Chapter 232

Chapter 232: Pissing on the Grave!

After returning to the Buddhist Demon Sect, Ye Tianming took out the Great Dao Furnace. It was only the size of a palm, but he knew this was certainly not its true form. He opened the lid, and at the very bottom of the furnace was a small red talisman, above which floated a tiny flame.

His gaze settled on that small flame. It was blood-red in color, as if formed from condensed fresh blood — deeply unsettling.

In the center of the talisman beneath the flame was a tiny black dot, like a drop of ink.

He stared at that black dot for a long time.

That black dot was the suppressed fierce beast, and right now it was completely still — clearly, it had been dealt with by that young woman called Erya earlier.

After studying it for a while without figuring anything out, he put it away, planning to ask Old Yang about it later. Old Yang was well-traveled and knowledgeable, and might know something.

He then took out the pill that Xiaobai had given him earlier. The moment it came out, the spiritual energy throughout the entire hall underwent a tremendous, earth-shattering shift.

Looking at the pill, Ye Tianming’s expression grew extremely grave, because he realized that his physical body had actually begun to transform again.

He suddenly recalled something — that Xiaobai had earlier produced a handful of spirit herbs.

It was obvious that those were absolutely, without a doubt, no ordinary spirit herbs.

Ye Tianming smiled bitterly. He had to admit, he really was far too poor. And that little one called Xiaobai was undoubtedly wealthy beyond imagination.

He pulled his thoughts back and looked at the pill in his hand. He was hesitating over whether to take it, because he couldn’t quite get a read on its medicinal properties.

Just smelling it was enough to trigger a physical transformation — who knew what would happen if he actually swallowed it?

What if it caused his body to explode and he died?

He had to admit, he was genuinely worried.

After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately decided not to take it for now, and to wait until Old Yang returned to ask him about it.

He carefully put the pill away, then took out the supreme ancestral artifact that Xianbao Pavilion had given him.

It was a shield — very small, almost unbelievably so, only the size of a thumb. The left side was a deep, abyssal black, like the darkest and most boundless darkness in the universe, as if it could devour everything. The right side was a milky white, as if it could cleanse all things in the world.

The entire surface of the shield was covered in densely packed mysterious runes that flickered in and out of visibility, deeply unsettling.

When Xianbao Pavilion delivered it, they naturally included an introduction:

The Dao Shield!

This divine artifact did not belong to the local branch of Xianbao Pavilion — it had been sent from the main headquarters. The reason such a divine artifact was sent here was naturally because Yang Jia had participated in this martial arts tournament.

In other words, this divine artifact was not only meant to showcase Xianbao Pavilion’s strength, but also to build Yang Jia’s prestige — and it was intended as a gift for Yang Jia.

After all, as the young lord of Guanxuan Domain, the Xianbao Pavilion headquarters naturally had to make a gesture.

But no one had expected Yang Jia to lose to Ye Tianming. And originally, Xianbao Pavilion hadn’t really wanted to give this divine artifact to Ye Tianming either — it was far too precious. But then a mysterious figure arrived at Xianbao Pavilion, and after she spoke, both Xianbao Pavilion and Guanxuan Domain not only decisively issued a public statement conceding defeat and acknowledging Ye Tianming as the number one in the Universal Tournament, but also immediately honored all the prizes.

Ye Tianming carefully read through the introduction to the Dao Shield — it ran for several hundred pages. In addition, there were detailed instructions on how to use it. Most importantly, its spirit had already been tamed by Xianbao Pavilion, so he could subdue it directly.

The Dao Shield!

It had two functions. The first was to absorb damage — the shield could devour almost any form of energy in the world, greatly reducing the opponent’s power. According to the description, it could directly absorb 50% of the opponent’s strength.

The second function was that once deployed, it could immediately sever the connection between heaven and earth, forming an absolutely indestructible defensive space.

In short, this was an ultimate defensive divine artifact.

Ye Tianming merged with it directly, and the moment the fusion was complete, a shield appeared deep within his sea of consciousness.

The Dao Shield!

With a single thought from Ye Tianming, the space-time region around him instantly began to contract layer by layer — in just an instant it contracted hundreds of millions of times, then formed an absolute, fear-inspiring, invincible domain.

Sensing the terrifying defensive domain surrounding him, Ye Tianming’s expression grew grave. He suddenly drew his sword and slashed.

Shhk!

The sword light carved a mark on the defensive domain — a shallow one at that. And in an instant, the mark restored itself completely, as if it had never existed.

Outrageous!

Seeing this, Ye Tianming immediately smiled bitterly.

He realized he had somewhat underestimated the boost provided by a divine artifact. The terrifying power of this artifact far surpassed the Dao Establishment realm. It was safe to say that not just Dao Establishment cultivators — even a Patriarch realm powerhouse might not necessarily be able to break through this “Absolute Domain.”

Ye Tianming familiarized himself with it further. He could now form the “Absolute Domain” around himself with a single thought.

It was safe to say that the Dao Shield and he were now perfectly fused.

In the days that followed, his life began to take on a regular rhythm. In the mornings he handled Buddhist Demon Sect affairs together with Jiang Zuo, and at noon and in the evenings he read and cultivated.

Consolidation!

Although he had already merged with the Dao, he had only just taken the first steps. He could feel that there was still room to go further.

Because he had placed first in the martial arts tournament, the Buddhist Demon Sect’s reputation had soared along with him. More and more people wanted to join, and tens of thousands of people now poured in beneath the sect’s mountain every day, coming from all corners of the world.

On top of that, the various halls and academies that had previously left the Buddhist Demon Sect all came back one after another, hoping to rejoin.

There was no other way — Ye Tianming had taken 10 of the 20 ancestral veins that Xianbao Pavilion had given him and placed them within the Buddhist Demon Sect. The density of spiritual energy in the sect now ranked second only to Xianbao Pavilion and Guanxuan Domain, far surpassing the Ancient Zhe Sect and the Heavenly Court.

Cultivating in the Buddhist Demon Sect now wasn’t just twice as effective — it was more than ten times as effective.

This place had become a paradise for cultivators.

Inside the main hall.

Ye Tianming sat in the seat of honor, reviewing one document after another. Jiang Zuo stood not far in front of him and said respectfully, “Sect Master, Zou Ru, the heads of the three great halls, and the deans of the various academies have all arrived. They are waiting outside and hope to be granted an audience with the Sect Master.”

Ye Tianming set down his brush and looked up at Jiang Zuo. Jiang Zuo said respectfully, “They have expressed their willingness to submit to the Buddhist Demon Sect, but they require the establishment of an Elder Council, so that future sect decisions must be deliberated upon jointly by the Elder Council.”

Ye Tianming said nothing and simply continued writing.

Jiang Zuo stood quietly to the side and waited.

After a long while, Ye Tianming set down his brush and handed the document in his hand to Jiang Zuo. Jiang Zuo accepted it respectfully with both hands, opened it, and was slightly taken aback. He then looked at Ye Tianming. “Rebuild the three great halls and the seventy-two academies?”

Ye Tianming nodded. “Rotten and outdated things should be discarded. It’s not as if we lack the strength to do it.”

Jiang Zuo smiled. “Understood.”

With that, he bowed deeply and turned to leave.

At that moment, Cang Han walked in carrying food and dishes. She looked at Ye Tianming and smiled. “Teacher, it’s time to eat.”

Ye Tianming nodded. “Alright.”

With that, he set down his brush and walked over to the dining table. The table was full of dishes — a very generous spread.

Ye Tianming sniffed the air and said greedily, “Smells amazing.”

Cang Han smiled sweetly.

After sitting down, Ye Tianming said, “How has your cultivation been going lately?”

He had already passed his “Invincible Heavenly Fate Art” on to Cang Han.

Cang Han immediately perked up. “Teacher, I can already absorb spiritual energy now!”

Ye Tianming smiled. “Really?”

Cang Han nodded vigorously.

Ye Tianming smiled. “Keep it up.”

Cang Han said earnestly, “I will, Teacher.”

Ye Tianming was just about to say something when, at that moment, Zhi Dian suddenly walked in. Without a word, he went straight to a seat nearby, sat down, picked up a bowl, and started eating.

Whenever there was a meal, this guy would show up right on time. Eventually, Ye Tianming had Cang Han set an extra place at every meal. Of course, it didn’t really matter if she didn’t — because this guy would bring his own.

After eating for a while, Zhi Dian suddenly laughed. “Little sister Cang Han, your cooking has really improved again. How about this — stop following your teacher and come back to the Zhi Clan with me! I’ll put you in charge of feeding everyone in our clan. You’d be managing hundreds of thousands of people — now that’s impressive!”

Cang Han shook her head. “I only want to cook for my teacher.”

Zhi Dian shook his head and sighed. “You girl, you’re just throwing away an incredible opportunity like that.”

Cang Han didn’t care. As far as she was concerned, being by Ye Tianming’s side was better than anything else.

Zhi Dian suddenly looked at Ye Tianming. “I’m leaving.”

Ye Tianming glanced toward the sky outside the hall. “Those mysterious presences out there — are they your clanspeople?”

Zhi Dian nodded. “They’ve come for me.”

Ye Tianming smiled. “Thank you. I always thought you had called them here to fight me.”

Zhi Dian stared at Ye Tianming and said nothing.

Ye Tianming said nothing more either.

Whether they were enemies or friends was not up to him.

After a moment, Zhi Dian suddenly laughed. “My Zhi Clan will be heading east to compete for a place on the Great Dao Rankings. With your strength, you’ll inevitably go there one day too. If we meet then, it’ll be a fight to the death between us…”

Ye Tianming suddenly said, “How about we team up and take out the other competitors first?”

“Haha!”

Zhi Dian burst out laughing. “You’re something else, I really like you. Haha!”

With that, he suddenly produced a storage ring and placed it politely in front of Cang Han. “Little sister Cang Han, I’m not one to owe anyone a favor. I’ve eaten so many meals here — consider this your payment.”

Without waiting for Cang Han to respond, he stood up and left.

Ye Tianming suddenly said, “Brother Dian, take care.”

At the entrance of the hall, Zhi Dian didn’t look back — he simply waved his hand. “In three years, don’t go dying at Yang Jia’s hands…otherwise, I’ll come piss on your grave!”

With that, he was gone.