Chapter 1237: Pa.s.sive To Aggressive
What the Black Wind Demon Venerate had said made sense. Hence, he was tortured horribly by Luo Yunyang to the extent that he couldn’t even beg for mercy.
Luo Yunyang would not need to lie low if he could provoke the person who had listed his name on the Yuanfu Catalog.
He was still feeling very unhappy after punis.h.i.+ng the Black Wind Demon Venerate severely as he instructed the two of them to send instructions to neighboring sects around the Songyang Sword Sect, demanding that they submit to the Songyang Sword Sect or face death!
Before the Black Wind Demon Venerate could start moving out, someone came knocking on their door!
“Xuanjing from the Shenwu Sect requests to see a fellow daoist!” A gentle voice was heard through the protective formation array of the Songyang Sword Sect.
Luo Yunyang did care a lot about the Shenwu Sect but was still very surprised to see Xuanjing visiting.
After all, Xuanjing’s cultivation was impressively at the Tais.h.i.+ Yuan Venerate level.
Although there were many Tais.h.i.+ Yuan Venerates in the Vast Sky Sacred Realm, all of them had a considerable status.
Basically, a sect with a Tais.h.i.+ Yuan Venerate at the helm could at least control a territory of hundreds of millions of miles. However, the Shenwu Sect seemed much weaker than that.
Luo Yunyang hesitated for a moment before using his spirit consciousness to survey Xuanjing carefully. Eventually, he decided to meet this person and see what he wanted.
“Please!” Luo Yunyang transmitted his voice to Xuanjing and a pa.s.sage appeared in front of him. Xuanjing smiled immediately when he saw the pa.s.sage before stepping into it.
A short while later, Xuanjing met the spirit consciousness that Luo Yunyang had sent. Upon seeing Luo Yunyang’s spirit consciousness, Xuanjing was astonished.
After all, he was a Tais.h.i.+ Yuan Venerate visiting another Tais.h.i.+ Yuan Venerate. As a form of courtesy, he should be treated as an equal. However, he had never expected to meet merely a body formed by a trace of spirit consciousness. Xuanjing was no ordinary person. After feeling astonished for a moment, he hurriedly smiled and apologized to Luo Yunyang. “Please forgive me for coming so suddenly.”
“I wonder what Brother Xuanjing is doing here,” Luo Yunyang said with a smile.
“Fellow daoist, have you heard about the Yuanfu Catalog and the Divine Crucifixion Stakes?” Xuanjing, who did not beat around the bush, asked bluntly.
Luo Yunyang was slightly startled for a moment but still replied, “How could I not know about them? Is this why Brother Xuanjing is here?”
“Yes, I’m here to look for you because of the Yuanfu Catalog,” Yuan Venerate Xuanjing said. “Daoist, have you ever calculated the total number of itinerant cultivators like us in the Yuanfu Catalog?”
“Come to think of it, I’ve actually never done that!” Luo Yunyang had only heard about the Yuanfu Catalog recently and had only had a few days to research it. Furthermore, he had been focusing his research on the Taixu Sect and the Dakongfan Sect.
As for those itinerant cultivators, he hadn’t paid too much attention to them because itinerant cultivators were doomed to become cannon fodder in war.
“Less than 10 percent!” Yuan Venerate Xuanjing raised his index finger as he spoke.
If this was the case, ordinary itinerant cultivators would not need to pay attention to the Yuanfu Catalog because it really had nothing to do with them.
Upon seeing Luo Yunyang stay silent, Xuanjing said with a smile, “Fellow daoist, do you know what percentage of itinerant Tais.h.i.+ Yuan Venerates in the Yuanfu Catalog like us have died?”
Luo Yunyang naturally did not know what that percentage was. Fortunately, Yuan Venerate Xuanjing did not wait for an answer and immediately said, “99 percent! Almost all itinerant Taiyi Yuan Venerates will die during the Yuanfu Catalog disaster. Sometimes, they are all obliterated.”
Less than 10% of the itinerant cultivators were listed on the Yuanfu Catalog but nearly all of them would die. Luo Yunyang only needed to use his brain for a few moments before understanding the complete picture.
Not all itinerant cultivators were willing to die but they had no choice. The supreme beings listed in the Yuanfu Catalog were willing to waste the lives of lower-level beings like them.
As a result, the itinerant cultivators that could not put up any form of resistance would naturally become cannon fodder.
“A lot of fellow Daoists were invited to fight for those supreme beings and eventually not only sacrificed themselves but also allowed others to benefit cheaply from the trove of resources they had acc.u.mulated through the years.”
After he said that, Yuan Venerate Xuanjing’s tone became even more sorrowful. “Furthermore, most itinerant cultivators are helpless against this sort of situation! Whether one goes or not doesn’t matter, as both scenarios would lead to death. Thus, most fellow Daoists will choose to go and fight. This is the sorrow of itinerant cultivators like us!”
Luo Yunyang gently nodded his head. He knew that what Yuan Venerate Xuanjing had said was the truth. The strong preyed on the weak. That had always been the case!
“You didn’t come here today just to tell me this, right?” While Luo Yunyang roughly knew what Yuan Venerate Xuanjing was thinking, he still wanted Yuan Venerate Xuanjing to say it on his own.
Yuan Venerate Xuanjing understood Luo Yunyang’s thoughts and did not deny it. “Itinerant cultivators can no longer be treated like ants. We must control our own destiny. At the very least, we must have control over our fate. We need to have the ability to refuse!”
Yuan Venerate Xuanjing’s expression turned solemn after he said that. “After my discussion with some other fellow Daoists, we plan to form an alliance to watch one another’s back. I wonder if you would be willing to join us.”
Itinerant cultivators would be forming an alliance to defend themselves? This situation was quite ordinary!
Luo Yunyang was going to expand the influence of the Songyang Sword Sect anyway. Thus, this proposal to form an alliance was akin to finding a pillow just as he was about to doze off.
On the surface, Luo Yunyang replied nonchalantly, “Although forming an alliance to protect ourselves is not a bad move, how do I know whether I can rely on my allies? The most important aspect of an alliance is strength. Without enough capabilities and strength, an alliance will merely be a well-packaged gift for our opponent.”
Yuan Venerate Xuanjing, who was really confident about persuading Luo Yunyang, walked over and said, “Brother, if more people join us, we will be stronger! For instance, our alliance now has more than 20 Yuan Venerates, including two Shentian Taiyi Yuan Venerates!”
Two Shentian Taiyi Yuan Venerates were indeed formidable.
Meanwhile, those ordinary Taiyi Yuan Venerates were simply not worth Luo Yunyang’s attention because the gulf between them was just too huge.
“Do you mean that those two Taiyi Yuan Venerates are in charge of the alliance?” Luo Yunyang smiled at Yuan Venerate Xuanjing.
Yuan Venerate Xuanjing felt somewhat shocked upon hearing that Luo Yunyang was concerned about who was in charge of the alliance and did not even sound respectful when referring to the two Shentian Taiyi Yuan Venerates.
Could Luo Yunyang also be a Shentian Taiyi Yuan Venerate?
“That’s right. They are in charge of the alliance. However, since our alliance has just been formed, all internal issues are mainly solved through mutual negotiation.” Yuan Venerate Xuanjing chose his words deliberately to reply to Luo Yunyang.
At the same time, his tone was even more respectful. This was naturally due to Luo Yunyang’s imposing manner.
“What if I want to be in charge of the alliance after I join?” Luo Yunyang asked after nodding.
Yuan Venerate Xuanjing felt like there was no way he could continue this conversation with Luo Yunyang. The alliance had not accepted him, yet this person was actually starting to consider taking over the alliance?
Did he think that being in charge of the alliance was such an easy feat?
In Yuan Venerate Xuanjing’s opinion, even if Luo Yunyang was a Shentian Taiyi Yuan Venerate, he would still need some time to establish himself before he could even think about being in charge of the alliance. If that happened, he would still be one of the three people in charge of the alliance.
“Fellow Daoist, the person in charge of the alliance needs to have supreme strength and the trust of the other allies,” Yuan Venerate Xuanjing said with emphasis.
He was reminding Luo Yunyang that it wouldn’t be an easy feat to helm the alliance. However, Luo Yunyang did not mind at all and replied, “I want to be in charge of the alliance. I wonder if you would be willing to help me?”
Yuan Venerate Xuanjing had dealt with all sorts of Yuan Venerates and was rather experienced. However, it was really the first time he had encountered such a situation.
The two of them had just begun negotiating. Nothing was set in stone, yet he wanted to be in charge of the alliance? Wasn’t this too much?
However, Yuan Venerate Xuanjing did not want to offend Luo Yunyang after sensing his cultivation level. Hence, he reluctantly smiled and said, “It’s good that you want to be in charge of the alliance. If you can garner the support of the others, I will certainly support your bid to be in charge.”
“Ha ha ha… With the support of Yuan Venerate Xuanjing, things will definitely go smoothly in the alliance.” After he said that, Luo Yunyang eyed Yuan Venerate Xuanjing and added, “People who join the alliance do not want to be cannon fodder for others.
“Thus, we should find the strongest people among us. Although the two fellow Daoists are Shentian Taiyi Yuan Venerates, I think that they are not good enough and cannot shoulder the responsibility of such a huge alliance!”
Yuan Venerate Xuanjing was stupefied. He began to think that he really should not have come this time.
Or rather, coming had been the wrong decision. Things had been going very well with the alliance, but he had carelessly created a mess with his words. Luo Yunyang’s reply had shocked him.
After pondering this for a moment, he asked Luo Yunyang, “Brother, your cultivation level…”
“I should be considered a Yuan Monarch!” Luo Yunyang said with a smile.
A Yuan Monarch!
While Yuan Monarchs were also Yuan Venerates, a Yuan Monarch and a Tais.h.i.+ Yuan Venerate were worlds apart!
If Yuan Venerate Xuanjing himself was a Yuan Monarch, he would definitely be able to survive the ma.s.sacre of the Yuanfu Catalog and would not need to make so much effort to form an alliance.
“Are… Are you really a Yuan Monarch?”