Chapter 204: What a Pity!
“Ah, it’s no wonder that I felt something was amiss previously… Senior Zhong Ya from the Xuanyin Sect, as a Golden Essence adept, was floating in the air without a golden halo surrounding him. I guess it’s because he has already crossed over into the Dharma stage.”
A senior from the Thousand-Year Sect sighed and said, “The Dharma stage allows one to go back to the basics. Those who have crossed over will have an inner Yuan that is invisible.”
“Dharma… I guess this means that our powerful supreme sect of Ziyun now has our third Dharma adept…”
At this point, other than the wild happiness that was displayed on the Xuanyin Sect member’s faces, other attendees from the other big sects had on more complex and troubled expressions.
The powerful supreme sect of Ziyun’s third Dharma adept was a member of the Xuanyin Sect… Of course, those of other sects would have preferred a different outcome.
In the past, the first Dharma adept of the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun was someone from the Tianwu Sect… During that period, the Dharma adept of the Tianwu Sect had wanted to extinguish all the other sects and unify them all under Tianwu before he left the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun.
As the only individual who had crossed over to the Dharma stage in Ziyun, that Dharma adept from the Tianwu Sect had been invincible and was able to do as he pleased.
However, in the end, the other sects had all joined forces and worked together to force the Tianwu Sect to surrender their weapons as they refused to be defeated that easily.
That day, the sects had made a stern announcement: If the Dharma adept of the Tianwu Sect dared to take action against them again, the Primal Core adepts of the other big sects would all isolate the area, leave the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun, vanish into the skies before one day coming back stronger, unleas.h.i.+ng revenge on all the Tianwu elders and disciples.
What did it matter if only the Tianwu Sect had a Dharma adept?
He was still unable to protect every single elder and disciple in the Tianwu Sect if every other big sect worked together against him.
They would kill all his sect members!
With this joint determination by the other big sects, the Dharma adept then gave up on the idea of unifying the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun under the Tianwu Sect’s name. Furthermore, the Dharma adept of the Tianwu Sect had been determined to leave the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun. Naturally, he would not have wanted to leave the Tianwu Sect in a troubled state.
Afterwards, when the Divine Light Sect produced the second Dharma adept of the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun, although the other sects were slightly fearful, they no longer flew into a panic.
They knew that with the previous incident of the Tianwu Sect’s Dharma adept serving as a severe warning, the Divine Light Sect would not dare to make any reckless moves.
“Go!”
“Go!”
…
The Golden Essence adepts of the Divine Light Sect, Thousand-Year Sect, Tianwu Sect and Xuesha sect all flew up into the sky from where the ma.s.ses were sitting and flew towards different directions at an extremely fast speed.
This leave taken by all the Golden Essence adepts of the different sects was due to their fear that they would all be defeated together by the Xuanyin Sect’s elder, Zhong Ya, who had already crossed over to the Dharma stage.
Furthermore, they had an obligation to return back to their sects to spread the word that Zhong Ya had crossed over to the Dharma stage. They also had to make preparations to defend against Zhong Ya as they had the constant worry that he would attack their respective sects and extinguish them in the future.
The other members of the four big sects, under the direction of their head elders, stayed to watch this spectacle.
Since all the Golden Essence adepts had left to make their own preparations, even though Zhong Ya had crossed to the Dharma stage, he still had to be aware and would not easily attack the other sects.
The scene of the Golden Essence adepts of the other four sects leaving of course did not go unnoticed by Zhong Ya. Not only so, but he also understood their intentions on making a quick escape. However, he did not bother to attempt to stop them.
If he did so, he possibly could prevent all the Golden Essence adepts from leaving and destroy them.
Yet, if he chose to focus on them, the youth dressed in white would definitely have an opportunity to escape then.
Once this youth escaped, it was highly possible that it would signal the future destruction of the Xuanyin Sect!
Three years.
The youth standing before him, who was as tiny as an ant in his eyes and was originally an early Connate adept, had not only crossed over into the late Primal Core stage and become a Silver Essence adept but also now possessed the power to kill the Golden Essence adept of the Xuanyin Sect, Qi Ming!
The existence of this youth was too dangerous and threatening to the existence of the Xuanyin Sect.
Zhong Ya could thus only stare emptily as the Golden Essence adepts of the other big sects left and disappeared into the distance.
“Is that… Dharma?”
At the same time, a group of people, who were shocked into a daze by the presence of Dharma on Zhong Ya’s body, regained their senses and shocked expressions flitted across their faces.
A Dharma adept.
To them, such people only existed in legends and folk stories.
Yet today, they had personally witnessed the existence of a Dharma adept right before their very eyes.
“It’s simply unexpected that this time’s Feast of Ziyun encapsulated so many surprise events… First, a young man appeared out of nowhere and managed to kill the eight biggest Primal Core adepts of the Xuanyin Sect, including their Golden Essence adept, Qi Ming, within two breaths’ time… Afterwards, the Xuanyin Sect’s Distinguished Elder, Qi Ming, had appeared in person and revealed that he had crossed over to the Dharma stage.”
“The Golden Essence adepts of the other four sects have all taken the opportunity to run… Clearly, they are also worried that Elder Qi Ming, who is now a Dharma adept, would take action against them…”
“Well, the unlucky one here is no longer Elder Qi Ming but the youth. He probably did not even dream that Elder Qi Ming could have crossed over to the Dharma stage.”
“Based on Elder Qi Ming’s words, it is highly likely that he crossed over to the Dharma stage only two days ago.”
…
The onlookers all stared anxiously at Zhong Ya with flushed and intense looks on their faces.
A Dharma adept.
if this was the past, they would not even have dared to dream of meeting a Dharma adept in person!
Being able to witness this sight gave them bragging rights. No, it gave even their next generations bragging rights… To think, they had met a Dharma adept!
“Teacher… you’ve become a Dharma adept?”
Chen Dandan had regained her senses as well, and she stood up. She stared at Zhong Ya and bowed courteously. “Congratulations, you’ve successfully achieved your goal of becoming a Dharma adept!”
Clearly, Chen Dandan herself had not been aware of Zhong Ya’s achievement previously.
“Hm.”
Zhong Ya glanced at Chen Dandan warmly. Chen Dandan deserved some credit for this achievement of his. Just as he had mentioned three years ago when he had arrived at the Valley of the Medicine Masters, Zhong Ya’s plan to enter the Dharma stage involved mental enlightenment. When he had saved Chen Dandan’s life and accepted her as a disciple, it was to gain mental enlightenment.
The more mental enlightenment he gained, the higher his chances were of crossing over to the Dharma stage.
Two days ago, he had successfully entered the Dharma stage and extended his lifespan by 300 years. This was why he seemed to have physically gone back in time and looked younger than before.
The Zhong Ya now could live for another 300 more years!
Two days ago, after his breakthrough, Zhong Ya had isolated himself in his room to adjust fully to his new status. He had only appeared today after a Late Primal Core adept elder from the Xuanyin Sect had visited him and informed him hurriedly of the news of Zhou Donghuang.
Once he had removed himself from isolation, Zhong Ya had made his way here.
“Zhou Donghuang!”
When Chen Dandan focused her glance once again on the youth dressed in white, it was with a completely new mood. She was now energetic again like she had been born into a new life, and her eyes were full of greed and evil intent. “I bet you never dreamt that my teacher, Zhong Ya, had already crossed over into the Dharma stage.”
“I have to admit, your progress was indeed rather shocking and unexpected, which led to your strength today and your ability to kill the other adepts. However, it’s a pity that you’re now unlucky enough to meet my teacher, a Dharma adept!”
Chen Dandan then turned to gaze at Zhong Ya. “Teacher, since you are now a Dharma adept, you no longer need to worry that the act of killing Zhou Donghuang would affect your mental enlightenment.”
Zhong Ya replied in a cold tone, “Even if I had not yet crossed over to the Dharma stage, with his powers now, I’d have the intention to kill him, and it still would not affect my mental enlightenment.
“Of course, if I didn’t cross to become a Dharma adept, I would admittedly be no match for him now.”
The next time Zhong Ya glanced at Zhou Donghuang, the corners of his mouth turned up into a sinister smile. “Young man, didn’t you want to inflict the consequences of this grudge you have against me and the Xuanyin Sect?
“Make your move.
“I’m actually curious to see… How you, a special Silver Essence adept who could kill a Golden Essence adept, manages to act against me, a Dharma adept!”
As he spoke, Zhong Ya’s eyes flicked with mockery.
“I can’t believe you actually became a Dharma adept.”
Zhou Donghuang glanced calmly at Zhong Ya with an undisturbed expression on his face.
Previously, when Zhong Ya had first appeared, Zhou Donghuang had already observed that Zhong Ya did not have a golden inner Yuan halo surrounding him. Furthermore, physically, Zhong Ya had looked younger, and it was easy to guess that he had crossed over to the Dharma stage and had successfully become a Dharma adept.
“Well, the higher you rise, the more damage you will receive when you come cras.h.i.+ng down… Saving Chen Dandan and becoming a Dharma adept merely allows you to live 300 more years. If you did not save her, even if you never crossed to the Dharma stage, you, Zhong Ya, could actually still have lived out a few good years.”
Zhou Donghuang shook his head. “What a shame, what a shame.”
“Yet again, gaining a few days of status as a Dharma adept in exchange for a few years of life is probably a worthy exchange to you.”
With Zhou Donghuang’s words, both Zhong Ya and Chen Dandan froze momentarily. The entire place fell yet again into a deep silence.
These words uttered by Zhou Donghuang had a deeper meaning that everyone could understand. What he meant was that despite Zhong Ya crossing over to the Dharma stage, he would still ensure his death today!
“Zhong Ya is now a Dharma adept… but he still has the confidence of killing him?”
The Divine Light Sect’s head elder, Tuo Jin, was wavered by Zhou Donghuang’s words. Previously, after realizing that Zhong Ya was now a Dharma adept, he had a.s.sumed that Zhou Donghuang was unluckily doomed. After hearing Zhou Donghuang’s words, however, he felt swayed once again.
Could this Zhou Donghuang really kill Dharma adept, Zhong Ya?
“Is he crazy?”
“Although he is indeed rather powerful, the difference between a Primal Core adept and a Dharma adept is as vast as an ocean. He wants to cross a big stage and kill a Dharma adept? Is he dreaming?”
“What an idiot!”
The head elders of the Thousand-Year Sect, the Tianwu Sect and the Xuesha sect shook their heads and spoke up among themselves after hearing Zhou Donghuang’s words.
This was especially so for the head elders of the Thousand-Year Sect and Xuesha sect. The glance they gave Zhou Donghuang was one they usually reserved for fools or the mentally disabled.
“Brother!”
Yun Lu was standing on Little Gold’s back. Her small face no longer had on a hazy expression, and her eyes had brightened.
Previously, upon seeing that Zhong Ya had become a Dharma adept and demonstrated training of the Dharma stage, she was still worried that Zhou Donghuang was no longer his match.
However, upon hearing Zhou Donghuang’s confident words, all ounces of worry disappeared.
“Weirdo!”
Even Little Gold spoke up now. Originally, even Little Gold had not expected that the master of his home would not fear someone as powerful as a Dharma adept.
As for the other onlookers, however, they were still unconvinced of the chances of Zhou Donghuang winning this fight.
At the end of the day, what Zhong Donghuang faced was still the third Dharma adept of the powerful supreme sect of Ziyun, who had only appeared after thousands of years had pa.s.sed!