Chapter 918: Shattered Bone Face Focused

"Beyond the singular focus on attaining eternal life, the characteristics of the masses became increasingly pronounced."

Li Qing observed as he walked.

"Kid, did you have fun in the illusion?"

Just then, a voice suddenly caught his attention.

Li Qing looked over and saw a slovenly old man lying on the ground as if no one else was around.

Unsure of the man's intentions, Li Qing cautiously refrained from answering.

"Heh heh, no need to be so nervous. Being too reserved is actually not good!"

"Just act as you did in the illusion! We need someone like you among us!"

The old man praised Li Qing without reservation.

However, as the old man spoke, Li Qing subtly noticed numerous hostile gazes fixed on him.

"Oh, and let me tell you a little secret."

"To fully enjoy ourselves, not only were your original memories sealed in the illusion, but mine were too."

"Only when the illusion was about to shatter would my true self-awareness awaken."

"In that instant, everyone's memories within the illusion would simultaneously burst forth!"

A look of intoxication appeared on the old man's face, as if he had just drunk a pot of aged fine wine!

"Two hundred thirty-six thousand eight hundred times..."

"Two hundred thirty-six thousand eight hundred times!"

The old man repeated the number.

"Tsk tsk tsk..."

"Your pleasure is not even a fraction of mine!"

The old man shook his head.

When Li Qing heard the number "two hundred thirty-six thousand eight hundred," he paused slightly, unable to grasp its meaning.

Soon, however, he understood, and his expression turned somewhat strange.

When he looked again, the slovenly old man had already vanished.

"This body seems to have belonged to a Dao Integration elder of the Grand Dao Sect in the past."

Li Qing recalled his memories from the illusion, pondering to himself.

He continued toward the sect's main hall at the very top.

Along the way, Li Qing also heard many arguments.

"Why did you castrate him? Wouldn't a normal start have been better?"

"Now you're objecting? You agreed to it back then!"

"I think a slight punishment is fine. The key question is, why give him the *Scripture of Transgression*?"

"We had to test out the newly developed cultivation method, didn't we? Who would have thought this kid would be so troublesome. Tsk tsk..."

"Heh heh, I think you did that on purpose."

"In that case, we can't use this *Scripture of Transgression* again next time."

"No way, how can we just ban something so good?"

"I object!"

"I object too!"

No one was visible.

Yet, the voices of the dialogue appeared continuously around Li Qing, like ghosts.

It was as if countless figures were staring at Li Qing in unison, whispering amongst themselves.

Li Qing appeared calm on the surface, but a slight chill was already creeping into his heart.

These voices intertwined, like countless thoughts in his mind.

His mind seemed to splinter into countless fragments.

As Li Qing drew closer to the sect's main hall, the fluctuating voices grew more numerous.

The content of their words became increasingly deranged.

They turned into demonic whispers, piercing Li Qing's mind like needles.

Suddenly, Li Qing stopped short.

He felt a slight dampness on his face. When he lightly touched it, he discovered that blood was continuously flowing from his nostrils and eyes.

His surroundings had also, at some point, become blurry.

Li Qing wiped away the blood and, while his body still had strength, quickened his pace.

But the demonic sounds in his ears not only failed to cease but intensified further.

"Cough cough..."

Li Qing suddenly coughed, and fragments of his internal organs came up.

After ascending another few dozen steps, the body finally couldn't hold on.

Under the vibrations of countless noisy voices, it turned into a puddle of mud.

But soon, as flesh and blood wriggled in the void, a new body began to reform.

However, the omnipresent demonic sounds seemed to have no intention of letting Li Qing go.

Before the body could fully manifest, it was crushed again.

Thus, an extremely bizarre scene unfolded on the long staircase.

A mass of unidentifiable rotting flesh painstakingly wriggled and ascended upwards.

Each time it was crushed, it reappeared.

But with each reappearance, the total mass of the flesh seemed to diminish.

Although Li Qing never gave up, in the end, only a small, deformed ball of flesh remained, struggling and clumsily rolling along.

Even in such a wretched state, the surrounding voices showed no sign of weakening.

Instead, they grew more excited. The sounds became sharp, no longer resembling human voices, but rather like various meaningless noises across heaven and earth.

Just as the last remnant of Li Qing's flesh was about to vanish completely,

a phantom black sword suddenly appeared.

It emitted a faint sword hum.

Instantly, it briefly suppressed the chaotic sounds of the demons dancing around!

Seizing this sole moment, the phantom black sword's speed exploded. It transformed into a blur, shooting straight into the sect's main hall.

Although the hall's doors were open, from the outside, the interior was pitch black.

It was like an abyss; nothing could be seen.

After that moment of silence, countless voices suddenly erupted.

Like a mountainous roar, a surging ocean, and the wailing of ghosts and wolves!

"I told you he could do it!"

"Heh heh heh, interesting, interesting!"

"Why did you deliberately let him go, why? Why didn't you let me grind him into a pulp inch by inch!"

"Stop pretending. Is deceiving yourself interesting?"

In stark contrast to the noisy and terrifying environment outside the hall,

the Grand Dao Sect's main hall was exceptionally quiet.

Inside the spacious hall, there was nothing but the sect leader's seat at the highest point.

Senior Sister Zhao, meanwhile, sat quietly on the seat.

Like a child, she sat upright and prim, with a straight back.

Her hands rested on her lap.

Her facial expression was frozen, completely motionless.

Li Qing covertly glanced at Senior Sister Zhao.

Her appearance seemed to be fixed at that of a teenager.

It was identical to what he had seen in the illusion.

"Greetings, Heavenly Venerate Yixin."

Although the atmosphere was somewhat strange, Li Qing still bowed respectfully in greeting.

"What is your purpose here?"

Senior Sister Zhao's pleasant voice rang out.

However, it did not emanate from the body on the seat but from all directions within the main hall.

Li Qing did not hide anything and stated directly, "I have come for the cultivation methods of the former Profound Heaven Sect."

"*The Ode to Heaven and Earth's Intertwining*, *The Myriad Ages' Sole Self Technique*, *The Soul-Severing Divine Art*, *The Scripture of Heavenly Grief and Earthly Wailing*..."

"These scriptures originally belonged to my Profound Heaven Sect. Today, they should be returned to their rightful owner."

Li Qing said earnestly.

Silence fell in the hall for a moment.

Then, Senior Sister Zhao chuckled continuously, as if she had heard an extremely funny joke.

"So, the people of the Profound Heaven Sect aren't all dead yet?"

"And how do you know I once acquired these cultivation methods?"

"Besides these, I have quite a few others. Do you want them?"

(End of chapter)