Chapter 028: The Book of Heavenly Longing
Deep within the heart of the Gobi Desert.
An unremarkable grain of sand whirled through the air, swept up in the raging wind.
Yet within this single grain, there existed a vast space spanning a thousand acres.
A world contained within a speck of dust.
Inside this space, everything was bright and clear, the wind gentle and mild, evoking the exuberance of a radiant spring day.
A thousand white-robed cultivators stood, divided into five grand formations, each standing tall and proud.
Suspended high above, five formidable Nascent Soul cultivators floated in the sky, conferring upon matters of great import.
Among them were three men and two women—some monks, some Daoists—all bearing an air of ancient dignity. Their every gesture brimmed with extraordinary power and presence.
“Amitabha. Fellow Daoist Peng, who would have thought that to deal with the Demon Sect, you would even bring out your sect’s most treasured artifact?”
One among them, a young monk clad in white robes, smiled slightly as he spoke.
Peng, the cultivator addressed, was a burly man with rugged features, clad in battle armor, towering and broad-shouldered. Around him, an invisible current of fire seemed to swirl, radiating a terrifying heat.
“To eradicate evil and defend the Dao is the unshirkable duty of all righteous cultivators. Moreover, my Hundred-Refinement Sect harbors an irreconcilable enmity with the Blood Demon Sect. This time, we must ensure victory is certain,” Peng replied in a deep voice.
“I have long heard of the wondrous power of the Hundred-Refinement Sect’s Celestial Sand. Seeing it today, I am not disappointed—it is indeed worthy of being ranked among the few fifth-tier treasures in the world.”
A Daoist in green robes praised from the side.
The white-robed monk smiled. “Fellow Daoist Sun, your Sky Cloud Sect’s Luminous Sword is no less impressive.”
To the far left, a noble and elegant woman spoke, “Today, with the combined forces of our Five Sects—Flower Valley, Sky Cloud Sect, Hundred-Refinement Sect, Azure Cloud Mountain, and Earth Treasury Monastery—together with the Celestial Sand and the Duality Microdust Formation, we are certain to annihilate every devil attending the Heavenly Demon Pill Banquet, delivering a grievous blow to the Demon Sect!”
“The Duality Microdust Formation is the key to this battle, so it falls to Fellow Daoist Xi of Azure Cloud Mountain to command.”
At this, all eyes turned to the fifth person.
She was a young woman of striking beauty, dressed in a pale yellow gown, her bearing graceful and refined as orchids and willows, radiating an arresting brilliance.
This beautiful cultivator, who had only advanced to Nascent Soul less than a decade ago, was the linchpin of their righteous crusade.
For she had brought forth the sect-guarding formation, the Duality Microdust Formation, from Azure Cloud Mountain.
Such was the resolve of the righteous path to eradicate the devils!
Five Nascent Souls, a fifth-tier treasure, a sect-guarding grand formation, and a thousand Foundation and Qi-Gathering cultivators.
With such might, they could sweep aside any major power in the world!
Xi Yueming’s fair and composed face grew solemn as she spoke, “The Duality Microdust Formation consists of six gates: Life, Death, Illusion, Destruction, Obscurity, and Radiance. Each of us will lead our cultivators to hold one of the five gates, encircling the sixth. My senior brother Gao Chong and Fellow Daoist Ren of Sky Cloud Sect will lie in ambush, ready to slay any who escape the formation…”
“Master Zhen Ding, please guard the Gate of Death.”
“Fellow Daoist Peng, please guard the Gate of Radiance.”
“Fellow Daoist Sun, please guard the Gate of Destruction.”
“Sister Cao, please guard the Gate of Illusion.”
“I shall guard the Gate of Obscurity.”
As Xi Yueming finished, the others all voiced their agreement.
Master Zhen Ding of Earth Treasury Monastery, adept in the Supreme Demon-Subduing Technique, was best suited to suppress and refine demonic cultivators—an ideal choice for the Death Gate.
Peng Haoyuan of the Hundred-Refinement Sect, master of supreme fire arts, was perfect for the Radiance Gate.
Sun Yiyan of Sky Cloud Sect, one of the most formidable sword cultivators of this age, unmatched in killing intent, would take the Destruction Gate.
Cao Hongxiu of Flower Valley, peerless in illusions, was the natural guardian of the Illusion Gate.
At last, Sun Yiyan flicked his finger, conjuring a water mirror before him.
Within the mirror appeared the scene atop the towering demon idol.
The victorious disciples of the Demon Sect were conducting a bizarre ritual, offering up the Heavenly Demon Spirit Pills.
Each of the four Demon Sects had stationed a Nascent Soul cultivator to oversee the ritual, each wary of the others seizing the treasures.
“When the anomaly appears around the demon idol, that shall be our cue to act,” Sun Yiyan intoned.
Peng Haoyuan manipulated the Celestial Sand, swiftly guiding it through the storm toward the demon idol.
“My disciple has been undercover in the Bone Demon Sect for decades. Today, he has finally achieved merit. Fellow Daoists, when you see my disciple Pang Yue, I ask that you look after him!”
Sun Yiyan glanced around at the four, cupping his hands in request.
According to their plan, every demonic cultivator attending the Heavenly Demon Pill Banquet was to be slain. Only then could the Four Demon Sects suffer a mortal blow and be left unable to recover.
This would secure the righteous path’s supreme position in the world.
“Rest assured, Senior Brother Sun. For your disciple to have endured such hardship for decades and rendered such service—he is a hero of our path. When the time comes, we will be sure to protect him,” the others promised in turn.
Without such an inside agent, their plan would never have proceeded so smoothly.
…
The towering demon idol burst forth with dazzling rays of light.
In the void, over a hundred orbs of light appeared out of thin air, descending slowly.
Hundreds of cultivators from the Four Demon Sects all gazed upward, captivated by the spectacle.
Within each orb lay a rare treasure or technique from this world.
What one received depended on one’s fate.
Even the lowest reward was enough for Foundation cultivators to risk their lives.
Most of these treasures would make even Nascent Soul masters envious.
On rare occasions, the sacrifice had produced treasures surpassing even the Nascent Soul level!
Yet Pang Yue paid no heed to any of this.
Nor did he care what treasure awaited him in the orb that descended before him.
Because…the time had come!
Amid the myriad beams of light, a single, utterly inconspicuous mote of dust appeared high above the Demon Sect cultivators.
Within the mote of dust.
A diagram of yin and yang unfolded, a thousand cultivators led by the five Nascent Soul masters, each taking their position, merging seamlessly with the grand formation.
In the next instant.
The diagram faded and reappeared in the outside world.
The grand formation descended in utter silence, unnoticed by all.
Even Pang Yue himself, who knew the plan, could not sense nor confirm whether the formation had been deployed.
The Four Demon Sect Nascent Souls were each entirely absorbed by the descending orbs, none detecting the slightest anomaly…
A sphere of light descended from the sky, landing before Pang Yue.
The sacrifice was complete!
Composing his mind, Pang Yue reached out to touch the orb, and a chill ran through his fingertips.
The light gradually dissipated, revealing in his hand a scroll, crystalline as glass yet soft as silk.
On its surface, four ancient characters stood out in Pang Yue’s eyes.
The Tome of Sorrowless Heaven.
A profound intention surged from the tome, searing itself into Pang Yue’s consciousness!
In a flash, he comprehended all the functions of this magical treasure.
Forty-nine vast and intricate seals, each profound beyond measure, flashed through his mind, like a colossal and precise machine in flawless motion.
A fifth-tier treasure!
In the present world, among the Four Demon Sects and Five Great Sects, the most powerful sect-treasures were, at best, of the fifth tier.
The Bone Demon Sect’s own sect-treasure, the Bone Dao Palace, was only third-tier…
Holding the Tome of Sorrowless Heaven, Pang Yue felt as though he were hefting a mighty mountain.
Then, in a flash, the tome vanished from his hand.
When he came to, the treasure had already appeared within his core.
“Could this be… automatic recognition of its master?”
Spreading his fingers, Pang Yue summoned a brilliant, glass-like divine radiance.
Within the light, countless runes flowed, exuding an aura of annihilation and purity.
The Radiance of Sorrowless Heaven.
Though he had not yet wielded it, Pang Yue understood with crystal clarity the terrifying power contained within this light.
He had indeed been acknowledged by the Tome of Sorrowless Heaven!