Now, Lan Xiaobu had lured Fang Zhifan into locking him down with the Great Curse Technique, even pushing Fang Zhifan to suppress him with his own curse Dao laws. This way, Lan Xiaobu could easily use the Great Severance Technique to cut off Fang Zhifan’s control over his curse Dao, then use the Great Curse Technique Dao Scroll to strip away Fang Zhifan’s curse Dao laws. With such tactics, Lan Xiaobu could sever Fang Zhifan’s Dao foundation in the shortest time possible.
In other words, under these circumstances, even if Fang Zhifan escaped, he’d pose little threat anymore.
Fang Zhifan’s face was now even paler, a deathly grey tinge mixing with the white. He realised his judgment might have been clouded by the Heavenly Dao of the Eternal Life Realm—otherwise, he wouldn’t have been crushed by Lan Xiaobu to this extent. He, the Dao Lord of the Eternal Life Dao Court, had been abandoned by the Eternal Life Realm itself.
Seeing his curse Dao laws weakening and his perception of the curse Dao growing ever fainter, Fang Zhifan gritted his teeth and began burning his lifespan recklessly, even setting his own Dao aura ablaze. This time, he didn’t try to stop Lan Xiaobu from stripping his curse Dao foundation—instead, he used the power from burning his lifespan to sever his own curse Dao foundation first.
This act of cutting off his own arm to survive nearly eliminated any chance of Fang Zhifan advancing to a higher Dao level and stripped him of his control over the curse Dao. For Fang Zhifan, this might have been more unbearable than death itself—yet he did it anyway.
The moment he severed his Dao foundation and broke free from the Dao Scroll’s stripping, a grey blood mist exploded around Fang Zhifan, and he vanished completely from the space.
Lan Xiaobu knew that even if Fang Zhifan escaped, he’d no longer be capable of causing mass deaths under his curse aura as he had before. But today, Lan Xiaobu was determined to kill this filth—how could he let Fang Zhifan get away? Besides, though Fang Zhifan had fled, his Dao foundation was too heavily damaged to conceal his escape route. If Lan Xiaobu didn’t kill him today, it’d be much harder to do so later.
So, the instant Fang Zhifan fled, Lan Xiaobu shouted, “Tifo, I’m going to kill this rubbish. Help me look after the Eternal Life Sacred Dao City. Any sects or cultivators who meet the conditions can settle there. And anyone who dares invade my Great Desolate Divine Realm, take note…”
Lan Xiaobu’s message was too brief—before the last two words were fully out, he too disappeared.
Lan Xiaobu trusted that Tifo, a sage, would have the means to handle it. For him, there was only one thing now: killing Fang Zhifan. His final threatening words were aimed at the Heavenly Demon Saintly Court and Yunshen Dao—Lan Xiaobu also wielded the Great Curse Technique, so they’d best not provoke him lightly. And unlike Fang Zhifan, his Great Curse Technique wouldn’t target cultivator armies—it’d be aimed at the powerhouses of those saintly sects or courts.
Though Lan Xiaobu had been gone for a while, the space remained thick with tension and silence. Just moments ago, Fang Zhifan had been overpowering Lan Xiaobu, even fully suppressing him. For Fang Zhifan, capturing Lan Xiaobu had seemed only a matter of time.
Yet in the blink of an eye, the tables turned, and Fang Zhifan was the one suppressed by Lan Xiaobu. Everyone had clearly seen Fang Zhifan burn his lifespan and sever his own curse Dao foundation to escape.
Fang Zhifan might have been a Second-Turn Sage, but he was perhaps stronger than some Third-Turn Sages. For such a powerhouse to be forced by Lan Xiaobu to cut his own Dao foundation and flee—and for Lan Xiaobu to relentlessly pursue him—was staggering.
Kong Qi of Yunshen Dao looked grim. When Fang Zhifan had been suppressing Lan Xiaobu, if Kong Qi could’ve gotten close, he’d have ambushed Lan Xiaobu and finished him off. But now, Fang Zhifan—whom he couldn’t even approach—had been turned around and suppressed by Lan Xiaobu. Lan Xiaobu’s strength was far more terrifying than he’d imagined. Forget seeking revenge on Lan Xiaobu now—if Lan Xiaobu came after Yunshen Dao, Kong Qi might be powerless to stop him.
While Kong Qi mulled this over, he suddenly felt a chilling killing intent lock onto him.
“Kong Qi, I hear you wanted to get rough with our Dao Lord? Let’s see how rough you can get with me, Tifo,” Tifo said, stepping forward. His eighteen prayer beads transformed into an eighteen-layered hellish world, completely sealing the space around Kong Qi.
Kong Qi was horrified to find he couldn’t even extend his domain. The space around him folded layer upon layer, saturated with a suffocating aura of death.
He’d known Tifo was strong, but he hadn’t expected to be so helpless before him—it was absurdly overpowering. As the crushing deathly aura bore down, Kong Qi couldn’t think further; his only concern now was saving his own skin.
Sensing Kong Qi’s peril, Fu Chun of the Heavenly Demon Saintly Sect stepped forward, his Second-Turn Sage domain slamming into Tifo’s bead domain.
The pressure around Kong Qi eased, and he hurriedly broke free from Tifo’s bead world, landing beside Fu Chun with a look of shock.
Tifo didn’t press the attack, instead glaring coldly at Kong Qi and sneering, “Don’t know your own weight, do you? You think proving yourself a measly First-Turn Sage means you can control the cosmos? Lad, you’re still green.”
His goal was achieved—don’t casually target the Great Desolate Divine Realm or the Eternal Life Sacred Dao City, or there’d be consequences.
Seemingly unwilling to clash with the Great Desolate Divine Realm now, Fu Chun, after saving Kong Qi, didn’t target Tifo further. Instead, he raised the Heavenly Demon Saintly Court’s banner and summoned a massive warship.
With Fu Chun hoisting the saintly court’s flag, all the Heavenly Demon Saintly Court’s cultivator army gathered and boarded the warship. In this battle, the Heavenly Demon Saintly Court and Yunshen Dao had suffered countless losses. Had Lan Xiaobu not intervened, the death toll would’ve been ten times higher, if not more.
As for the Eternal Life Dao Court’s cultivator army, with their nominal Dao Lord Fang Zhifan gone, they were still scattering in all directions.
Tifo Sage laughed heartily. “Everyone, if the Dao Lord of the Great Desolate Dao Court hadn’t stepped in earlier, under Fang Zhifan’s Great Curse Technique, this place would’ve been nothing but piles of dry bones. I reckon this has happened far too often in the Eternal Life Realm, hasn’t it? Of course, no need to thank us—Lord Lan is just that kind of man, full of compassion and great love. Such inhumane slaughter won’t happen in our Great Desolate Divine Realm. It’s the true sanctuary for proving the Dao. The Eternal Life Sacred Dao City of our Great Desolate Divine Realm welcomes you all—any dissatisfied daoists can try their luck there.”
Fu Chun shot Tifo a cold glance. If he could overpower Tifo, he’d take him down right now. But alas, he’d just tested him—Tifo’s strength surpassed his own. Even with Kong Qi’s help, they couldn’t match Tifo.
Against a Second-Turn Sage like Tifo, numbers meant nothing. To deal with him, Fu Chun would need to return and ally with other saintly courts.
“Let’s go!” Once all the cultivator army had boarded the giant warship, Fu Chun commanded, and it turned into a streak of black light, vanishing into the distance.
“We’re off too,” Tifo said, summoning his own flying treasure. Lan Xiaobu’s strength didn’t need his concern, and the Eternal Life Realm didn’t need his help to conquer. For him, guarding the Eternal Life Sacred Dao City for Lan Xiaobu would surely earn his gratitude.
Not long ago, this place had hosted Fang Zhifan, the Cursed Sage, leading the Eternal Life Dao Court’s army against two major saintly sects, with hundreds of thousands of cultivators locked in battle. Now, only the fleeing remnants of the Eternal Life Dao Court’s army remained.
For them, with no Dao Lord left in the Eternal Life Dao Court, where could they go?
At that moment, a refined-looking man stepped forward, declaring loudly, “Cultivators of the Eternal Life Dao Court, assemble here at once. Our Dao Lord is still alive—no need to flee…”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it rang clearly in the ears of every fleeing Eternal Life Dao Court cultivator.
The scattering cultivators instinctively paused, and soon, some recognised the speaker…
It was Xue Ping Sage, the First Pillar of the Eternal Life Dao Court.
Xue Ping Sage, Cheng Yuyan, had been second only to the Great Sage Kun Wei at Taihan Sacred Mountain, serving as its Supreme Elder. After Kun Wei founded the Eternal Life Dao Court, Xue Ping became its First Pillar. When Kun Wei vanished after Fang Zhifan’s betrayal, Xue Ping had disappeared too.
No one had expected him to have been hiding among the cultivator army all along.
Sure enough, once Xue Ping stepped forward, the fleeing Eternal Life Dao Court cultivators began to regroup.
Stepping into the air, Xue Ping announced loudly, “There’ve been rumours that our Dao Lord was betrayed by Fang Zhifan. I’m here to tell you all—the Dao Lord is still alive. Though that vile Fang Zhifan ambushed him, our Dao Lord’s divine abilities are vast—how could he fall? I believe it won’t be long before he returns to the Eternal Life Dao Court. As the First Pillar of the Eternal Life Dao Court, I now declare: the Eternal Life Dao Court will cease all external campaigns. Return to the court at once and await our Dao Lord’s return.”
“Eternal Dao Lord!” The cultivator army, as if finding their backbone, surged with renewed morale. Over the years, following Fang Zhifan into endless wars, they’d seen countless enemies fall to his curse aura—but their own losses had been just as staggering. No one wanted such campaigns to continue.
Xue Ping sighed inwardly. Lan Xiaobu had disrupted the plan. Fang Zhifan had indeed betrayed Kun Wei, but only after Kun Wei had already been gravely wounded by the Jie Sect Master. Per his agreement with Kun Wei, Xue Ping had hidden among the cultivator army as an ordinary member, waiting for Kun Wei’s counterstrike against Fang Zhifan. The moment Kun Wei acted, Xue Ping would strike Fang Zhifan too.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t awaited Kun Wei’s counterstrike—instead, he’d witnessed Lan Xiaobu crush Fang Zhifan and chase him off to who-knows-where.
Even Xue Ping didn’t know where Kun Wei was hiding now, but he firmly believed in Kun Wei’s promise of a counterstrike.
With Fang Zhifan hunted and Kun Wei’s plans uncertain, Xue Ping’s only option was to stabilise the Eternal Life Dao Court, ensuring it didn’t collapse and get replaced by another saintly court.
