Chapter 0156

Chapter 156: Calamity at the Jade Purity Sect! Who Drove Zhou Tong Away?

Over Primal Heaven Earth Mountain and the Jade Purity Sect, the once-clear sky suddenly split open. Clouds were torn to shreds, startling everyone across the land.

A group of elders shot into the air, faces filled with alarm as one of them asked: “What’s going on?”

Holy pressure rolled out in strands that turned into five-colored auspicious light. It poured from the heavens and seeped into the ground below.

A young elder trembled as he said: “This is clearly the aura of a Saint. Could some peerless expert be targeting the Jade Purity Sect?” He had barely finished when a palm cracked across his cheek as someone barked: “Stand aside.”

A figure of Supreme Elder rank stepped forward, eyes burning with feverish joy as he said: “The Sect Master is coming out of seclusion. He is about to break through and become a Saint!”

The crowd froze, then burst into wild cheers, shouting: “Saint! Saint! Saint!”

If the Sect Master became a Saint, he would be the only Saint in the Three Clarity Domain besides the Chief Enforcer. When the Chief Enforcer’s lifespan ran out, the Sect Master would become the strongest under heaven here. Grand Clarity Sect and Upper Clarity Sect would have to bow their heads, and the Jade Purity Sect would stand alone at the peak.

With a boom, the earth split, and a refined figure soared up into the daylight, standing above the dome of the sky. It was the Sect Master of the Jade Purity Sect, Wu Zhan.

He looked plain, the kind of face you could lose in a crowd, yet in this moment he seemed anything but ordinary. Stepping from the mortal into the sacred was never just talk. Once you crossed that line, both cultivation and bearing changed completely.

All at once, a sea of people knelt and pressed their foreheads to the ground as they cried: “We greet the Sect Master!” None dared look directly at the face of one about to become a Saint.

Wu Zhan’s voice drifted down from above as he said: “I have been in seclusion for years and have finally achieved what I sought. I am only one step from Sainthood. As long as I pass the ordeal, there will be no more doubts.”

Hearts tightened at his words. The Saint’s ordeal was no small thing. It was deadly. Many peak Half Saints had perished at this very gate.

Seeing their worry, Wu Zhan smiled lightly as he said: “There is no need to fret. I prepared my countermeasures long ago. A mere disaster is not worth a mention.”

Admiration surged; the crowd could hardly keep it in.

Someone whispered with pride: “I said it. The Sect Master will surely turn danger into safety.” Another laughed coldly as he said: “This is the happiest news. Tell me, if a certain traitor saw this, would he not regret it to his bones?” He was talking about Zhou Tong.

A third scolded with a snort as he said: “Why bring up that jinx on such a joyous day? He strutted around like the sect would die without him once he left!”

Laughter broke out as another said: “Exactly. The truth shows the Jade Purity Sect is better off without him!”

Not everyone joined the mockery. Some fell quiet, hiding the anger in their eyes as one of them thought but only dared to murmur: “Senior brother would never do such things. Losing him is a loss for the entire Jade Purity Sect.”

Wu Zhan’s voice cut through the noise as he said: “Enough. I have reached the critical moment for my breakthrough. Someone, go call Zhou Tong to me at once!”

People stared, stupefied. A Supreme Elder’s face turned ugly as he asked: “Why call him on such a happy day?”

Wu Zhan’s patience frayed as he said: “Do you not know Zhou Tong has a Calamity-Suppressing Physique? As long as I refine that brat, I can resist any disaster. I had Liu Su take him as a disciple for this very day.”

The crowd reeled as if struck by thunder. So Zhou Tong had such a use. They remembered how the Sect Master had doted on him in the past. Now it was clear that kindness had been an act. Pity for Zhou Tong rose in many hearts.

Wu Zhan urged with a shout as he said: “Hurry up. Why are you still standing here?”

A Supreme Elder braced himself and reported as he said: “Sect Master, Zhou Tong has been expelled from the sect by Mo Liu Su.”

Veins throbbed as Wu Zhan snapped: “What?! You worthless fools, why didn’t you stop it?”

Another elder bowed repeatedly as he said: “Please quell your anger, Sect Master. We already sent people to seize Zhou Tong. We believe very soon we can—”

Wu Zhan cut him off with a cold snap as he said: “It’s too late. Luckily I prepared a second plan. Go bring the Seven-Star Blood Jade Lotus.”

Constipated looks crossed the elders’ faces as one of them admitted in a low voice: “The Seven-Star Blood Jade Lotus was also given away by Mo Liu Su.”

Blood sprayed from Wu Zhan’s lips as savagery flashed in his eyes. He hissed as he said: “In that case, we will use the Formless Exquisite Pearl. Wasteful, yes, but worth it if I become a Saint.”

Silence. The elders looked at each other and said nothing.

Wu Zhan’s jaw clenched as he forced out the question: “Do not tell me even the Formless Exquisite Pearl has been—”

The answer was yes. His features twisted, and he teetered on the edge of qi deviation.

He ground out the order as he said: “I will settle with you later. For now, bring out every elder’s Life Token in the sect and make them bear the disaster for me!”

At last the Supreme Elders moved. One flashed into the Life-Protection Pavilion and drew out hundreds of elders’ Life Tokens. These tokens did not just show whether the elder lived or died; each held a sliver of the owner’s origin power, perfect for shielding someone through a Tribulation.

Without delay, the Supreme Elders arranged the Array Arts. Jade Tokens rose and flew, bathing Wu Zhan in gentle beams of light. Under that glow, his condition steadied a great deal, and signs of the Tribulation gathered. People let out the breaths they were holding.

Wu Zhan’s eyes were cold as he declared: “Zhou Tong dared to leave the sect without my permission. That is no different from being a traitor. After I become a Saint, I will punish him to warn everyone else.”

A crisp crack snapped through the great hall as a Life and Death Realm expert’s Jade Token split and crumbled to powder. Someone cried out in fear.

Wu Zhan’s gaze stayed cool as he said: “Do not panic. One death means nothing. It is not a big deal.” To someone about to become a Saint, Life and Death Realm was like ants underfoot.

A rapid series of cracks followed in a chain, heralding the deaths of many Life and Death Realm experts at once. Faces went white with shock.

Wu Zhan’s aura surged as he snarled: “Hold!” He forced the formation back under control.

Rage boiled as he spat the threat: “Who has the gall to slaughter the elders of my sect? When I become a Saint—” He had not finished when the Jade Tokens of the Reincarnation Realm began to collapse, not one or two, but more than a dozen in a breath.

“Damn it, what is happening!” he roared. He worried little for the dead elders; he feared for his path to Sainthood.

“Steady. Steady,” he muttered. He fixed his gaze on the five Jade Tokens at the very top. Those were the Half Saints’ Life Tokens. As long as they did not break, he could still reach Sainthood. He refused to believe that in the Three Clarity Domain there existed anyone who could kill a Half Saint.