Yang God Sovereign!

A pillar of any force.

For a Yang God Sovereign to dare defect, it must be because they had discovered... that the Moon Goddess Palace truly had no hope?

Had the Moon Goddess Palace... really come to such a state?

“Should I report these news... to...”

Moon Lotus Sovereign hesitated.

If her superiors asked where she had learned this, how would she answer?

She wavered.

...

On the other side, the figure of Demon Heng Sovereign landed like a roc.

Within the Hongyue Abyss, a pitch-black fissure had appeared in the black earth, bottomless, its destination unknown.

Demon Heng Sovereign frowned: “Where are the people?”

He swept his gaze around but did not find the five Yang God Sovereigns.

Yet he caught the lingering traces of their presence.

Clearly, they had left not long ago.

He extended his awareness into the communication jade slip.

The message he had sent still sat alone at the end, indicating that no one had replied.

“They fled fast enough... and had no chance to reply to the message?”

Mohen Heavenly Lord’s gaze was deep, tinged with a thread of fury.

This meant the supreme treasure that had appeared here was enough to astonish.

It stirred in these five the desire to keep it all for themselves.

“Let this old man see what treasure it is,” Mohen Heavenly Lord thought, and in that instant his form surged into the rift.

In merely a dozen breaths, his expression shifted slightly.

“So much purple qi!”

“And…!”

In that same moment, he caught sight of the five figures.

At that time, the five Yang God Heavenly Lords were jointly attacking a formation.

They seemed to be exerting immense effort, having struck for a long while.

Now, the formation was tottering on the brink of collapse.

Seeing this, Mohen Heavenly Lord felt a flicker of anger, but for the sake of his grand plan, he suppressed his temper.

“Shall this old man lend a hand?”

As he spoke, he flew toward that formation.

The moment his words fell, the crumbling formation was shattered by the five Heavenly Lords.

The five Heavenly Lords wore tense expressions, seeming to notice Mohen Heavenly Lord’s arrival, their looks uneasy.

What shocked Mohen Heavenly Lord most was that the five Heavenly Lords did not respond at all, charging straight ahead without hesitation.

One even pretended to accidentally drop a formation to block him.

But… your acting is far too clumsy, isn’t it?

“A mere formation—do you think it can stop me?”

“What kind of supreme treasure could drive them so mad?”

Mohen Heavenly Lord’s heart was filled with doubt, and his gaze grew greedy.

Those five Yang God Heavenly Lords had always been obsequious to him, yet now they schemed against him for a treasure.

This was deeply suspicious.

“Break!”

As a Yang God of the Ultimate Principle realm, Mohen Heavenly Lord’s power was extraordinary.

A mere formation was no obstacle to him.

Still, it delayed him for half a breath.

The formation shattered, and Mohen Heavenly Lord’s eyes narrowed sharply.

His mind trembled violently.

For… a vast, sacred, boundless gate… appeared before him.

“Is this… the Gate of Ultimate Principle?”

Mohen Heavenly Lord felt a moment of doubt and shock.

At that instant, the five figures plunged into the Gate of Ultimate Principle, their faces wild with fervor.

Mohen Heavenly Lord, who had been hesitating, no longer wavered, thinking nothing more of it.

What if he missed it… there would be no second chance.

And besides… those five had all rushed in; as an Ultimate Principle himself, how could he shrink back?

He stopped deliberating and plunged into the Gate of Ultimate Principle.

With the Gate of Ultimate Principle, his future—how could it be contained by mere lordship over the Maras?

But the moment he stepped through the gate,

his eyes contracted sharply.

Within the Gate of Ultimate Principle, nearly twenty remnant souls appeared.

These remnant souls all looked at him with anticipation or as if awaiting a joke.

Seeing them, Mohen Heavenly Lord’s mind quaked.

Mo Tong… Mo Tang… Mo Chi… Mo Ran…

These remnant souls were none other than all the Yang God Heavenly Lords of the Mara clan in the Abyss!

Like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, Mohen Heavenly Lord’s head buzzed.

Then he looked over and saw, behind the multitude of remnant souls, a man in a crimson robe sitting leisurely, smiling faintly. “Welcome… to the Underworld.”

…

A month passed quietly.

Qi Yuan, clad in a blood-red robe, bore an aura of profound mystery.

He stretched lazily.

“Can you believe it? The Mara Lord was a greedy mouth—I hadn’t even cast my line, hadn’t even baited the spot, and he came knocking.”

Qi Yuan sent a message to Jinli, recounting what had happened recently.

After dealing with Mohen Heavenly Lord, Qi Yuan went to the Fifth Heaven to continue fishing.

With the counsel of the remnant souls above, Qi Yuan’s plans became even more refined.

He even used the honey trap.

You think the honey trap is just picking a stunning beauty?

Wrong—it’s “You fool, you’re still as silly as in high school.”

Those remnant souls knew the Yang God Heavenly Lords below like the back of their hands; they devised strategies, and Qi Yuan tailored bait for each Yang God below.

The funniest part was when Qi Yuan prepared to bait the Mara Heavenly Lord.

There’s no denying the Mara Heavenly Lord’s strength.

The moment Qi Yuan cast the bait, the Mara Heavenly Lord noticed.

Qi Yuan was a bit embarrassed at the time.

But the Mara Heavenly Lord simply ignored Qi Yuan, without a second thought, and charged straight into the Gate of Ultimate Principle.

That broke Qi Yuan’s composure.

Then, with the help of the Buddha Without Heavens, he took control of the Buddha Realm and suppressed the Mara clan.

Finally, by searching the Mara Heavenly Lord’s remnant soul, he learned the truth.

It turned out that when the Mara Heavenly Lord was young, he had met a mysterious old Daoist.

That Daoist had said he was fated with the Gate of Ultimate Principle.

At first, he did not know what the Gate of Ultimate Truth was.

Later, after becoming a Yang God, he kept those words in his heart.

Now, seeing the Gate of Ultimate Truth, he could not think so much and charged straight in.

“So… the Mara Clan… is gone?” In the Moon Goddess Palace, Jin Li’s calm heart was no longer calm.

Every day, new tidings arrived from Qi Yuan.

Now, the Mara Clan had actually… been utterly annihilated.

She felt as if in a dream.

This astonishment was no less than when Qi Yuan had said he wiped out the Xuan Yuan Forbidden.

Yet in the Moon Goddess Palace, they still knew nothing of what had happened across the Abyss Shore.

Jin Li’s expression shifted slightly.

Especially Qi Yuan’s tone—it was as if he had crushed an ant, so relaxed and leisurely, nothing like someone who had brought down a colossal entity like the Mara Clan.

After all, the Mara Clan ranked among the top five powers in the Fifth Heaven.

In the entire Sixth Heaven, they could enter the top thirty.

The fall of such a force was enough to shake the Sixth Heaven.

“Gone. From now on, Buddha Wutian will pretend to be the Mara Lord.”

Qi Yuan said calmly.

He already had a plan: to seize the nest and have his Divine Infant impersonate the Mara Clan.

After all, even the Yang God Venerables had been replaced with his people.

They were the true Mara Clan!

The original Mara Clan?

Traitors, impostors!

“Mm, in a while, I’ll be going to the Black Demon Abyss,” Qi Yuan said. “What do you think—should I keep baiting and fishing there?

Ah, not a good idea. The Black Demon Abyss has no grudge against me; fishing wouldn’t be right.”

Qi Yuan considered himself a kind-hearted person.

“Don’t. The Great Truth experts in the Black Demon Abyss are second only to the Truth Society—you must be careful!” Jin Li was very worried about Qi Yuan.

Though the Black Demon Abyss had no Great Truth like Moon Goddess Primordial who mastered the Supreme Truth, the number of ordinary Great Truths was definitely large.

“Mm, no fishing. I’m very kind-hearted, just like you.”

“…” Jin Li’s pretty face flushed slightly.

“I have to go now. I need to sort things out properly—the Mara Clan has too many good things, and time is running out for me.”

“Bye-bye!”

Ending the call with Jin Li, Qi Yuan lay within the jade slip, gazing at the dense array of techniques, his eyes gleaming.

“All good stuff!”

There were far too many good things here.

Especially the Divine Techniques he needed—he had found eight or nine thousand of them.

The techniques below Divine level were countless.

As for the various immortal jades and treasures, they were also beyond count.

“Ah, if I had seen these back in my Qi Refining stage, how wonderful it would have been.”

Looking at these treasures, Qi Yuan’s heart was calm. Apart from the Divine Techniques and that well at home, nothing else could stir waves in his heart.

“These things… hmm…”

Qi Yuan pondered.

Suddenly, he recalled what Jiang Ling’s father, Jiang Ruhua, had said.

“Our Jiang family is truly too poor, alas.”

Thinking of this, Qi Yuan made up his mind.

…

At this time, in the Eastern Land, within the Jiang clan, people came and went in an endless stream.

Only a few months had passed since Qi Yuan extinguished the Great Calamity, and the atmosphere of Canglan Realm’s just-ended calamity had not yet dissipated.

Before the Jiang family gate, guests gathered like clouds.

From time to time, Yin God Venerables came to visit, bearing congratulatory gifts.

The reasons for visiting were also varied.

Things like the Jiang family’s dog giving birth, or the Jiang family’s young prodigy killing a hen.

In any case, everywhere was crowded with people, sending gifts under all sorts of pretexts.

Now, the Jiang family was renowned far and wide.

Even forces with Yin Gods dared not offend the Jiang family.

At that moment, Jiang Qian walked through the Jiang family courtyard, carrying gifts inside.

Her heart still held a look of shock.

She had never imagined that Qi Yuan, who had once rescued her in Cloud Sky City and killed the Feng family’s wastrel, was… such an existence.

Thinking back to when she had urged Qi Yuan to leave quickly to avoid Feng family revenge, she now felt like laughing.

And then, suddenly, a voice rang through heaven and earth.

“Uncle, isn’t your Jiang family a bit poor?”

“Just so happens, I wiped out a force in the Immortal Realm and earned a little money—let me help you out a bit.”

Hearing this voice, Jiang Qian’s face showed awe and ecstasy.

“Greetings… Blood-Robed Sword God!”

The people of the entire city seemed to realize something as well; all cultivators bowed their heads, their faces thick with reverence.

“Greetings, Senior Blood-Robed Sword God!”

At this moment, Jiang Ruhua’s expression was even more smug.

If not for the crowd, he would have wanted to dance.

Still, he pretended to be very nonchalant, but of course, politeness was necessary: “Thank you for your concern, Senior!”

After all, his daughter was not yet married; he had to show respect to Senior Blood-Robed Sword God.

Naturally, the Jiang family members around, seeing Jiang Ruhua like this, were all speechless.

That fellow, day in and day out, kept muttering about his worthy son-in-law, about his keen eye, and about how he had taught the Blood-Robed Sword God to court his daughter.

"With these immortal jades... I shouldn't be poor anymore, right?"

Qi Yuan waved his hand casually.

A pitch-black rift tore open in the sky.

No pie fell from heaven.

But immortal jades did!

Not only immortal jades, but also all kinds of treasures, enough to drive even a Yin God mad.

Glittering jewels, swirling celestial vapors, a dazzling riot of colors that blurred the eyes.

The cultivators in the city, gazing at the treasures in the sky, revealed deep envy.

Jiang Ruhua's face bloomed with joy: "Senior, you must have wiped out a force more than ten times stronger than the Dao-Seeking Palace, right?"

Not far away, the Dao-Seeking Palace's master, who happened to be passing by, slightly changed color.

Don't tap!

Besides, any single treasure here, the Dao-Seeking Palace probably couldn't afford.

"Oh, you're right." Qi Yuan thought for a moment and answered without hesitation.

A hundred times stronger is also more than ten times stronger.

Just like earning three thousand a month counts as earning less than two hundred thousand, right?

ps: The first segment of the plot after ascending to the upper realm is mainly to meet Jin Li; dealing with Mara was just a side task. So after meeting Jin Li, writing about Mara felt a bit dull, like having a cigarette after the deed.

Sorry, everyone. Let me compensate with some monthly ticket red packets!

(Don't leak this, seems like it was snatched by a bot after being sent to another group.)

500 silver dollars! (Just in time for a recharge event.)

Don't ask why QQ Reading isn't posting it—cough, can't post it!

(This text is not charged!)

(Chapter End)