Ah Bao saw that the huge valley in front of him was densely packed with people, numbering in the tens of millions.

Without exception, all of these people were residents of Pingfeng City.

They knelt on the ground in a circular formation resembling the Eight Trigrams, their faces filled with piety.

At the center of the Bagua formation is a huge altar.

Four circular ritual implements, each one zhang in diameter, were placed on the four sides of the altar.

An old Taoist priest, dressed in a red robe and with a compassionate expression, sat cross-legged in the center of the altar, receiving the kneeling worship of the people of Pingfeng City.

To Abao's horror, one by one, the people got up and jumped into the ritual implement.

Then it turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared into the body of the red-robed old Taoist.

Ah Bao covered his mouth to stop himself from shouting out of fear and anger.

Knowing he was no match for the old Taoist priest in red, he quietly retreated.

...

In the lobby of an inn in Pingfeng City, Ling Yun and Yan Ruyu sat facing each other.

Yan Ruyu lowered her head somewhat awkwardly, not daring to meet Ling Yun's gaze.

Ling Yun smiled and said:

"Miss Yan, if you follow my method to sense the phoenix power within your body and guide it into your sea of ​​consciousness, you will be able to obtain the phoenix clan's innate divine power as soon as possible."

Before that, you must follow my breathing technique to temper your body!

The breathing method I will teach you is the Great Thunder Sound Breathing Method of Buddhism and Taoism. During your breathing, you will feel as if you are hearing thunder. This breathing method can strengthen your body.

The Phoenix Clan are fire-elemental lords; without a powerful physical body, one cannot bear and unleash the Phoenix's innate divine abilities!

Yan Ruyu nodded slightly, finally understanding why her father insisted that she follow Ling Yun.

As expected, listening to Ling Yun's words was better than ten years of hard training. Yan Ruyu felt that the Great Thunder Sound Breathing Technique alone was priceless.

"Thank you... bro~"

Hearing Yan Ruyu call him "brother," Ling Yun felt... how could it sound so nice? He really wanted to hear it again.

Yan Ruyu blushed and asked softly:

"Um...brother, can I become your apprentice?"

Ling Yun joked:

"Becoming my apprentice... well, that'll cost extra... haha..."

Yan Ruyu was stunned, never expecting Ling Yun to have such a humorous side.

"Okay, as long as they don't want my people, I'll give all the money to Master~"

Ling Yun waved his hand and laughed:

"Just kidding. It's not that easy to become my disciple. We'll talk about it when you've mastered the Phoenix Clan's innate divine power!"

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached from afar, followed by a loud thud!

Abao pulled the reins and fell off the horse. He scrambled to his feet and rushed into the inn, anxiously saying:

"Brother, something terrible has happened! The people of Pingfeng City... they... they're lining up to offer sacrifices!"

"Hmm?" Ling Yun frowned slightly and flicked his finger to help A Bao calm down.

"Tell me slowly!"

Ah Bao told Ling Yun everything he had seen.

"To break the mirror through sacrifice, how vicious!"

A cold glint flashed in Ling Yun's eyes.

Ah Bao said urgently:

"Brother, let's go save the people of Pingfeng City! There are tens of millions of them!"

Ling Yun nodded, then looked at A Bao and teased him:

"Ah Bao, you would definitely be a good emperor!"

As he spoke, Ling Yun took a step forward, and in an instant, he brought A Bao and Yan Ruyu to the great valley.

"Um?!"

Upon seeing the three people who suddenly appeared, the old Taoist priest in red robes showed a hint of surprise on his face, but he was not alarmed.

The people of Pingfeng City acted as if they hadn't seen Ling Yun and his companions, and continued to line up to jump onto the altar.

The old Taoist priest in red robes glanced at Yan Ruyu and A Bao, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Hmm, not bad! A genius who fused with the Phoenix Lord's beast soul, a young man with dragon aura, haha... If these two were sacrificed, they would be worth a million commoners."

Finally, he turned his gaze to Ling Yun, and immediately frowned. Apart from seeing that Ling Yun was just a weakling at the third level of Martial Soul, he couldn't see anything else.

Seeing the people still offering sacrifices, Abao anxiously pointed at the old Taoist priest in red robes and scolded him:

"Stop! They are all living beings! Sacrificing them to satisfy your desire for immortality, doesn't your conscience hurt? Do you have any humanity left?"

Faced with A Bao's accusations, the old Taoist priest in red robes scoffed and mocked:

"Young man, you are too young. What is human life compared to the path to immortality!"

After a pause, the old Taoist priest in red robes began to lecture:

"To embark on the path to immortality, one must go through the stages of martial artist, cultivator, cultivator, Taoist, and immortal."

The so-called martial artist is one who refines his bones, soul, and spirit; therefore, the realm of a martial artist is defined by his martial bones, martial soul, and martial spirit.

The vast majority of people are trapped in the Martial Soul Realm for their entire lives.

Breaking through to the Martial Soul Realm means mastering the Beast Soul Divine Power and learning the cultivation methods of the Demon Race, which is the two realms of Sealing Mortal and Sealing Human, the realms of cultivators.

"Only by breaking through the Sealed Human Realm and becoming a cultivator can one truly begin the path to immortality..."

Abao interrupted the old man directly, angrily saying:

"I don't care about any path to immortality, just stop the sacrifice right now!"

The old man in the red robe waved his hand and said with a mocking expression:

"The lives of mortals are as insignificant as ants. Fortune-telling? To be able to sacrifice themselves for me and become stepping stones on my path to immortality is an honor for these mortals! Heh..."

"Shameless! To speak of human life as something so justifiable, even if you become an immortal, you'll be a demonic immortal!"

Abao was so angry that his face turned red and his whole body trembled.

The old Taoist priest in red robes seemed to enjoy seeing others angry yet helpless. He smiled faintly and said:

"I was just one step away from becoming a cultivator, and you're giving up because of your so-called good? How laughable!"

He paused, then pointed at the people of Pingfeng City and said mockingly:

“I gave them immense strength back then so that they could offer themselves as sacrifices today.”

Heh... Ask them if I forced them, or if they did it voluntarily!

"Kid, get lost! We're willing to sacrifice ourselves for the old immortal!"

"That's right! The old immortal promised us that he would take our souls to the Boundless World, where there is no pain and we can enjoy immortality. If you continue to speak disrespectfully to the old immortal, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

"Get out! The affairs of Pingfeng City are none of your business, you outsider!"

"..."

The people of Pingfeng pointed at Abao and shouted angrily, cursing him for meddling in other people's business.

Many people gathered around, wanting to beat up Abao.

Seeing this, A Bao's face was full of disbelief. He did not see any signs that the people of Pingfeng City had been controlled; they were all willing to sacrifice themselves.

"Why would they willingly sacrifice themselves? Wouldn't it be better to be alive?"

Ah Bao muttered to himself.

Soon, his gaze turned firmly to the people of Pingfeng City.

"Don't be misled by evil ways. He's using you. Think of your parents, your children..."

As A Bao was speaking, the tyrannical people of Pingfeng City immediately rushed over, wanting to kill A Bao.

Ling Yun waved his hand, scattering the crowd. He looked at A Bao and asked:

"They don't appreciate your kindness, so why are you still thinking about saving them? Not all kindness will be met with kindness."

Ah Bao remained silent, his face showing extreme pain. He was torn between saving him or not.