[Putting away the eight puppets, you performed a Divination and looked toward the Sky Rift Grand Canyon.]
[In the dozen or so years since you left the battlefield, the Sky Rift Grand Canyon had seen several more clashes between Nascent Soul True Monarchs, with even Prince Zhennan personally taking action.]
[In the end, however, he was stopped by the White Emperor of the Baidi Domain, who joined forces with a Mid Stage True Monarch from the Daluo Domain.]
['True Monarch Yinxiao... will return from the battlefield in three days...']
[Your eyes grew dark as killing intent surfaced in your heart.]
[Naturally, you had no intention of letting True Monarch Yinxiao go.]
[This corpse dao True Monarch had harbored malicious intentions toward you back during your Core Formation Stage.]
[He had caused trouble at your Nascent Soul Grand Ceremony and even planned to ambush you after you finished guarding the Demon Cave.]
[Although you hadn't suffered any losses in the end and had instead seized his Fourth Tier Corpse Puppet,]
[However, True Monarch Yinxiao was very cunning. After learning that you had become a Mid Stage True Monarch, he essentially hid within Corpse Raising Mountain's Tier 4 grand formation.]
[When the expeditionary cultivator army of the Dazhou Immortal Dynasty arrived at the Sky Rift Grand Canyon, True Monarch Yinxiao was on the battlefield. With multiple True Monarchs surrounding him at the time, it wasn't convenient for you to strike directly.]
[According to your Divination, when True Monarch Yinxiao returned to Corpse Raising Mountain from the battlefield in three days, he would be completely isolated.]
[A heavy karmic connection existed between you and True Monarch Yinxiao.]
[By casting a Divination, uncovering his exact movements over the next few days wasn't difficult.]
[Not to mention, you also had his Fourth Tier Corpse Puppet to use as a medium.]
[That Fourth Tier Corpse Puppet was practically True Monarch Yinxiao's natal corpse puppet, meaning there was a deep connection between them.]
['True Monarch Yinxiao...']
[You withdrew your gaze and continued your cultivation.]
[Three days later, a concealed streak of light quietly left the Sky Rift Grand Canyon, heading toward the Wujian Domain.]
["That True Monarch Qingyuan returned to Jiuli Valley over a decade ago. It shouldn't be dangerous for me to return to Corpse Raising Mountain now..."]
[True Monarch Yinxiao comforted himself as he flew.]
[Logically, he should have rotated out to rest at the same time as you. He could have returned to Corpse Raising Mountain to recuperate over a decade ago.]
[However, True Monarch Yinxiao was terrified... worried he would be ambushed by you on the way back.]
[Given the overwhelming strength you had displayed on the battlefield when killing True Monarch Huofeng,]
[True Monarch Yinxiao had absolutely no confidence in escaping you alive.]
[Therefore, he deliberately delayed his departure from the Sky Rift Grand Canyon for over ten years before choosing a route known only to himself to return to Corpse Raising Mountain in the Wujian Domain.]
["No one knows I left the war fortress, and only I know my route back. Even if True Monarch Qingyuan wants to kill me, he'll have no way to track me down."]
[True Monarch Yinxiao's heart settled slightly.]
[No matter how strong you were, you were still just a Mid Stage True Monarch. There were tens of millions of li between the Sky Rift Grand Canyon and the Wujian Domain, with countless routes to choose from.]
[The maximum range of a Mid Stage True Monarch's divine sense was only two to three thousand li in radius. It was impossible for you to monitor every single route from the canyon to the Wujian Domain.]
[Soon, True Monarch Yinxiao approached the Wujian Domain.]
[Only then did his anxious heart finally relax a little.]
["I took action multiple times on the battlefield this time, pinning down two Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the Immortal Dynasty. My contributions are substantial. Once I exchange them for resources and treasures, I might be able to cultivate another Fourth Tier Corpse Puppet!"]
[True Monarch Yinxiao felt invigorated. The invasion by the Dazhou Immortal Dynasty wasn't entirely without benefits.]
[At the very least, without this war, it would have taken him another two or three hundred years to gather the resources needed for his next Tier 4 puppet.]
[But now, after just a few decades, he had gathered enough.]
[Of course, True Monarch Yinxiao had also taken on significant risks. Even True Monarchs could fall on the battlefield.]
[From the start of the war until now, the Wujian Domain's faction had already lost several True Monarchs.]
[This faction didn't just refer to the Wujian Domain, but encompassed all the participating True Monarchs from the Wujian Domain, the Baidi Domain, the Daluo Domain, and several ordinary great domains.]
[Right at that moment—]
[True Monarch Yinxiao abruptly stopped in his flight, his expression filled with alarm and uncertainty.]
[He realized that, at some unknown point, the surrounding world had been enveloped in a hazy layer of mist.]
["A Tier 4 illusion formation!"]
[His expression turning grave, True Monarch Yinxiao was just about to carefully observe his surroundings when—]
[Three figures closed in on him without warning, abruptly erupting with the spiritual pressure of Nascent Soul True Monarchs.]
["Three True Monarchs? No, three Tier 4 puppets!"]
[True Monarch Yinxiao paled in shock. Whether it was three True Monarchs or three Tier 4 puppets, neither was something he could handle right now.]
[Rumble—]
[A terrifying aura pressed down with overwhelming force. Through some sort of battle formation, the power of these three Tier 4 puppets merged into one. With just a single strike, True Monarch Yinxiao was heavily injured and forced to spit blood, unable to even deploy his Fourth Tier Corpse Puppet in time.]
["This is bad—"]
[After merely the first clash, True Monarch Yinxiao realized that if he didn't pay a catastrophic price, he would likely die here.]
[A Tier 4 illusion formation covered the area, isolating the inside from the outside. If he still tried to escape with his physical body, he would only be blocked by the formation.]
[And then, he would be entangled by the three Tier 4 puppets.]
[Buzz—]
[After only a fraction of a second of thought, True Monarch Yinxiao detached his Nascent Soul spirit body, intending to abandon his flesh and flee in his spirit form.]
[A Nascent Soul spirit body was not a physical entity. When facing grand formations like illusion arrays, it possessed a natural ability to break through.]
[Of course, before his Nascent Soul spirit body abandoned its shell to flee, True Monarch Yinxiao took out that Fourth Tier Corpse Puppet and exerted a final bit of control over his physical body to stall the three incoming Tier 4 puppets as much as possible.]
[He needed to buy enough time for his Nascent Soul spirit body to escape.]
[Whoosh—]
[In the blink of an eye, his Nascent Soul spirit body crossed thousands of li, struggling but succeeding in breaking through the illusion formation's barrier.]
[Just as True Monarch Yinxiao thought he had finally escaped, he suddenly noticed a giant golden toad, dozens of zhang in size, sitting atop a distant mountain peak.]
[The golden toad's eyes were jade-green, resembling the azure sea and clear sky—mysterious and ethereal.]
['A Green-Eyed Golden Toad? Shouldn't it be in the Sky Rift Grand Canyon...?']
[No sooner had this thought surfaced in the mind of True Monarch Yinxiao's Nascent Soul spirit body than he saw the Green-Eyed Golden Toad slowly open its mouth toward him.]
[An invisible spatial distortion wrapped around him. Terror flooded the eyes of True Monarch Yinxiao's Nascent Soul spirit body right before he lost consciousness entirely.]
[The massive Green-Eyed Golden Toad rapidly shifted in size, and in the blink of an eye, your figure appeared in its place.]
["This Golden Toad Transformation is truly useful,"]
[you remarked with a smack of your lips.]
[Without the Golden Toad Transformation, if you wanted to quickly deal with True Monarch Yinxiao's fleeing Nascent Soul spirit body, you would have had to use the body cultivation Divine Ability Eruption once again. Relying on a divine sense that was half a step into the late-stage Great Cultivator level, you would have had to deal with his Nascent Soul spirit body just as you did with True Monarch Huofeng.]
[However, the body cultivation Divine Ability Eruption had a limitation; it could only be used once a month.]
[And even if you used Eruption, you still would have had to guard against any soul-defense treasures True Monarch Yinxiao might possess.]
[But the Golden Toad Transformation? It simply swallowed his Nascent Soul spirit body in one gulp, completely bypassing whatever soul-defense treasures he might have.]
[You raised your right hand, and True Monarch Yinxiao's Nascent Soul spirit body appeared on your palm.]
[In the form of the Green-Eyed Golden Toad, the swallowed Nascent Soul spirit body wasn't truly eaten, but rather sealed within the toad's belly.]
[Once you reverted to human form, you could naturally take it back out.]
[Looking at True Monarch Yinxiao's Nascent Soul spirit body, you added a few more layers of seals to it before storing it in your spatial ring.]
[Afterward, you returned to the Tier 4 illusion formation and found that True Monarch Yinxiao's physical body and his Fourth Tier Corpse Puppet had both been completely suppressed by the three Tier 4 puppets.]
["He had quite a few treasures..."]
[You quickly took inventory of True Monarch Yinxiao's spoils. Aside from the resources and treasures in his spatial ring, his physical body, his Fourth Tier Corpse Puppet, and even his Nascent Soul spirit body were all of immense value. After resolving everything, you began to obscure the heavenly secrets.]
[Simply put, this was to prevent True Monarch Qingtian of Wujian Hall from using his Divination arts to deduce exactly how True Monarch Yinxiao had died.]
[You were also a Tier 4 Divination grandmaster. Obscuring the heavenly secrets to stop True Monarch Qingtian from uncovering the truth wasn't difficult at all.]
[During a time of war, killing a Nascent Soul True Monarch from your own faction was ultimately not a good thing. Naturally, the fewer people who knew, the better.]
[Several months later.]
[News of True Monarch Yinxiao's death began to spread across the Wujian Domain and the surrounding great domains.]
[You had only sealed his Nascent Soul spirit body, so strictly speaking, True Monarch Yinxiao wasn't completely dead.]
[However, True Monarch Yinxiao had maintained regular contact with the newly ascended Nascent Soul True Monarch in Corpse Raising Mountain.]
[Now, after several consecutive months without hearing from him, the new True Monarch of Yanghu Mountain naturally realized something was wrong and directly sought help from Wujian Hall.]
[When the Wujian Domain launched an investigation, the matter couldn't be hidden from other Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the same level.]
["True Monarch Yinxiao carried a Fourth Tier Corpse Puppet with him. Who could have taken him down so easily?"]
["It must have been a Mid Stage True Monarch, and not an ordinary one at that. Otherwise, True Monarch Yinxiao wouldn't have been unable to even escape with his Nascent Soul spirit body."]
[The various Nascent Soul True Monarchs discussed the matter.]
[First of all, according to the new True Monarch of Corpse Raising Mountain, True Monarch Yinxiao had completely lost contact while on his way back to Corpse Raising Mountain.]
[The Wujian Hall Master furrowed his brows deeply. True Monarch Yinxiao's inexplicable disappearance was unquestionably a blow to the Wujian Domain faction's strength, so it naturally had to be thoroughly investigated.]
[But how were they supposed to investigate it?]
[They first had to look into the motive.]
[Since someone had made a move against True Monarch Yinxiao, there had to be some sort of grudge between them.]
["Could it be True Monarch Qingyuan...?"]
[A certain True Monarch of Wujian Hall couldn't help but suggest.]
[You had a grudge with True Monarch Yinxiao, and your strength was high enough to completely kill him.]
[Both your motive and strength fit perfectly.]
["It wasn't True Monarch Qingyuan!"]
[True Monarch Qingtian suddenly spoke up.]
["Qingtian, why do you say that?" The Wujian Hall Master looked at True Monarch Qingtian.]
[In truth, he had also been a bit suspicious of you.]
["A Divination grandmaster took action to obscure the heavenly secrets concerning True Monarch Yinxiao... Although True Monarch Qingyuan has the strength, he lacks the methods of a Divination grandmaster."]
[True Monarch Qingtian gently shook his head as he explained.]
[He had just tried to divine what happened to True Monarch Yinxiao, only to find the heavenly secrets murky and obscure, making it impossible to glean anything. It was obvious that a Divination grandmaster of the same caliber had interfered.]
[This caused True Monarch Qingtian to immediately rule you out.]
[True Monarch Qingtian knew part of your background: a Tier 4 alchemy grandmaster, a Tier 4 talisman grandmaster, a Tier 4 puppet grandmaster, and a Tier 4 array grandmaster.]
[He simply didn't believe that your Divination skills had also stepped into Tier 4.]
[As a Divination grandmaster himself, True Monarch Qingtian knew very well just how difficult it was for Divination techniques to reach Tier 4.]
["A Divination grandmaster?"]
[The Wujian Hall Master's expression turned solemn.]
[When viewed over a long timeline, the influence of a Divination grandmaster surpassed that of a Mid Stage True Monarch.]
["Could a Divination grandmaster from the Dazhou Immortal Dynasty be setting a trap?"]
[True Monarch Qianhuan speculated.]
[There was indeed a Tier 4 Divination grandmaster within the Immortal Dynasty's expeditionary cultivator army this time.]
[But for a grand Divination grandmaster, even if they wanted to kill an early-stage True Monarch, they would choose to target the very top-tier ones.]
[True Monarch Yinxiao? He only held a place among the early-stage True Monarchs by relying on his Fourth Tier Corpse Puppet. His actual strength wasn't even as high as True Monarch Huofeng's.]
[But right now, other than the Dazhou Immortal Dynasty, who else could it be?]
["The Dazhou Immortal Dynasty?"]
[True Monarch Qingtian fell silent.]
[He had secretly clashed with that Divination grandmaster from the Immortal Dynasty's expeditionary army many times, and he felt that this wasn't that person's style.]
["Then it was the Dazhou Immortal Dynasty!"]
[The Wujian Hall Master immediately made the final decision. Pinning the murder on the Dazhou Immortal Dynasty was beneficial, as it would unite the True Monarchs of the Wujian Domain faction against a common enemy.]
["The Dazhou Immortal Dynasty secretly attacked True Monarch Yinxiao..."]
[A few days later, when you received the verdict issued by Wujian Hall, a strange look appeared on your face.]
[Originally, you had been fully prepared to become a suspect. After all, your grudge with True Monarch Yinxiao was plain to see, as was your strength.]
[With something happening to True Monarch Yinxiao, you were bound to be the primary suspect.]
[But with your strength, as long as there was no concrete evidence, it could not affect you.]
[This was exactly why you had obscured the heavenly secrets to prevent True Monarch Qingtian from discovering the truth through Divination.]
[The hexagrams divined by a Divination grandmaster would have counted as evidence.]
["This is quite good."]
[You nodded to yourself, realizing that Wujian Hall had pinned the blame for True Monarch Yinxiao's murder on the Dazhou Immortal Dynasty out of a broader set of considerations.]
[For instance, to use this to unite their own True Monarchs, and so on.]
[However, this verdict was quite beneficial to you.]
[You had killed True Monarch Yinxiao, taken your revenge, and claimed the inheritance of a True Monarch.]
[And in the end, the Dazhou Immortal Dynasty had even taken the blame for you.]
[You reaped all the benefits while dumping all the downsides onto the Dazhou Immortal Dynasty.]
[Year 450. You were 472 years old.]
[After two to three hundred years of painstaking cultivation, your physical body had finally been cultivated to the peak of the Tier 4 early stage.]
[After cultivating in seclusion for several years, you began your breakthrough to Tier 4 Mid Stage body cultivation.]
[The body cultivation heavenly tribulation for the Tier 4 Mid Stage was incomparably terrifying, turning a radius of hundreds of li into a sea of lightning.]
[Bolt after bolt of heavenly lightning severely injured your physical body. In the end, you only survived by relying on several great body cultivation divine abilities and the protective magic power of a dharma cultivation True Monarch.]
[Half a month later, your physical body stepped into the Tier 4 Mid Stage.]
[You became a Tier 4 Mid Stage body cultivation True Monarch, and simultaneously became the one with the highest attainments in body cultivation within the Wujian Domain and the several surrounding great domains.]
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