"There is no such thing as a peaceful age; only because someone bears the weight and forges ahead."

Several days later.

Zhong Shenxiu picked up the top-secret documents left behind by the Banshan Great Saint before leaving and sighed lightly.

Even for him, he did not realize how many dangers the human race faced. Yet the Great Zhou Dynasty, though turbulent, still managed to persist, owing much to the efforts and sacrifices of many Great Saints and cultivators.

'Generally speaking, by the time one reaches the Eighth Realm of Cultivation — Tongyou, they would start to encounter this sort of knowledge, but I advanced too quickly...'

'According to the data, the deep sea is almost entirely the territory of oceanic-typed demons, making it extremely dangerous. Even the Great Saints on Chongming Island merely guard the near-seas and deal with Great Evil Demons. They might easily kill low-level demons if they come across them, but otherwise, they pay them no mind... Thus, the work of sailors in this era is exceedingly dangerous, which is why Fang Lang managed to hear many extraordinary legends...'

'And because of the existence of oceanic-typed demons, there are no oceanic routes. Ships from the west sail along the coastline in the near-seas, relying on the defense line jointly constructed by eastern and western Great Saints to keep the damage at a barely tolerable level...'

Zhong Shenxiu turned to another page and saw a line of new information.

"A supreme being — [Deceitful Master], this entity has no fixed form and is also known as the [Father of Wraiths], [Mother of Vengeful Spirits], [Source of Oddities], etc. Its symbol is a black goat-head mark. In the legends of its believers, this [Deceitful Master] opened the path of evil in the human world and is the source of many malevolent beings..."

"It's worth mentioning that the influence of this [Deceitful Master] is even greater in the west. It has an extremely beloved offspring, a Great Evil Demon — the [Mother of Aberrations]. This Great Evil Demon is located in the west and is in a sealed state. Nevertheless, due to its influence, the western lands often birth wraiths, evil spirits, and even some incomprehensible supernatural and terrifying phenomena. Western cultivators, to counter its impact, had no choice but to establish the 'Demon Exorcist Association'!"

"Counting this [Deceitful Master], I know of five supreme Outer Gods... [Heavenly Elder], [Shadow of Taichu], [Mysterious Lord], [Star God]... But it's hard to say; perhaps some, or all, are different aspects of the same existence?"

By now, Zhong Shenxiu was well aware that there were hierarchies even among True Gods.

The weakest, naturally, are those who have just ascended and only possess a single unique divinity.

Those in the middle tier are those who have mastered two unique divinities.

The strongest are those like Time's Ouroboros, mastering three suitable unique divinities and fully absorbing them.

'Currently, I'm considered in the middle tier, but defeating someone who just ascended shouldn't be difficult...'

Zhong Shenxiu assessed his combat strength: 'If there were truly a war against these Outer Gods, Time's Ouroboros and the Master of the Gate might take on two at once. No wonder they have persisted until now...'

"Young master, three groups request an audience!"

At this moment, Qin Weiyin entered and bowed.

Since the Banshan Great Saint's departure, Zhong Shenxiu lifted the previous ban on outside visitors. Yet, only those who had ties with him or deemed themselves powerful enough dared to come knocking.

"Who is it?"

Zhong Shenxiu closed the book and casually asked.

"Lv Luo, Huang Yuanba, and the envoy from the Great Zhou Imperial Family — Princess Tianluo!"

Qin Weiyin replied.

"I won't see Lv Luo, just send her away..."

This woman was somewhat fortunate; although captured by the Tai Sui Society, out of consideration for Zhong Shenxiu's former protection of her, the society dared not harm her. They treated her well for a period before releasing her.

However, without the protection of her aunt and having had the "Orchid Mantis Transformation" taken by Zhong Shenxiu, her fate likely wouldn't be good and might indeed fall into destitution.

"Huang Yuanba... let him in first, and finally let that Princess Tianluo in."

Zhong Shenxiu made his decision.

Qin Weiyin bowed and left. It wasn't long before Huang Yuanba walked in, knelt, and kowtowed: "Huang Yuanba thanks sir for saving his life and teaching him skills!"

"Oh? You guessed?"

Zhong Shenxiu picked up his teacup and blew on the steam.

"In truth, Yuanba knows no cultivation experts other than sir..." Huang Yuanba replied with a wry smile.

"As for that [Golden Cicada Qi], practice it well when you return and spread it far and wide. Perhaps in the future, you'll have a chance to use martial arts to enter the Dao! That's all I'll say, you may go!"

He waved his hand.

Huang Yuanba had no choice but to kowtow three more times, leaving the villa, where he saw Lv Luo leaving despondently.

And another woman, elegant and noble, nodded slightly at him and walked through the main door.

...

"Tianluo, pays respects to Saint Fang!"

The Commandery Princess of the Imperial family smiled charmingly and bowed, her voluptuous figure fully displayed like a ripe peach, tempting one to pick it.

But Zhong Shenxiu rubbed his eyes.

In his vision, the coquettish visage of this Commandery Princess gradually became bizarre — writhing blood-like marks emerged from her body, crawling up her face... her lower abdomen constantly swelled, with eerie, phantom infants crawling in and out from under her skirt...

This Female Practitioner had surprisingly reached the Eighth Realm of Cultivation — the Tongyou Realm!

This was normal; the Great Zhou Imperial Family must have a certain number of cultivation experts and would not let an ordinary person meet a Great Saint.

Looking at the bizarre form of this Commandery Princess, Zhong Shenxiu lazily spoke: "It's said that in the west there was once a Grand Monk, whose power reached the heavens. After reading half of a [Heavenly Mother Scripture] transcript, he attempted to complete this supreme text with his knowledge. As a result, years later, the place where he secluded became a wasteland, implicating all his disciples to their deaths... Only the place of seclusion was left with a scripture written in blood, named — [Rashamon Ghost Mother Life Scripture]!"

This was a piece of interesting news he found at Tingchao Pavilion. The recording cultivator had never seen the true scripture but noted the oddness of cultivators following this bizarre text, matching the Princess's true form.

"Saint Fang, your insight is like a torch!"

Princess Tianluo stood up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes: "This humble girl indeed practices this scripture..."

"Furthermore, it seems you only obtained part of the remaining chapters, unable to suppress the Nine Heavenly Ghost Babies..."

Zhong Shenxiu glanced under Princess Tianluo's Ghost Mother's true form where many ghost babies lingered and shook his head: "If you cannot complete it, you may never hope to reach the Great Saint Realm in your lifetime!"

"In this life, should I reach the Ninth Realm Divine Transformation, I would be perfectly content."

On the surface, Princess Tianluo remained composed, but inwardly she shivered, feeling as if she had no secrets before this Great Saint's gaze.

'It is said the side paths rarely produce a Great Saint, but when they do, they are earth-shattering figures, much like Banshan... Seeing today proves the claim is true!'

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