Chapter 441: Prohibition

“What?”

Jian Yuanzi was extremely lucky, as he was positioned behind Wu Ming, protected by his rock-like back, and thus not affected by the ensuing chaos. At this moment, he looked at Wu Ming in utter disbelief.

He was well aware of the power of the sect’s most treasured artifact.

Yet now, even with his Master exerting his utmost strength, and possibly even with the assistance of other disciples, they still couldn’t make the opponent retreat even a single step?

Such a supernatural ability would probably require only the return of the Founding Patriarch to counter!

In fact, Jian Yuanzi’s assumption wasn’t far off, but he had overlooked two key points.

First, Wu Ming’s blessed land had already been cultivated to its utmost limit. In terms of the richness of its blessings, it could rival even the caves of a Celestial Immortal.

Secondly, he had command over the Main Temple, meaning he could summon the power of the blessed land from anywhere within the Great Zhou territory without the usual losses associated with long-distance manipulation. He could harness the full might of the blessed land, as if it were planted right before him.

With these two advantages, ordinary Earth Immortals were already no match for Wu Ming.

“Quickly, retreat!”

Tianxiang Daoist clearly recognized this point and without hesitation, began activating the formation on the Bosho Divine Vessel.

Since this vessel had carried the remnants of their Daoist sect through the Celestial Cave to the Great Zhou world, its strongest ability was naturally not for attack, but for traversing through the void!

Once fully activated, even a Celestial Immortal might not be able to catch up, which was Tianxiang Daoist’s greatest confidence!

As the Daoist technique was unleashed, it forcibly opened a spatial passage. The divine vessel, carrying the remaining disciples of the Four Symbols Sect, trembled violently and immediately vanished into the passage.

Four Symbols Daoist exhaled in relief and glanced toward where Wu Ming was.

But immediately, he saw a hand!

A colossal hand, entirely forged from pure light and shaking the heavens and the earth, recklessly plunged into the chaotic currents of the shattered void, reaching out to seize the divine vessel!

Pu pu!

Several sword beams flashed, along with giant cannons and enchantments from the divine vessel, striking the giant hand. They only caused colorful ripples, and after a slight tremor, the hand remained unharmed.

An oppressive aura, like a tangible mountain, immediately bore down on the hearts of the Four Symbols Sect disciples!

Looking at the ever-growing shadow of the hand blotting out the sky, Four Symbols Daoist had a sudden illusion that they were like tiny ants, and the Bosho Divine Vessel no more than a paper boat in a basin of water, utterly powerless before a child’s grasp!

Huala!

The giant hand stirred the winds and clouds, plunging into the spatial passage and forcibly pulling out the Bosho Divine Vessel, giving it a shake.

Huala!

Countless figures like ants fell down, landing in the mud in a pitiful state. The Bosho Divine Vessel shrank rapidly until it was palm-sized, landing in Wu Ming’s hand.

“Hmm? This treasure is actually quite good…”

He smiled slightly, and an incredibly powerful Yuan Shen force surged forth like a hurricane sweeping through.

Pa!

A crisp sound rang out, as if something within the Bosho Divine Vessel had shattered. Tianxiang Daoist, who had just risen, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood: “You… you erased the spiritual imprint left by this old Daoist?”

“So what if I did? This Bosho Divine Vessel will do nicely as compensation for you all…”

After fully taking control of the vessel, Wu Ming swept his spiritual awareness through it and his face showed a mixture of surprise and delight: “Hmm? So many rare flowers, fruits, materials, and scriptures… It seems this is the last of the Four Symbols Sect’s treasures!”

Clearly, when these survivors left their sect, they must have brought along some of their most precious resources.

And where else would be the best place to store such valuable goods, other than the Bosho Divine Vessel?

Wu Ming had no doubt that even if he turned around and left right now, the remaining disciples of the Four Symbols Sect would inevitably face hardship and even collapse due to resource depletion.

“Your skills are indeed superior! This old Daoist concedes defeat wholeheartedly!”

Tianxiang Zhenren’s face was as pale as paper. Suddenly stepping forward, he deeply bowed to Wu Ming: “This old Daoist concedes!”

“What do you think?”

Wu Ming did not answer but instead turned to look at Jian Yuanzi behind him: “How was my display of killing a monkey to scare the chickens? Was it to your liking?”

Jian Yuanzi’s forehead was drenched in cold sweat, at a loss for words.

He had long understood his Master’s intentions. Sending him to handle this matter was merely using him as a pawn—so that if Wu Ming had any unimaginable high-level experts or hidden strengths on her side, they would target him first. This would allow the sect to gather intelligence and formulate countermeasures accordingly.

But his Master certainly hadn’t expected that Wu Ming would act so irrationally, not even bothering with initial probing before coming straight to their doorstep!

Especially, with his opponent’s astonishing strength, his sect had become like fish on a chopping block, completely at the mercy of the enemy.

If he knew that Wu Ming had come to eradicate them because he had discovered the Four Symbols Sect’s origins, he would have been even more depressed.

At this moment, the life and death of the Four Symbols Sect rested entirely in Wu Ming’s hands.

The air seemed to freeze instantly. Many Daoists, some still young boys and girls, looked at Wu Ming’s towering, demon-god-like figure with tear-filled eyes, as if awaiting their final judgment.

“Hmm… It seems the Four Symbols Sect truly knows nothing about the Four Symbols Celestial Immortal incident!”

Wu Ming’s thoughts raced: “That makes sense… If they really had confirmed the culprit, the great cultivators of the entire Great Zhou would have already stormed their door…”

He had no doubt about the desire for transcendence among those Celestial Immortals and Ancient Gods.

“If that’s the case… keeping the Four Symbols Sect around as a cover might not be a bad idea…”

Clearly, if they were the real culprits, why would they leave behind the remnants of the Four Symbols Sect? Wu Ming, however, chose to do the opposite.

“Are these all the remaining disciples of the Four Symbols Sect?”

He looked at Tianxiang Daoist and suddenly asked.

“That’s correct…” Tianxiang Daoist’s lips curled into a bitter smile: “There’s myself, a barely considered Celestial Master, along with nine Realized Immortals and twenty-seven ordinary disciples…”

“Good. My condition remains the same as before. Consider the secret repository already surrendered. Next, each of you will be implanted with a Yuan Shen restriction. I will not only spare your lives but also place you under Wu Zhi’s command!”

Wu Ming stated his terms.

“What? Yuan Shen restriction?”

Tianxiang Daoist was startled.

This was at least a technique used by Earth Immortals, capable of capturing part of a cultivator’s Yuan Shen, leaving them in a state of neither living nor dying, and at the practitioner’s whim, could instantly kill the subject!

However, this technique required a cultivator to be at least an Earth Immortal to perform and had little effect on cultivators whose Yuan Shen had not yet formed. He had no idea that Wu Ming actually didn’t know such a malevolent technique. He had merely made up a name on the spot. The real method he intended to use to control them was the elimination technique of the Main Temple!

Clearly, as long as they were implanted with the elimination markers of the Main Temple, even if they fled to other worlds, they couldn’t escape. They would constantly be monitored by the Main Temple. This method of control far surpassed the Yuan Shen restriction.

Of course, Wu Ming had no intention of making these people into Revenants. He simply planned to apply the Main Temple’s control system directly onto them, giving them only obligations without any rights, making their situation even more pitiful than that of Revenants.

“I’ll give you ten heartbeats to consider. If you still refuse, then you may as well commit suicide!”

Wu Ming’s expression was indifferent as he issued his final ultimatum.

“There’s no need to consider further…”

Tianxiang Daoist clasped his hands in a bow: “This old Daoist is willing to pledge allegiance to Wu Zhi!”

With his lead, the other disciples exchanged glances and finally bowed down as well.

“Good! Very good!”

Wu Ming nodded with satisfaction. After subduing this force, he finally had someone to run errands for him, and Wu Zhi wouldn’t trouble him with trivial matters anymore.

However, he understood the principle of giving a carrot after a stick, and immediately said: “Since you all are sincerely pledging allegiance, the Governor will naturally grant you protection! Official positions will be bestowed upon you. As long as you don’t overstep your bounds, I can spare you some of this fortune!”

“Thank you, my Lord!”

Since they had already changed their stance, Tianxiang Daoist was very pragmatic and quickly adjusted his attitude.

Wu Ming laughed heartily and immediately had them step forward one by one. Secretly, he used the power of the Main Temple to imprint them with elimination markers.

During this process, there was a small incident.

One individual, clearly of the same generation as Tianxiang Daoist, took advantage of his superior escape technique. Taking Wu Ming by surprise, he flickered several times and appeared dozens of zhang away, seemingly attempting to flee to safety.

Unfortunately, before the next moment arrived, a streak of pure light suddenly descended, crushing him into a pulp, not even sparing his Yuan Shen.

With this bloody example, the remaining cultivators naturally became as silent as cicadas in winter and had no choice but to accept Wu Ming’s “restriction,” thus becoming Wu Zhi’s henchmen.

…

Wu Zhi was overjoyed to see Wu Ming return from a short trip accompanied by a group of cultivators from a major sect. She immediately established the Zhi Xuan Department, modeled after the imperial court’s Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, with a rank of Zheng Qi Pin (seventh-grade official), and appointed Tianxiang Daoist as its first director.

Originally, if he had genuinely pledged allegiance, a fifth-grade official position would have been unavoidable. Now, his rank had been drastically reduced, yet his life and death were still in someone else’s hands, leaving him with no choice but to bitterly smile and dare not complain at all.

After Wu Ming accomplished this major feat, he left all the remaining tasks to Wu Zhi and returned to the Wu Family Fortress, entering the Main Temple once more.

To his perception, the Main Temple’s essence was an inconceivable world composed of countless realms, precise and arcane like a beehive, exuding unfathomable power.

One of these realms was originally his own Main Temple space, now glowing with a yellowish light, largely overtaken by the Huang Ting blessed land.

Moreover, this glow was striving to expand outward, albeit at an excruciatingly slow pace. At this rate, even if no further bottlenecks were encountered, it might take thousands upon thousands of years to completely encompass the entire Main Temple, a task both daunting and distant.

“The Main Temple’s primal energy reserves have greatly increased. I can now channel this primal energy to nourish the blessed land and enhance its foundation…”

After inspecting the situation, Wu Ming’s eyes gleamed with sharp light.

Both the Celestial Caves and blessed lands were merely realms that needed to draw upon the world’s original energies. For the Huang Ting blessed land, its goal was naturally the Main Temple itself. With Wu Ming secretly facilitating this process, it could be simplified a hundredfold.