Chapter 446: The Sun and Moon Illuminate Mountains and Rivers (Part 5)

Su Chen sighed softly.
The previously aggressive Yue Huang suddenly froze.
He didn't know what terrifying thing he had seen, but the other three only heard a loud 'bang,' and as blood and flesh splattered, a perfectly healthy person suddenly vanished.
"Gentlemen... can we talk properly now?"
...
Outside the back mountain, Han Xiyue was still debating whether to let Elder Yan lead the remaining disciples of the sect to escape first.
Suddenly, a sound of something exploding pierced her eardrums from within the back mountain. Without hesitation, Han Xiyue rushed into the back mountain.
What she saw, however, was completely different.
The three once high and mighty Emperor Realm experts were now kneeling before a figure, not even daring to wipe the bloodstains on their bodies.
Before Han Xiyue could understand what was happening, a calm voice entered her ears.
"Now you should know what to do."
The three, including Yan Huang, nodded repeatedly.
"Get lost!"
Upon hearing this, the three Emperor-level experts were as if granted a pardon, scrambling and crawling away from the Mountain and River Sect's territory. Even the Yan Emperor's departure didn't spare his own Emperor-level fire dragon.
Terrifying...it was simply too terrifying!
Han Xiyue hadn't yet recovered from her shock.
She remembered something.
There seemed to have been four Emperor-level experts who entered the back mountain...only three remained just now.
Su Chen glanced at the bewildered Han Xiyue, casually tossing an item towards her.
Han Xiyue instinctively caught the item.
Upon closer inspection, it was the sect leader's token of the Mountain and River Sect.
"Han Chen...could it be that you..."
Su Chen said lazily, "Han Xiyue, this token is a loan from me. Don't try anything funny."
"Now, with this token, no one in the Great Yan territory will stop you. If anyone does, take the token to the Yan Emperor and tell him that if he can't handle things, then I will."
Han Xiyue: "..."
Thankfully, she thought Su Chen was going to resign as sect leader of the Mountain and River Sect and hand it over to her.
What was supposed to be her dream come true, Han Xiyue, facing the opposite reality, felt a strange sense of secret joy.
In the end, Han Xiyue left the back mountain...she was simply thrown out by Su Chen. After all, being stared at like that, Su Chen felt that although he was wise and powerful, dignified and handsome, he didn't like being looked at with the eyes of a lovesick woman.
So Su Chen tossed Han Xiyue out of the back mountain, letting her manage the sect properly. Right now, the sect was just a handful of weaklings, far from becoming the number one sect.
Su Chen looked at the clear lake, pondering that perhaps some renovations were needed.
...
Great Yan Dynasty
A remote town
"Elder, my cultivation has broken through!"
A handsome young man sat cross-legged atop a cliff, brimming with pride.
Just a week ago, he was a notorious good-for-nothing in Luoshan City.
All of this changed completely after a mysterious voice appeared in his mind.
"Good disciple, you have already cultivated the Divine Demon Body Summoning Scripture to the basics. I was right about you."
The young man, named Ling Jiuxiao, possessed the ambition to soar to the heavens, but lacked the destiny to do so. He was the infamous, incapable-of-cultivation young master of the Ling family in Luoshan City. A week ago, a figure claiming to be a top expert from ten thousand years ago suddenly appeared in his mind. Ling Jiuxiao addressed this figure as Elder.
The Elder claimed that Ling Jiuxiao possessed the legendary Divine Demon Battle Body and imparted to him the Divine Demon Awakening Body Scripture. Within a single week, Ling Jiuxiao's strength underwent a complete transformation; he was no longer the useless young master who could be easily manipulated.
"Next, you need to join a sect called the Mountain and River Sect."
"Ten thousand years ago, I passed through the Mountain and River Sect and mentored a young fellow. That fellow's achievements were somewhat lacking; he was merely an ordinary saint, but he was honest and kind. I planted a seed of destiny within the Mountain and River Sect, and ten thousand years later, that destiny should have ripened. It is one of my opportunities to defy fate and be reborn!"
Ling Jiuxiao made a deal with the elder: the elder would impart his cultivation techniques to Ling Jiuxiao, and Ling Jiuxiao would help the elder find the item that would grant him a second life.
"The Mountain and River Sect?"
Ling Jiuxiao frowned... He seemed to have heard of this sect about half a month ago.
...
Within the Mountain and River Sect
Su Chen returned to the back mountain, holding a net in his hand. Within the net were giant 'fish' of various colors and shapes.
Under the terrified gazes of the 'fish,' Su Chen threw them all into the lake. Lightning flashed and thunder roared, and a torrential downpour began. As the rain fell, all things began to revive, forming a thick fog within the Mountain and River Sect.
At this moment, the lake surged, as if something was about to burst forth.
"I never expected to find a divine object on the verge of death here."
Su Chen raised his hand and cleaved the lake in two. Beneath the lake lay a cave, forcibly protected by a crude enchantment. Su Chen removed the enchantment, revealing a sacred skeleton within. The skeleton sat cross-legged, its divine essence still awe-inspiring even after ten thousand years.
However, Su Chen felt no reverence for the skeleton. His gaze fell upon the withered branches adorning it, now emitting a faint, mysterious light, bearing exactly seven leaves.
"Using the bones of a sage as its root and the destiny of a sect as its leaves, this is a method to defy fate."
"Unfortunately... this person didn't expect that the Mountain and River Sect had been declining for ten thousand years, struggling even to maintain a basic supply of vital energy. This sect master, by sheer chance, became the lifeline for this divine object."
To replenish biodiversity, Su Chen specifically traveled to the Myriad Demon Realm outside the Great Yan Dynasty to capture some 'fish.' The vital energy tides they attracted replenished the life force of the dead Seven Profound Divine Tree, bringing it back to life.
Su Chen took down the Seven-Leaf Divine Tree. He picked up the pole again and threw the fish into the lake, watching them scramble for it. But alas, his purpose wasn't these fish, but that 'fish'!
......
After three months of twists and turns,
Ling Jiuxiao finally arrived at the foot of the Mountain and River Sect.
The Mountain and River Sect of today is completely different from the desolate state it was when it was wiped out.
"I never imagined that the sect founded by that casually pointed-out fellow would actually overcome its deathly tribulation and be reborn ten thousand years later."
"It seems the Mountain and River Sect has produced another extraordinary figure this generation."
Ling Jiuxiao's lips twitched.
That was no nonsense.
He'd practically memorized all the legends about the Mountain and River Sect while searching for information along the way.
One man quelled six sects, forced the Yan Emperor to submit, and even the guardian beast dared not retrieve its power.
Wasn't that a truly extraordinary figure?