Li Ziling had not been in the capital for long, but it felt as if years had passed.
"Yes!"
Chen Jie responded.
The two then went to Li Ziling's residence.
Her residence was arranged by Longmen and was quite luxurious, a villa.
As the Dragon Lord, she was entitled to this treatment.
They chatted for a while, and Azhu returned. It had been some time since the three of them had seen each other. Chen Jie accompanied the two of them shopping, and they became even more familiar.
Wutai Mountain.
The members of the Qingcheng Sect arrived at this location.
After a thorough search, they finally found their ancestor, Zhou Yu.
"Greetings, Ancestor!"
The Grand Elder, along with a group of sect members, knelt outside the cave.
"I have been waiting for a long time. Why have you only found me now?"
Zhou Yu's displeased voice came from within.
"Reporting to Ancestor, after our investigation, the father and son duo, Yu Zhongfu and Yu Feng, learned that your treasure had fallen into Chen Jie's hands. They then set their sights on your treasure and intended to deal with Chen Jie themselves!"
"What? How dare they! Where are these two now?" Zhou Yu's tone became tense upon hearing that someone was after his treasure.
"Ancestor, Chen Jie is very powerful. Even Yu Zhongfu and his son have fallen at his hands. Yu Feng, Yu Zhongfu's son, luckily managed to salvage his soul, which is how we learned the whole story!"
Zhou Yu was enraged. "Good! These two wretches, after learning my whereabouts, dared to try and seize my treasure privately! It's fortunate they are dead, otherwise, I would show them what true suffering is!"
The Grand Elder smiled kindly. "Ancestor, we have not failed you. Although Yu Zhongfu's soul has been scattered, we have preserved the soul of his son!"
The Grand Elder lit the soul lamp.
A piercing scream immediately echoed all around.
Yu Feng continuously shrieked, "Kill me, kill me..."
"Kill you? You wish! When I recover, I will take you into my Soul Summoning Banner and make you endure suffering ten thousand times more intense than this!"
Zhou Yu said, then paid him no further mind.
Seeing this, the Grand Elder chuckled and signaled to the others.
Soon, several other elders brought forward some carrying poles.
"Ancestor, these are the spirit stones that our Qingcheng Sect has collected over the years. May they aid in your recovery of strength?"
There were many carrying poles, totaling over a hundred.
They were piled up like a small mountain.
Zhou Yu's voice became excited. "Quick, bring them up, it's enough, it's enough!"
The Grand Elder was extremely excited.
With the Ancestor present, their Qingcheng Sect would now become the foremost power in the world.
From then on, they could do whatever they pleased, unrestrained.
See a woman they liked? Take her!
See something fun? Take it directly!
Dislike someone? Kill them!
With the Ancestor backing them, nothing was impossible.
The group entered the cave and was soon stunned.
Inside the cave, only a skeleton remained. Some flesh was still attached to the bones, emitting a peculiar glow.
Though the skeleton did not speak, Zhou Yu's voice echoed, "Place all the spirit stones beside me!"
"Yes!"
The Grand Elder signaled to the others.
Soon, the people of the Qingcheng Sect placed the carrying poles of spirit stones next to the skeleton.
As the first carrying pole of spirit stones was placed beside the skeleton, a strange phenomenon occurred.
The spirit stones in the carrying pole rapidly lost their spiritual energy, forming a visible green torrent that surged into Zhou Yu's skeleton.
Zhou Yu's skeleton began to regenerate flesh and blood at a visible rate.
"Hahaha... Hahaha... I, Zhou Yu, can finally see the light of day again!"
Zhou Yu's excited voice rang out. The small mountain of spirit stones was quickly reduced by more than half.
Before long, Zhou Yu's flesh and blood had completely regenerated.
However, not a single hair had grown on him.
Boom!
Zhou Yu's body stirred.
He directly smashed through the cave, which was dozens of meters thick, and flew into the air, hovering without falling.
At the same time, he sat cross-legged in the air, absorbing the energy of heaven and earth.
Ah! This...
The faces of the Qingcheng Sect members changed drastically.
The suction force was terrifying, a million times more potent than any female demon. They felt as if their souls were being pulled out.
"Quick, retreat, retreat!"
Everyone quickly distanced themselves.
After about two days, with Zhou Yu at the center, all the vegetation and animals within a radius of over ten li withered and died, leaving the area barren.
At this point, Zhou Yu landed.
"Return, all of you!"
Zhou Yu called out indifferently.
Soon, all the members of the Qingcheng Sect returned.
They had waited outside for two days and two nights.
Zhou Yu beckoned, and a giant banner floated out from within his body.
At his level of power, he could store his life-bound magical artifact within his body.
This was his magical artifact, the Soul Summoning Banner.
He beckoned again, and the soul lamp in the Grand Elder's hand floated into his own.
"Hmph, you dare betray me? I'll let you experience what is called the ultimate punishment of this world! Go!"
Zhou Yu clapped his hand, and Yu Feng's soul flew into the Soul Summoning Banner.
Everyone looked on with extreme awe, feeling that his Soul Summoning Banner was too terrifying to behold directly.
At the same time, they inwardly mourned for Yu Feng.
Zhou Yu then looked at the Grand Elder. "You have done very well. I fell during my tribulation hundreds of years ago. What year and month is it now?"
"Reporting to Ancestor, it is now March of 2023."
"Oh? Has it been so long?"
"Ancestor, society today might be quite different from when you were alive."
"Hmm, then I must understand it well."
"I will ask you again, are there any other cultivation sects in this world?"
The Grand Elder honestly replied, "Ancestor, there are none. The spiritual energy in this world is too thin. Many truly capable immortal cultivation sects have gradually declined because their techniques are incomplete and cannot adapt to the current era of cultivation!"
"As for us, hehe, we are also nearing the end! Because we feel that once we reach a certain level, we no longer have enough spiritual power to support our progress, and we can never advance further!"
The Grand Elder chuckled bitterly.
He was privy to some secrets.
In the past, Earth had many sects like theirs.
For example, Buddhism and Taoism.
When the lifespan of some masters came to an end, and there was no longer spiritual energy in the world for them to absorb, they were forced to become mediocre.
"This is truly a decadent era of Dharma. Only those who cultivate their bodies, martial artists, are still quite numerous, but ultimately, they are still inferior to Dao cultivation!"
Zhou Yu's eyes lit up. "Oh? So, in today's world, we are considered top-tier powers?"
"Before you, Ancestor, no! But now that you are here, we are invincible!"
The Grand Elder said with a smile.
"Good, good, very good! In a while, I will find the leaders of various countries and talk to them, making them surrender to me. I intend to unify the globe."
"However, before that, I must thoroughly eliminate my enemies and reclaim my treasures! You will immediately investigate all of Chen Jie's information, as well as those around him! All women, capture them. All men, kill them."