Chapter 154: Preparing for Battle

After the bead was sealed, Su Yun stayed in Qinghe City for an entire month.

During this month, he went nowhere, sitting in the courtyard every day drinking tea, watching Zhao Lanxin embroider, and listening to Zhou Ruoyun tell interesting stories about the city.

But he was always calculating something in his heart.

Three years, one thousand and ninety-five days.

He had to achieve a Breakthrough to the Spirit Transformation Peak Stage within this time, go to the Northern Wasteland to completely resolve the Divine Soul fragment of that Devil Head, and ensure that the foundations of Qinghe City and the Western Regions remained stable.

Time was tight, but he had no better solution.

Valley Master Su Yao returned from the Western Regions.

She handed over the affairs of the Tianxuan Sect to Zhao Lingxuan to manage, and focused on staying in Qinghe City to refine pills.

When the Master of Wanhua Valley sealed the bead, she used a Biling Grass; it was an extremely rare Spirit Medicine, and Wanhua Valley only had one.

Valley Master Su Yao said the Seal of the Biling Grass could only last for three years; after three years, a more secure sealing method must be found, otherwise the Divine Soul fragment inside the bead would erupt again.

Su Yun asked if there was any way to completely destroy that Divine Soul fragment.

Valley Master Su Yao thought for a moment and suggested two methods.

The first was to find the main body of that Devil Head and return the Divine Soul fragment.

But that Devil Head had been suppressed by True Monarch Bingpo for tens of thousands of years, and the main body had long since been destroyed, so this method was unfeasible.

The second was to use the Lightning Tribulation of the Spirit Transformation Peak Stage to directly shatter the fragment.

The Divine Soul fragment feared heavenly lightning most of all; if Su Yun could break through to the Spirit Transformation Peak Stage within three years, the heavenly lightning during the tribulation would be enough to completely destroy the fragment.

Su Yun was silent for a moment, then asked Valley Master Su Yao how strong the Lightning Tribulation of the Spirit Transformation Peak Stage was.

Valley Master Su Yao said it was ten times stronger than the Lightning Tribulation of the Late Huashen Stage, and no one in the entire Central Region could withstand it.

Su Yun smiled and said he could.

Valley Master Su Yao looked at him without speaking.

She had followed Su Yun for so long and knew that this man never spoke empty words.

If he said he could, then he could.

The next day, Su Yun began his seclusion.

He locked himself in the study and saw no one.

Zhao Lanxin placed food at the door every day and came to collect it later; the food in the bowls was always eaten clean.

Zhou Ruoyun would sometimes stand at the door for a while, listening for movement inside, but could hear nothing.

Liu Wugou occasionally came to ask Valley Master Su Yao when the Master would emerge from seclusion, and Valley Master Su Yao said she did not know.

Elder Han Yue never came once; she only stood under the bamboo in the small courtyard every day, glancing toward the direction of the main hall.

Half a month later, Su Yun came out of the study.

He had not broken through, but he had figured one thing out.

Relying solely on seclusion cultivation, it was impossible to break through to the Spirit Transformation Peak Stage within three years.

He needed more feedback of spiritual power, more Enslavement, and more female cultivators to provide him with a source of cultivation.

He called Valley Master Su Yao and asked her to list which other Sects in the Western Regions were dominated by female cultivators.

Valley Master Su Yao thought for a moment and said that besides Wanhua Valley and the Tianxuan Sect, there were three other small Sects in the Western Regions dominated by female cultivators.

One was the Biyun Sect, whose Sect Master was in the Initial Stage of Soul Transformation, with over three hundred female Disciples.

One was the Qinyin Pavilion, whose Pavilion Master was in the Peak Nascent Soul Stage, with over two hundred female Disciples.

And one was the Luoxia Sect, whose Sect Leader was in the Mid Spirit Severing Stage, with over five hundred female Disciples.

These three Sects were not attached to the Tianxuan Sect, nor were they attached to Wanhua Valley or the Sword Sect; they belonged to neutral forces.

Su Yun noted down these names.

He did not rush to act, but instead asked Valley Master Su Yao to first inquire about the details of these three Sects.

Valley Master Su Yao went for half a month and brought back a detailed report.

The Sect Master of the Biyun Sect was called Fairy Biluo, in the Initial Stage of Soul Transformation, who cultivated wood-element Cultivation Techniques and was skilled in Alchemy.

She had met Valley Master Su Yao a few times, and their relationship was neither good nor bad.

The Pavilion Master of the Qinyin Pavilion was called Fairy Qinyin, in the Peak Nascent Soul Stage, who cultivated sound-wave techniques and was skilled in killing with sound.

She had a reclusive personality and did not like to interact with people.

The Sect Leader of the Luoxia Sect was called Fairy Luoxia, in the Mid Spirit Severing Stage, who cultivated fire-element Cultivation Techniques, had a fiery temper, and hated men the most.

Valley Master Su Yao said she had once declared that any man who stepped into the territory of the Luoxia Sect would be killed without mercy.

Su Yun listened and smiled.

What he feared least was a woman who hated men.

Hating men did not mean hating him.

He asked Valley Master Su Yao to prepare a generous gift: three Soul Transformation Stage Pills, ten bottles of High Grade healing pills, and a batch of Spiritual Plants and Magical Artifacts.

The next day, he took Valley Master Su Yao and Fairy Jianyun to the Biyun Sect.

The Biyun Sect was built in a lush green valley, and the valley was planted with spiritual bamboo; when the wind blew, the bamboo leaves rustled.

Sect Master Fairy Biluo met Su Yun in a small building deep in the bamboo forest.

She looked to be in her early thirties, wearing a jade-green long dress, with a delicate face and a gentle temperament.

Su Yun placed the gift on the table and got straight to the point.

He wanted the female Disciples of the Biyun Sect.

Fairy Biluo's expression changed, and just as she was about to speak, Su Yun raised his hand, releasing the pressure of the Late Huashen Stage.

Fairy Biluo's expression changed from anger to shock, and from shock to fear.

She looked at Su Yun, her lips trembling.

Su Yun said: "I will not kill you. The Biyun Sect will still be yours. But from today on, the Disciples of the Biyun Sect are mine."

Fairy Biluo was silent for a long time, and finally lowered her head.

Su Yun raised his hand and tapped her between the eyebrows with one finger.

A golden light flashed, Fairy Biluo's body stiffened, and the fear in her eyes gradually turned into obedience.

Enslavement successful. New slave Fairy Biluo obtained, loyalty fifty-one. Congratulations to the host for obtaining partial spiritual power feedback from Enslavement, cultivation stabilized.

Fairy Biluo stood up, lowered her head, and called him Master.

Su Yun asked her to gather all the female Disciples of the Biyun Sect.

More than three hundred female Disciples stood on the open ground in front of the bamboo forest, and Su Yun tapped them one by one.

Golden lights flashed one after another, and more than three hundred people were all subdued.

Inside his Dantian, the feedback of spiritual power poured in like a trickling stream, and his cultivation advanced by a small margin.

The next day, Su Yun went to the Qinyin Pavilion.

The Qinyin Pavilion was built on an isolated Peak, surrounded by clouds and mist, with birds singing and flowers fragrant.

Pavilion Master Fairy Qinyin met Su Yun in a stone hall on the Peak.

She looked to be in her early thirties, wearing a white long dress, with a cold and detached face, and did not like to talk.

Su Yun placed the gift on the table and stated his purpose.

Fairy Qinyin was silent for a long time, then opened her mouth to ask: "By following you, can I break through to the Soul Transformation Stage?"

Su Yun said yes.

Fairy Qinyin nodded.

Su Yun raised his hand and tapped her between the eyebrows with one finger.

Enslavement successful. New slave Fairy Qinyin obtained, loyalty fifty-eight. Congratulations to the host for obtaining partial spiritual power feedback from Enslavement, cultivation improved slightly.

More than two hundred female Disciples, tapped one by one.

The feedback of spiritual power poured in again.

The third day, Su Yun went to the Luoxia Sect.

The Luoxia Sect was built in a fiery red maple forest, and Sect Leader Fairy Luoxia met Su Yun in a large hall deep in the maple forest.

She looked to be in her early thirties, wearing a fiery red long dress, with a gorgeous face, and her temper was indeed fiery.

Seeing Su Yun enter, she drew her sword directly, saying that any man who dared to step into her territory was looking for death.

Su Yun raised his hand, slapped her sword away with one palm, and slapped her shoulder with another.

Fairy Luoxia flew backward, crashed into the wall of the hall, and the wall collapsed.

She climbed out of the rubble, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, and the look in her eyes as she watched Su Yun changed from anger to fear.

Su Yun walked over and tapped his finger between her eyebrows.

Enslavement successful. New slave Fairy Luoxia obtained, loyalty forty-eight. Congratulations to the host for obtaining partial spiritual power feedback from Enslavement, cultivation improved significantly.

More than five hundred female Disciples, tapped for a whole day.

The feedback of spiritual power poured in like a tide, and Su Yun's cultivation advanced by a large margin from the Late Huashen Stage, getting closer and closer to the Peak.

When he returned to Qinghe City, it was already dark.

Zhao Lanxin was waiting for him at the city gate; seeing him return, she trotted over and threw herself into his arms.

Su Yun held her and gently patted her back.

Zhou Ruoyun also ran over, pulling his sleeve.

Liu Wugou stood in the crowd, smiling.

Elder Han Yue stood at the very back, her expression calm.

Su Yun walked into the city and sat down in the courtyard.

Inside his Dantian, the feedback of spiritual power from the newly enslaved were still pouring in continuously.

He closed his eyes, feeling the climb of his cultivation.

Over one thousand new slaves, over one thousand streams of feedback, converged into a great river, impacting the barrier of the Spirit Transformation Peak Stage.

That barrier was very thick, but it was already loosening.

He opened his eyes and looked toward the north.

In the direction of the Northern Wasteland, the sky was gray.

That thing was still waiting for him.

But he was not in a hurry.

He still had time, and he still had people.