Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology
Chapter 86: The Heavenly Sect Leader, The Temple Emperor Seal!

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: The Heavenly Sect Leader, The Temple Emperor Seal!

Soon, this news spread throughout the entire temple.

In the blink of an eye, Taoist Taixuan’s mountain manor saw its doorstep trampled to the ground.

Only the faction led by Song Lin and a few members of Ziyuan remained unusually quiet.

It wasn’t that Song Lin lacked social awareness; having not chosen a side earlier, suddenly doing so now would neither gain him favor nor would it avoid offending Ziyuan.

The best course of action for now was to play dead.

The situation was far more complicated than it seemed.

The temple master’s act of passing down the title implied that they sustained injuries in the last great battle, severe enough to render them incapable of carrying out their responsibilities. Thus, the position was handed over to Taixuan.

However, Ziyuan’s cultivation was slightly superior to Taixuan’s, which added an element of uncertainty.

After Qi Refinement comes Divine Establishment; following Divine Establishment comes Core Formation.

Both Ziyuan and Taixuan were in the Divine Establishment realm. The only difference was that Ziyuan had reached the stage of Perfect Spirit Refining and was stepping into the breakthrough state.

The checkpoint between Divine Establishment and Core Formation is known as Foundation Establishment Breakthrough, requiring one to slay the Red Dragon, subdue the White Tiger, and unite the Three Treasures of Spirit, Qi, and Essence to form the Golden Core.

This realm has no distinction of early, mid, or late stages. If one’s comprehension level aligns, the breakthrough could happen immediately; if not, they might remain stuck there for life.

Ziyuan was precisely at this juncture.

If Song Lin’s speculation was correct, Ziyuan still had significant chances.

Everything stemmed from the temple master. If this was merely a fishing expedition by the master, then Ziyuan would be in grave danger.

After much contemplation, Song Lin decided to venture into the Story World.

He planned to accelerate his progress, extracting powerful Taoist Skills or Magic Artifacts within twenty days to ensure his own safety.

"Twenty days left—let’s see if I can gain anything worthwhile."

...

At the end of the Temple’s Thirteenth Year.

Huang Cao, who had pacified the northern region, led a million-strong army marching south; at the same time, the Heavenly Ancient Sect mobilized its forces, with rumors that the Heavenly Sect Leader, as the sole recognized marshal of the era, would personally take action.

Spring of Temple’s Fourteenth Year.

The Crouching Dragon orchestrated a debate among scholars, convincing Jiangdong and Yizhou to unite against Wei. At the same time, Song Lin met with the Five Mountain King.

On this day, fierce Yin Wind swept over the Yangtze River.

The common folk assumed it was abnormal weather, but in truth, a host of unseen ghosts and gods lingered in the sky.

Song Lin’s dharma image was like the world turned upside-down. He was accompanied by seven ferocious and horrifying demons along with a gallant and handsome three-eyed god.

Opposite them stood a colossal black mountain, towering a thousand zhang high, humanoid in shape, resembling a sculpture carved of stone. Behind it were renowned entities like the Guangzhou Immortal Child and the Thunder King.

That mountain itself was the dharma image of the Five Mountain King, known also as the Sishan Emperor—a legendary figure capable of triggering earthquakes and destroying all things.

"Compassion, oh Donghua Taoist. Today, we two must stand as one, united to repel external enemies," the massive mountain rumbled in a deep voice.

Along the southern bank of the Yangtze River, a garrison stood firm—50,000 from Yizhou and 100,000 from Jiangdong’s Yangzhou.

Their combined forces were lackluster, and they simultaneously faced the daunting threat of the Heavenly Sect Leader, a monumental challenge.

"Naturally," Song Lin responded with a nod.

Over the years, he had cultivated an army of 300,000 Rampant Soldiers, 20,000 Water Snake Troops, and 5,000 of Erlang’s infantry.

The sect’s forces didn’t particularly intimidate him. What worried him was how to defend against the Heavenly Sect Leader personally.

"Kill!!"

Suddenly, an endless army emerged on the opposite bank of the Yangtze River, crossing its waters.

Leading the charge in the sky were hordes of Flying Heads.

Heads resembling Yakshas, vicious in visage, spewing flames and poisonous mist. Beneath their severed necks dangled entrails.

These were the Flying Head Barbarians, followers of the Heavenly Sect, capable of inflicting harm from miles away, ferocious and ruthless.

Behind them was a group of bare-chested men with eerie runes drawn across their bodies in red cinnabar, weapons piercing their faces, who occasionally struck themselves with iron whips.

These were the Blood-Diviners, capable of invoking Divine Demons into their bodies. In life, they wielded unbreakable Vajra physiques and invulnerability to myriad spells; even in death, they could transform into fierce ghosts to cause harm.

Besides Blood-Diviners, there were Snake-Diviners, Living-Man Diviners, and others whose mere appearance exuded grim and brutal dominance.

"Attack!"

With Song Lin’s battle cry, tens of thousands of Rampant Soldiers rushed forward. On the Sishan Emperor’s side, ghostly goblin armies surged into battle.

The forces collided; Erlang God, with the Seven Saints, charged back and forth seven times, piercing enemy lines. Meanwhile, a colossal shadow enveloped everyone.

Looking up, it turned out to be the dharma image of the Heavenly Sect Leader.

The leader appeared as a black-robed middle-aged man, long eyebrows draping to his cheeks, cloaked in dark eye shadow that radiated an eerie chill.

"Die!"

A ten-zhang-long Blood Blade swung down toward Song Lin.

Clang!

The Blood Blade struck a horsetail whisk, which instantly repelled it.

This was Wus Youxu’s whisk.

Immediately afterward, a Six Yang Fire Sword and several streams of golden light targeted the key vulnerabilities of the Heavenly Sect Leader.

Bang!

The leader waved his sleeve, deflecting the spells.

Having completed this maneuver, Song Lin refrained from direct retaliation and instead distanced himself while using the Eight Formation Map to command the Rampant Soldiers to encircle and besiege the Heavenly Sect Leader.

In this world, his strength rested in his Rampant Soldiers.

Away from them, his combat strength was roughly on par with Erlang God.

The Sishan Emperor’s mountain incarnation pressed forward, forcing the Heavenly Sect Leader to evade.

The three deities exchanged blows relentlessly.

Rampant Soldiers, like ants, swarmed the leader’s dharma body, hacking with blades, biting with teeth, unleashing dogs to gnaw and eagles to peck.

This wrought constant annoyance for the leader, who also had to fend off golden light attacks, the Taiyin Soul-falling Barrier, and the Sishan Emperor’s spells.

But the Heavenly Sect Leader’s battle prowess caught the two off guard. The light emanating from his blade, even the faintest contact, would sully dharma bodies, strip them of all mana, while his potent curses would slaughter vast numbers with one invocation.

Even with Song Lin’s army of 300,000 Rampant Soldiers, they couldn’t inflict any substantial harm upon this deity.

"Victory!!"

At this moment, the Yangtze River erupted in flames; the warships of King Wei were engulfed.

The fire spread swiftly, causing the million-strong army to face defeat instantly.

"Damn it!" Murderous intent flickered in the eyes of the Heavenly Sect Leader. It was those two who had hindered him and sealed his fate.

Confronted with a defeated army and entangled sect members, the Heavenly Sect Leader cast a piercing glance toward Song Lin and the Sishan Emperor before retreating with his forces.

"Victory!!"

"We’ve won!!"

The crowd erupted in jubilant cheers.

Huang Cao’s injured army marked the beginning of a tripartite division of the realm.

Song Lin and the Sishan Emperor remained silent, knowing well that inevitable future confrontations awaited their factions.

The marshal rank could only belong to two—north and south. To resist the sect’s resurgence, they both needed breakthroughs, or else risk total collapse.

But now was not the time for internal struggle.

"Even with 300,000 troops, we couldn’t defeat one Heavenly Sect Leader. Our firepower is clearly lacking," Song Lin lamented.

Would he still need to worry with an army of 3 million—or even 30 million?

The end of the Temple’s Fourteenth Year.

The world was divided in three. Chen Houzhu abdicated to Huang Cao, who crowned himself emperor and declared the kingdom of Wei. Xiang Mou established his reign in Jianye, naming his domain Chu. Chen Yixin upheld the Chen Dynasty, asserting dominion over Shu lands.

Each ruler designated a National Guardian God, stabilizing karmic ties across the world to 50%.

The Donghua Great God became Chen Country’s national deity; at the moment of consecration, the Imperial Jade Seal in Song Lin’s hand changed profoundly. He replaced the Ancestor Master Card with the seal as a sacrificial offering, erecting altars for worship.

Temple’s Fifteenth Year.

The Rampant Soldiers now numbered 500,000, with Soldier and Horse Altars multiplying to the point of saturation.

Temple’s Sixteenth Year.

The Imperial Jade Seal underwent a transformation and could substitute the Soldier and Horse Altars to accommodate Rampant Soldiers. With continued offerings, their power grew ever stronger.

Song Lin rejoiced and immediately studied the seal, commanding his followers to expand the army swiftly.

Temple’s Seventeenth Year.

The Imperial Jade Seal housed one million Heroic Army soldiers and was officially renamed the Temple Emperor Seal. Song Lin realized the treasure seal evolved alongside his status.

Should he unify the realm and ascend as Emperor of the Underworld, the seal would evoke unimaginable changes.

"Only twelve days left until the succession ceremony; I must accelerate progress. Xi Fang, mobilize the entire nation—first, we’ll seize Chu Country!"

...

(Brothers, official release tomorrow—could I humbly ask for your support?)

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