Chapter 135: The Living Dead

Wang Li was dead. He had been accidentally unearthed in a valley in the Western Regions by Ling Yun, the grandson of Ling Xiao.

This news spread like wildfire through the cultivation world as soon as the altar was erected outside the gates of the Pure Yang Sect. Many were curious about what the Pure Yang Sect was trying to pull. Holding a grand, high-profile funeral for a dead man—wasn't that just a farce? Only a fool would go to pay their respects!

Just as those in the dark were waiting to see the Pure Yang Sect make a fool of itself, news came from the Five Elements Pavilion that Perfected Lord Tianmu would be leading the sect’s elders and disciples to offer condolences. Before anyone could recover from their shock, the major righteous sects—including Immortal Suppression City, the Sacred Ground of True Yang, the Ten Thousand Mountain Prison, the Beast Taming Sect, the East Sea Faction, and the Divine Weapon Valley—all announced that they would be sending delegations to pay their respects at the Pure Yang Sect.

Following them, numerous long-standing mid-to-small sects and noble clans began to make their way to the Pure Yang Sect as well. Even the Wuji Sect, the Joyous Union Sect, the Corpse Controlling Sect, the Strange God Sect, the Way of Freedom, the Ultimate Way, and the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons openly dispatched heavyweights from their ranks.

For a moment, people were completely bewildered by this turn of events. When a righteous sect holds a funeral, why are you demonic lords joining in? Are you there to pay respects to the dead or to lay siege to their mountain? Were they not afraid of triggering a full-scale war between the righteous and demonic paths?

But the most astonishing news was yet to come.

The first to arrive was not the nearby Five Willows Sect, but the Sea Demon Clan from the far-off East Sea. Leading them was a supreme demon, the only Celestial Immortal-stage expert of the demon race: the Sovereign Kun.

People were even more confused. One could perhaps explain the demonic sects showing up as a matter of saving face, or perhaps there was some unspoken reconciliation between the two sides. But... what on earth were the demons doing meddling in the affairs of humanity? Especially Sovereign Kun, who had offended the entire human race during the East Sea Grand Tournament—was he not afraid that the human Celestial Immortals would come looking for trouble?

Sovereign Kun did not put on airs; he genuinely burned three sticks of incense at the altar, left behind a few prodigies of the Sea Demon Clan to attend the funeral, and then departed with effortless grace. The Pure Yang Sect did not give the Sea Demon prodigies any trouble; after the reception disciples saw Sovereign Kun off, they arranged for the others to stay in the guest quarters at the foot of the mountain.

Next, the experts of the seven great righteous sects arrived. Perfected Lord Tianmu of the Five Elements Pavilion came in person, bringing the new Pavilion Master Huang Tao and a group of core disciples and elders; Huang Tao offered incense on behalf of the pavilion. Then, the Young Master of Immortal Suppression City arrived to pay his respects, followed by the Beast Taming Sect’s senior disciple, Qing Yu, leading a troop of disciples.

After them came the Acting Sect Master of the Ten Thousand Mountain Prison, Qu Buping; the Great Elder of the Divine Weapon Valley, Jin Que; and the Chief Elder of the East Sea Faction, Hai Kuan, accompanied by the Saintess, Hu Xian'er. The last of the major righteous sects to arrive was Luo Que, the Saint Son of the Sacred Ground of True Yang.

Following these major righteous sects, Sect Master Wuliu Zhengying of the Five Willows Sect stepped onto the altar. After paying his respects, he once again wielded his sword to cleave the heavens. This time, nothing fell from the sky. Shortly after, Wuliu Zhengying announced that the Five Willows Sect would be merging into the Pure Yang Sect. He left behind a clone to guard the Karma-Severing Sword, while his true body departed to seek other worlds. Wuliu Zhengying became the second powerhouse in five thousand years, following Xu Jing, to ascend to another world.

By now, the funeral itself had become secondary. People were more concerned with why Wuliu Zhengying had ascended, why he left behind the Karma-Severing Sword, and why he had merged his sect into the Pure Yang Sect.

However, not long after, the appearance of Xiaoyaozi, the Sect Master of the Way of Freedom, shifted the focus back to the Pure Yang Sect. Xiaoyaozi announced his abdication, passing the position of Sect Master to his disciple Hua Ying, while he prepared to undergo the tribulation to ascend to the Celestial Immortal stage. A demonic sect leader announcing a change of power at a funeral hosted by the premier righteous sect... it was surreal.

By this time, those with keen intuition had noticed that several major events had occurred in the cultivation world in just a few days, all centered around this funeral. When they learned that the funeral was for Wang Li, the teaching deacon who had vanished from the Pure Yang Sect five thousand years ago, and heard stories of his past from their elders, the sight of the arriving demonic delegations suddenly felt less strange. After all, who in the cultivation world hadn't practiced the "Thunderous Justice Scripture" to resist heavenly tribulations and inner demons over the last five thousand years? It could be said that every cultivator owed Wang Li a debt of gratitude.

And so, the scene shifted from one where only the elite paid their respects to one where countless people did so spontaneously. For a time, the area outside the Pure Yang Sect's gates was filled with swirling incense smoke and the chanting of the "Daoist Scriptures of Rebirth."

While the outside was a sea of people, the inside of the Pure Yang Sect remained deathly silent. Within the mourning hall, Wang Li lay quietly in his coffin. His face looked just as it had five thousand years ago, yet there was no trace of life in his body.

The jade coffin was surrounded by layers of people, each one of whom was a figure capable of shaking their respective regions with a single stomp. These great masters stood with intense focus, their faces etched with shock. They were... listening to Wang Li speak.

How could a dead man speak?

Of course, Wang Li was not dead, but trapped in an arcane state between life and death. He could only release a faint, barely perceptible ripple of consciousness to perceive the world and express his thoughts. The masters were communicating with him through their intent.

"I do not know how to wake up. I am trapped in an unfathomable place. I can feel your presence, and I need your help."

Wang Li’s mental fluctuations were weak, but they conveyed enough information for the masters present to understand.

"Deacon Wang, how can we help you?" asked Ling Xiao.

"We have already begun. The funeral and the offerings outside are the start," said Perfected Lord Nirvana. "Wang Li is currently a living corpse; he needs a unique power to break his shackles."

The others were puzzled. Xiaoyaozi asked, "What kind of power is this? Even if all the people gathered outside were combined, they wouldn't have as much power as those of us here. If it can help Brother Wang, I am willing to contribute."

"We are willing too!" others echoed.

Perfected Lord Nirvana glanced at the clone of Wuliu Zhengying standing nearby. "Perhaps Brother Wuliu should enlighten us. In the Tianxuan world, I fear only you have encountered this power."

Everyone turned their gaze toward Wuliu Zhengying.

He nodded and said, "I have communicated with Deacon Wang. This energy should be called the 'Willpower of All Living Beings.' It gathers emotions—gratitude, faith, fear, and so on—from all living creatures toward a single individual. Through a certain medium, these emotions are transformed, manifesting a power that has never before appeared in the Tianxuan world."

"This power has no physical form and cannot be sensed; only the person receiving it can perceive it. I felt it by chance within the primordial energy flowing into the Tianxuan world from outside. Because the Karma-Severing Sword reacted to it, I took note of it, but I could not use it, nor did I understand its purpose, so I did not delve deeper."

"However, this made me long for the outside world even more, which is why my true body chose to leave."