The First Immortal of Destiny

Shen Mo imprisoned Chen Mengze and Ming Yu in the Jingmu An Prison and returned to Green Cloud Cave. It was not until they entered the Longevity Hall of the sect that he dispelled his Palm Magic, releasing the two women. Chen Mengze and Ming Yu knew that if they attempted any further hostile actions, Shen Mo would unhesitatingly confine them within a spell-prison again. Therefore, once freed, they obediently stood to one side. Aside from exchanging dark looks, they did not resume their previous conflict.

The Deputy Sect Masters, Yuan Heming and Ming Cang, followed them in. Situ Huo, who had previously seemed unconcerned about the matter, arrived late, a somewhat enigmatic smile on his face.

Afterward, Shen Mo summoned Hall Master Guo Xun of the Enforcement Hall, instructing him to bring the Law Enforcement Elder responsible for investigating this matter, along with all disciples involved, to the Longevity Hall for questioning.

A moment later, everyone had gathered.

Disciples from Green Cloud Peak and Ascending Lake who were involved in the matter had also been apprehended by the Law Enforcement Elder and brought to the hall. They knelt in a huddle in the center of the grand hall.

The former group, seemingly realizing the gravity of the situation, knelt trembling on the ground, their expressions a mixture of fright and anxiety. These seven disciples each bore bruised noses and swollen faces, their muscles and bones injured. They clearly carried severe internal injuries; some wounds were sustained while fighting back against the Class III River Demon, while others resulted from their fierce battle with the Ascending Lake disciples.

These faces were quite unfamiliar to Shen Mo. After all, once he had achieved the Golden Core Realm, he had relinquished his position as Peak Master of Green Cloud Peak. So many years had passed. The disciples of Green Cloud Peak whom he had personally recruited and promoted had either died, successfully opened their Spirit Sea to become Blue Robe Elders, or, failing to advance, had become Deacons of the Outer and Inner Doors.

Moreover, the cultivation resources at the Red Flame Sect were now far more abundant than during the era of the Riverside Sect. The nine peaks and one lake could now mobilize more resources to cultivate Elite Disciples. Consequently, the criteria for recruiting disciples had also been significantly relaxed; they no longer recruited merely one or two individuals a year, as had been the strict practice before.

This had led to a rapid increase in the number of elites who entered the nine peaks and one lake for cultivation at the Red Flame Sect. Currently, they constituted about ten percent of the inner disciples, numbering close to three thousand in total. This meant roughly three hundred were allocated to each peak and lake.

The other ninety percent of inner disciples were still largely left to their own devices, lacking the superior benefits and treatment afforded to Elite Disciples. However, even for ordinary inner disciples, the overall cultivation environment had improved considerably, offering them more opportunities to distinguish themselves and succeed.

These particular Green Cloud Peak disciples were evidently new recruits, so it was quite normal for Shen Mo not to recognize them.

His gaze swept over the disciples from Ascending Lake, and the scene before him seemed to transform.

Although these ten or so disciples were elites among the Marine Race, they were only at the Class II Qi Gathering Realm, still two major cultivation Realms away from being able to actively cultivate a human form at Class IV. Nor had they, unlike the Class III Marine Race members, earned the privilege to purchase an original Shape Transforming Pill.

Therefore, apart from the ability to speak human language, they still retained the bizarre appearances of marine demonic beasts.

There were strange fish of various shapes, sea turtles carrying parasitic shells and corals on their backs, Flood Dragons covered in terrifying scales bearing a five or six-tenths resemblance to True Dragons, slender, vividly colored Snake Eels, Octopuses with multiple tentacles, and shrimp and crab soldiers clad in hard carapaces, wielding sharp claws.

Their appearances were unsightly enough as it was. The sea turtle had a corner of its shell shattered, the fish demon had a large patch of scales scraped off, the shrimp and crab soldiers had severed chelae, and the octopus had several tentacles cut off at the root. They too had suffered grievous injuries while battling the Class III River Demon and the Green Cloud Peak disciples.

These Ascending Lake disciples were all enveloped in globules of transparent seawater. Facing Shen Mo, the Sect Master and a Divine Bridge Immortal Master, they were incapable of even performing a kowtow. They could only contort their demonic bodies into various bizarre and comical postures.

Due to their non-human forms, Ascending Lake disciples were generally unable to cultivate the Red Flame Sect’s magic and martial arts, or engage in tasks like forging, talisman making, or alchemy. Consequently, members of the Marine Race were almost never seen in the Hundred Arts Hall.

One exception was Ming Cang’s subordinate, the Treasure-Swallowing Monster Tieya. Due to his late-stage Class III cultivation, he had been awarded the status of a Red Robed Elder. Furthermore, due to possessing the [Swallowing Treasure] Skill, which allowed him to refine relatively crude magic treasures, he had been appointed to a position in the Forge Hall.

However, this Elder Tieya was currently also vexed by the challenge of cultivating a human form.

The Marine Race was not a monolithic entity but rather a collective term for the demonic beasts inhabiting the coastal waters of the Immortal Burial Sea. It encompassed innumerable species, and the difficulty of cultivating a human form could not be generalized, varying significantly from one to another.

Take the Clam Girl clan, for example. Aside from lacking bones and bearing a clamshell on their backs, they were otherwise identical to human women, making their transformation into human form the simplest.

Tieya, however, belonged to the Treasure-Eating Sea Cucumber clan. His bodily structure was vastly different from that of humans, and his physical form was truly immense.

Even though he was among the first group of Marine Race members to obtain an original Shape Transforming Pill, completely cultivating a human form was still an incredibly difficult endeavor for him, far from an achievement that could be realized in a short time.

The vast majority of Marine Race members, including the Elite Disciples of Ascending Lake, resided in the Ascending Sea Zone, located south of the Green Cloud Cave.

In their cultivation practices, they largely maintained the traditions from the era of the Demon Kings of the Immortal Burial Sea, forming a distinct and unique branch within the Red Flame Sect. Furthermore, aside from when they were dispatched on external missions, they generally had minimal interaction with the disciples of other branches.

Never mind the disciples of the nine Main Peaks; even someone of Shen Mo’s profound cultivation level and breadth of experience found it hard to truly regard them as disciples of his sect.

Fortunately, the development of the new elixir recipe at the Herb Hall was nearing completion.

Once fully perfected, the Red Flame Sect would be able to mass-produce this new version of the Shape Transforming Pill. This would enable all Marine Race members to achieve human form before reaching Class IV.

At that point, this race would truly integrate into the Red Flame Sect, becoming a distinct path akin to Sword Cultivators, Vitality Cultivators, Bloody Fiends, those who refine and control corpses, and those who set up altars to cast curses—they would constitute the Demon Cultivator Path, and the various issues previously mentioned would then see considerable improvement.

”Sect Master, this contains the detailed records compiled after the Enforcement Hall conducted a thorough investigation using the Heart Asking Talisman and the Soul Searching Spell. Please review it!” Hall Master Guo Xun of the Enforcement Hall presented a jade slip.

He had failed his first attempt to break through to the Golden Core Realm some time ago, but his Path Heart had not suffered a setback because of it; he still appeared vigorous and in high spirits.

Besides managing the daily affairs of the Enforcement Hall, Guo Xun was already preparing for his second attempt at Core Formation.

After all, the Enforcement Hall bore immense responsibilities. Given the Red Flame Sect’s current state, it was exceptionally difficult for someone with only peak Spirit Sea Realm strength to securely hold the position of Hall Master. His current power and prestige were insufficient to unequivocally mete out punishments, decree laws, and deter those with nefarious intentions.

Shen Mo reached for the jade slip, his sense probing within.

The jade slip meticulously detailed the findings of the Enforcement Hall’s investigation, including the differing statements provided by the Green Cloud Peak and Ascending Lake disciples regarding the incident, as well as the images and information extracted from them via the Heart Asking Talisman and Soul Searching Spell.

After reading the contents of the jade slip, Shen Mo handed it to Yuan Heming beside him. Then, gazing at the twenty-odd disciples kneeling below, he announced in a clear voice, ”I shall personally conduct a Soul Search on all of you. Relax your minds and offer no resistance.”

”Otherwise, at best, your souls will suffer damage; at worst, they will scatter and disintegrate!”

”Do you all understand?”

After the disciples from the peak and the lake responded with a ragged chorus of affirmations, Shen Mo’s vast and boundless Mana swept towards them in a peculiar fashion.