CHAPTER 237: CHAPTER 237: LESSON 1

A hundred years ago, the Foreign Realm Demons invaded.

The landscape of the cultivation world changed dramatically!

Within the Riverside Sect, elites from ordinary backgrounds rose to prominence.

Furthermore, the established wealthy immortal clans suffered severe losses, and their ability to cultivate new talents could not compare to that of the countless common people.

Therefore, those years were marked by the ascent of new powers, overshadowing the wealthy immortal clans!

However, after nearly a hundred years of development, these new forces also married and reproduced, their descendants gradually transforming into new Immortal Clans.

After twenty years of peace, the Riverside Sect once again became a place where various Immortal Clans and powerful families flourished and intertwined.

Now, the Demon Catastrophe has begun again!

Promising new talents like Shen Mo, who lacked the backing of an Immortal Clan, naturally became targets of suppression and distrust from the established clans.

They would either succumb to the pressure, becoming nobodies and cannon fodder in the Demon Catastrophe, or they would ride the winds of change and sweep away the demonic miasma before them!

Then, once Shen Mo had secured enough benefits and produced heirs, gradually evolving into a new wealthy immortal clan, he would be accepted by them. By that time, there would also be no need to guard against or suppress him anymore.

Additionally, these two factions were not openly declared, nor was there a clear and distinct division between them.

Take Elder Huang Changqing of Stars Peak, for example. He also had no Immortal Clan background, advancing from an outer disciple to the Spirit Sea Realm step by step. He had descendants, but none among them possessed extraordinary Talent; the strongest was merely at Qi Gathering Realm Layer III. It wouldn’t be accurate to say that he belonged to the Immortal Clan faction. However, if an early-stage Qi Gathering disciple competed with his descendants for benefits, his family would then be considered an Immortal Clan faction.

Consider Zhou Shili, the Peak Master of Stars Peak. He was born into the Zhou family, a wealthy immortal clan. However, during his formative years, he was heavily suppressed within his own clan. After gaining power, he did not favor the Zhou family; instead, he relentlessly suppressed them. He also never took a Dao companion or had any descendants. Therefore, in the eyes of other wealthy immortal clans, he was not considered one of them.

The relationships were extremely complex and couldn’t be explained in just a few words.

At the moment, Shen Mo only knew that Tian Kang and Shi Xiaoqian must have been instructed by their respective clans to specifically cause trouble for him. He neither knew nor cared to know their true intentions!

Seeing Shen Mo remain silent with a grim expression, Tian Kang sneered and thrust two fingers toward his chest. The tips of his fingers glowed faintly, clearly indicating the use of magic and martial arts!

Minute Spirit Stone debris, fine as sand dust, fell from Shen Mo’s sleeves.

Information about Tian Kang, including his weaknesses, simultaneously entered Shen Mo’s mind.

He scanned it briefly, then chuckled derisively, "An entitled brat like you—where do you get the audacity to attack me?"

As he spoke, he raised his hand and effortlessly caught Tian Kang’s two attacking fingers.

"Life-destruction Pulse-breaking Finger, a high-grade profound level martial art. You haven’t perfected it yet, have you?"

This technique involved channeling two streams of energy with diametrically opposed properties into an enemy’s body to destroy their Chakras and Qi Sea. Once cultivation reached Perfection, two fingers could injure an enemy from a distance!

Regrettably, Tian Kang had only cultivated this technique to the Senior stage, requiring him to be at close range to control the two energy streams at his fingertips.

But Shen Mo had cultivated two major external magics and was protected by the Blue Soul magic robe, the Red Carp inner armor, and the Nine-Extreme Crystal Sand. Even if he just stood there and let Tian Kang attack, Tian Kang couldn’t dream of damaging his Chakras!

CRACK!

Shen Mo applied a little force, and Tian Kang’s finger bones were immediately broken.

Compared to elite disciples like Li Zhong of Stars Peak and Wan Wu of Heaven Sword Sect, this man was far inferior in terms of vitality, magic... and mentality!

His fingers broken, Tian Kang’s face twitched in pain, but he managed to retain some semblance of pride and didn’t cry out. Perhaps he hadn’t expected Shen Mo to neutralize his magic so easily.

He stumbled back several steps, forcibly straightened his fingers, and then fumbled for the Universe Bag at his waist.

With a flash of spirit light, a Grade III talisman appeared between his fingers.

"Sword Prison Talisman!"

Shen Mo’s eyes narrowed, his frustration reaching its peak. This talisman was considered one of the most potent offensive types among Grade III talismans. This person had provoked him without reason, and after being ridiculed, attacked him with a technique aimed at his Chakras and Qi Sea. Now, he even resorted to using such a deadly talisman. So aggressive! If Shen Mo were to endure this further, it would contradict his character and be a disservice to the Carefree Sword Intent he had comprehended!

Before Tian Kang could activate the talisman with his Mana, Shen Mo’s Demon Slaying Sword slashed out swiftly.

BOOM!

A terrifying Sword Qi bore down on Tian Kang with overwhelming momentum.

The Universal River Opening Sword Style!

A jade pendant on Tian Kang’s body emitted a red light. It formed what looked like a thick, blood-scab-like shield, attempting to block the Sword Qi.

CRACK!

The blood-scab shield, along with the protective jade pendant, shattered into dust.

At the same time, the magic robe he wore under his standard uniform began to show faint golden lines, but it was of no use.

Under the pressure of the River Opening Sword Style, Tian Kang flopped onto the ground like a toad, utterly humiliated. Fresh blood could be faintly seen trickling from his mouth and nose.

"Junior Brother Shen, please show mercy!" Guo Zhao, surprised, hurriedly cried out from the side.

He had not personally witnessed Shen Mo’s performance at the Tianshan Grand Ceremony. When others spoke of it, he had merely thought it an exaggeration. But seeing it now, he realized that Shen Mo’s proficiency in swordsmanship had reached a level that could threaten him.

Not even a year had passed. The Body Tempering Realm disciple from back then had grown to this extent!

Hearing Guo Zhao speak, Shen Mo nodded slightly and swept his Demon Slaying Sword out horizontally.

Meanwhile, the other person present, Shi Xiaoqian, quickly retrieved her magic artifact: a dark red whip covered in thorny spikes. It whizzed towards Shen Mo’s head!

The whip’s shadow was as fast as lightning, with sparks flying, resembling a crimson thunderbolt. But its power was far greater than the thunder light Lu Ming could produce, given the significant difference in their cultivation levels.

Shen Mo neither dodged nor evaded, taking the hit directly with his Nine-Extreme Crystal Sand.

At the same time, his hands, hidden beneath his outer robe, completed the complicated hand seals, stopping at the final one.

"Seven Mansions of the Vermilion Bird in the south, Palm, Ghost!" he muttered.

As he did so, a phantom in the shape of a sheep emerged from his chest and rushed towards Shi Xiaoqian.

This Constellations Palm, manifesting as a Ghost Golden Sheep, could intimidate even a Second-Order Peak Heavenly Demon for a moment, let alone Shi Xiaoqian, who was only at Qi Gathering Realm Layer VII.

In the blink of an eye, her body stiffened as if struck by a Hold Talisman. Her thorny blood whip also drooped instantaneously, like a snake seized by its vital spot.

However, this Palm was different from a Hold Talisman or an immobilizing spell; it simultaneously afflicted a creature’s soul and body, causing the soul to stagnate and the body to be imprisoned!

Immediately afterward, a wave of Sword Qi swept out, sending Tian Kang, who lay immobilized on the ground, and the stiffened Shi Xiaoqian into the Lancang River.

SPLASH!

SPLASH!

The sounds of two bodies hitting the water echoed.

Shen Mo’s mood lightened considerably. He clapped his hands and laughed, "Senior Brother Tian, Senior Sister Shi, remember to grab a few pounds of river mussels on your way up! My Spirit Stones are waiting for you to claim them."