A Vast Grotto-Heaven

These people were truly beginning to irk Yan Yun.

‘Damn it, do they think I’m some kind of demon? I’m a real woman now, not like Lin Mo at all. Just you wait, I’ll poison every single one of you.’ Yan Yun muttered in her heart.

Presently, a large group of cultivators soared forth, lining up in a single row before Yan Yun.

There were nearly a thousand individuals, representing at least a dozen different factions, with members of the Lin family among them.

This created quite a spectacle, as Lin family disciples, clad in Yunhua Sect attire, were now poised to confront their fellow sect members from the Purple Abyss Pavilion disciples.

This scene, of course, did not escape the notice of the influential figures gathered in the main hall.

“Eh? Sect Master Yunwu, aren’t those your Yunhua Sect disciples? It seems they intend to confront your Zi family disciples?” Dou Ke inquired, a hint of confusion in his voice.

His words caused Yunshuang to flush with embarrassment, while Qingxuanzi and others adopted expressions of amusement, clearly enjoying the unfolding drama.

“Oh? Fellow Daoist Dou, those Yunhua Sect disciples are from the secular Lin family. This Lin family harbors deep enmity towards Yan Yun and the Yan family,” Yunshuang elaborated.

Upon hearing this, Dou Ke’s brows furrowed deeply.

“How can this be? Your Yunhua Sect is the most esteemed sect in Jiang Country. To have your own disciples attempting to eliminate their sect mates during such a significant event, doesn’t that make you a laughingstock?”

As an envoy dispatched by the Righteous Dao Alliance, Dou Ke felt compelled to point out any disreputable conduct among the major sects of Jiang Country.

Unsure how to respond, Yunshuang could only recount the entire sequence of events to Dou Ke in meticulous detail.

After her explanation, Dou Ke cast a displeased glance at Shangguan Jinyang.

“Alliance Master Shangguan, is this how your Immortal Alliance governs the cultivators within your borders? Although the Lin family is a secular power, they are still cultivators. As long as they are cultivators, they fall under the Immortal Alliance’s jurisdiction. For the Lin family to resort to such shameless tactics merely to win over another’s wife, should they not be punished? How is this behavior any different from that of the demonic path?” Dou Ke rebuked Shangguan Jinyang.

While the two were evenly matched in cultivation, Dou Ke’s standing within the Righteous Dao Alliance was superior to Shangguan Jinyang’s; he was, in essence, Shangguan Jinyang’s superior.

“This? Fellow Daoist Dou, it’s not that I don’t wish to intervene, but the Lin family has connections to the royal family. Our Immortal Alliance finds it rather difficult to directly impose punishment,” Shangguan Jinyang explained, his face etched with helplessness.

Once the royal family became involved, Dou Ke found it challenging to press the matter further.

It was notoriously difficult for the Righteous Dao Alliance to interfere with royal affairs; at most, they could engage in negotiations, but if the royal family refused to cooperate, there was little they could do.

“Alas! I never expected this young lady to be burdened with so many troubles. No wonder the Yunhua Sect is in such a predicament,” Dou Ke mused, feeling a pang of sympathy for Yan Yun.

From the Righteous Dao Alliance’s perspective, they paid little heed to the cultivation techniques cultivators practiced, focusing instead solely on their actions.

Their definition of heretics and demonic cultivators centered on those who wantonly slaughtered the innocent, acted with insidious cunning, and disregarded the rules of the Righteous Dao Alliance.

As for forbidden cultivation methods, the Righteous Dao Alliance had a general framework: for instance, one could not cultivate using living humans.

Any cultivation method involving human-beast relations, such as those requiring human souls or human blood, were strictly prohibited by the Righteous Dao Alliance.

However, poison cultivation techniques like the Heavenly Poison Sutra were not actually within the Righteous Dao Alliance’s prohibited scope.

The reason Jiang Country’s Immortal Alliance forbade it was due to the immense trouble caused by Man Lingyun in the past.

Man Lingyun was arguably the only lower realm cultivator on the Tianchen Continent in the last thirty years to provoke an upper realm powerhouse into descending to besiege and kill her.

This unfortunate incident occurred because Man Lingyun annihilated what was previously the top sect in Jiang Country, and that sect happened to have a lineage in the upper realm, naturally leading to a colossal disaster.

****

Meanwhile, Yan Yun began to act.

“So, you all wish to eliminate me? If you do, then why do you not dare to step in and fight? So many of you, I’m terribly frightened, you know,” Yan Yun sneered, her tone laced with sarcasm.

Yan Yun’s words instantly infuriated the cultivators, especially those from the Azure Nether Sect.

“Demon! You specialized in hiding in the poisonous mist; do you dare to fight us openly and fairly?”

A Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator roared in anger.

Yan Yun rolled her eyes.

“Am I foolish? There are nearly a thousand of you combined; how can I fight you all alone? Is that fair?”

Her sharp retort left them speechless.

Cultivators who had already secured their positions watched the spectacle from a distance.

Within the Yunhua Sect’s designated area, Jiang Yao and Su Muyu gazed at Yan Yun with worried expressions.

“Mother, do you think she can manage on her own?” Jiang Yao asked, a note of concern in her voice.

Su Muyu shook her head.

“It’s hard to say, but she’s full of clever ideas. Since she told us not to help, she must have a plan.”

After the Yunhua Sect secured their position, the other sects generally dared not attempt to seize it.

For them, the moment they participated in this assembly, it was almost guaranteed that all would advance to the next round.

Only the smaller sects, rogue cultivators, and secular forces were scrambling desperately for a spot.

“Demon, we will not bully the few with many. Do you dare to engage me in a one-on-one duel?”

The Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator from the Azure Nether Sect declared with supreme confidence.

However, the moment he uttered these words, he fell right into Yan Yun’s trap.

Feigning a moment of contemplation, Yan Yun countered with a question.

“A one-on-one duel? That’s fine, but can you guarantee they won’t seize the opportunity to launch a joint attack?”

The male Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator from the Azure Nether Sect immediately stepped forward, turning to address the crowd behind him loudly: “Fellow Daoists, I shall be the one to eliminate this demon. You all must not interfere.”

These individuals were actually quite reluctant to accept this proposal, but once Yan Yun entered the poisonous mist, they would be in a difficult situation.

Someone had already attempted to use a wind-attribute cultivation technique to disperse the poisonous mist, yet as soon as the mist scattered, it rapidly reformed.

This was because the cultivators of Purple Abyss Pavilion were maintaining a cycle of poisonous mist. Yan Yun had devised a method where they would release poisonous mist, while simultaneously using the Cavern Heavens of poison cultivators to reabsorb the mist, only to release it anew.

Given this, it was impossible for them to disperse the poisonous mist, especially since the strongest cultivators at this assembly were merely those at the Great Perfection Spirit Transformation Realm.

“Very well, we agree,” the Azure Nether Sect cultivator eventually consented.

Yet, the Lin family members wore sinister expressions.

“Prepare yourselves. If an opportunity arises, attack together and kill this demoness. Don’t worry, at most we’ll just lose our qualification for the competition and be punished by the Immortal Alliance,” Lin Zi whispered to the Lin family cultivators around her.

The Lin family had a considerable number of members, with disciples in many sects, evident from their attire.

“Understood, Sister Lin Zi. By the way, what happened to Brother Lin Mo? Why isn’t he participating?” someone asked, looking puzzled at Lin Mo, who sat cross-legged on a stone pillar in the distance.

Lin Zi glanced at Lin Mo as well, then sighed involuntarily.

“Who knows? He’s probably worried about being punished by the sect afterward. After all, he’s still a direct disciple of the Yunhua Sect.”

Seeing that the group had taken the bait, Yan Yun immediately moved completely out of the poisonous mist area.

“Very well, as long as it’s a one-on-one duel, I accept your challenge. Oh, and I once promised King Jiang that I would unconditionally accept challenges from my Yan family ancestors’ enemies of the same generation, even death matches. Of course, since the assembly doesn’t allow it, I have no choice,” Yan Yun chuckled.

The Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator from the Azure Nether Sect snorted coldly and flew to a spot about ten meters from Yan Yun.

“Enough idle talk. I am Wang Yu, a direct disciple of the Azure Nether Sect. Remember my name, for I am the one who will eliminate you,” the Azure Nether Sect disciple declared, introducing himself.

Yan Yun merely smiled faintly.

“Come then, let me see what abilities you, a Great Perfection Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator, possess.”

Wang Yu wasted no more words, immediately conjuring a treasure sword that shimmered with azure light.

As the sword appeared, azure light filled the sky, and numerous azure sword-lights condensed around his body.

“While I’m not certain of your exact realm, you are definitely not in the Spirit Transformation Realm; at most, you are in the Great Perfection Cavern Heaven Realm. You and I are separated by an entire major realm. If not for the rules, I could easily cut you down with a casual strike. Take this sword!”

“Azure Light Sword Art, go!”

Wang Yu swung his treasure sword, and instantly, a sky full of golden light descended towards Yan Yun’s position.

This marked Yan Yun’s true first combat encounter since she began cultivating.

Her battle drew the attention of many cultivators, including the grand figures in the Immortal Alliance’s main hall.

“Let’s see what confidence the Heavenly Poison Maiden’s successor possesses to fight someone from a higher realm,” one remarked.

The others, too, focused their full attention on Yan Yun’s battle area.

Watching the sky full of sword-lights fly towards her, Yan Yun sneered.

“Such meager attacks cannot defeat me.”

With that, Yan Yun spread her hands, and a pale purple energy vortex rapidly appeared above her head.

This energy vortex quickly expanded, transforming in moments into a purple Cavern Heaven with a diameter of half a meter.

From within this Cavern Heaven, a vast amount of purple poisonous mist erupted, forming a wall that shielded Yan Yun.

To their astonishment, the azure sword-lights striking the wall were rapidly dissolved.

“What? How is this possible? How can the power of a mere Cavern Heaven Realm cultivator block my Spirit Transformation Realm attack?” Wang Yu, who had been so confident, was utterly astonished.

But those in the main hall were even more shocked.

“This? Is this a Cavern Heaven? How can it be so large?” Many Divine Venerable Realm powerhouses almost bit their tongues upon seeing Yan Yun’s Cavern Heaven.

Normally, a Cavern Heaven was only about the size of a fist, making Yan Yun’s Cavern Heaven extraordinarily exaggerated.

“This is the special ability bestowed upon one who cultivates the Spirit Gathering Realm to Great Perfection before breaking through to the Cavern Heaven Realm: the Cavern Heaven merges with the physical body,” Yan Yun explained, her expression solemn.

Throughout the entire Righteous Dao Alliance, only a handful of individuals could cultivate the Spirit Gathering Realm to Great Perfection; many present had only heard of it but had never witnessed it.

“But isn’t the purpose of a Cavern Heaven to increase the absorption and conversion of spiritual energy? Why is she able to use her Cavern Heaven as a weapon for attack?” someone still couldn’t comprehend.

Yan Yun herself couldn’t fully explain this question, for while she had encountered a few cultivators whose Cavern Heavens merged with their physical bodies, their Cavern Heavens only seemed to grant them greater power than other conventional Cavern Heaven cultivators.