Chapter 672: Dao Zu Master Huan Ye

"Shu Ziche, are you mad?" Without Yuan Qing needing to speak up, other Zong Sect leaders had already risen to their feet.

Yuan Qing let out a cold snort and prepared to stand.

To everyone's astonishment, the Divine Clan's Kaiyi Divine King did not react.

Not only did he not react, but Kaiyi Divine King coughed once, then said with obvious awkwardness: "May I ask if your clan's Master Huan Ye is present?"

Master Huan Ye?

Everyone froze—who was Master Huan Ye?

Seeing how cautiously Kaiyi Divine King spoke, this Master Huan Ye must be someone of great stature.

Yet none of them knew who Master Huan Ye was.

In an instant, the Zong Sect leaders in the council hall understood: Kaiyi Divine King's extreme caution, combined with the Divine Clan's initiative to seek peace.

The first matter of peace talks was not to negotiate territorial division—but to inquire about Master Huan Ye.

Clearly, this meant a powerful human cultivator named Master Huan Ye had once warned the Divine Clan.

Otherwise, why would the Divine Clan come seeking peace on their own?

Who else but a He Shen cultivator could make the Divine Clan act so cautiously and initiate peace talks?

Yuan Qing bowed toward the void, his tone grave: "Huan Zu has been in seclusion and has not said when he will emerge."

"Why does your friend ask about our human He Shen Ancestor?"

Upon hearing the words "He Shen Ancestor," Kaiyi Divine King's mind rang like a bell.

All doubts were now resolved.

The human race had produced a He Shen Ancestor.

What's the point of fighting anymore?

Fortunately, this He Shen Ancestor dislikes stirring trouble; otherwise, the Divine Clan would have no room left to survive.

Master Huan Ye's warning to the Divine Clan still echoed in their ears.

Master Huan Ye had plainly said: if angered, he would erase the entire Divine Clan—not even a single hair would remain.

Kaiyi Divine King, still awkward, spoke again: "Our Divine Clan and human race have always been harmonious neighbors. After this peace agreement, let us return to our former friendly state."

"As for Dao Xu, since we are now neighbors, how could we possibly occupy your race's trial grounds?"

This had been pre-arranged by the Divine Clan.

First, inquire about Master Huan Ye; if no benefit is gained, proceed to Plan B.

Dao Xu must be entered—since it cannot be claimed by the Divine Clan, they would sneak in.

The Divine Clan could not allow Shu Zu to exist alone within Dao Xu.

Kaiyi Divine King's words left many even more bewildered—what was going on?

Hadn't the Divine Clan launched their invasion precisely for Dao Xu?

Now that Dao Xu is offered to them, why do they refuse it?

If the Divine Clan does not want Dao Xu, they certainly won't rush to hand it over.

The peace talks ended with mutual satisfaction on both sides.

After Kaiyi Divine King departed, the human Zong Sect leaders still could not believe it—was this a dream?

"Lord Alliance, does our human race truly have a He Shen Ancestor?" Someone finally could not hold back and asked.

Yuan Qing's tone was grave: "Yes, I once had the fortune to meet Master Huan Ye. I never expected he would emerge to save our race—Master Huan Ye has always been devoted to the Dao and never interferes in worldly affairs."

"Now that our He Shen Ancestor Master Huan Ye has stepped forward to support us, we no longer need to endure daily torment."

Saying this, Yuan Qing bowed deeply toward the void: "Thank you, Ancestor, for your protection."

He had no choice but to do so.

This excuse had been handed to him by the Divine Clan—if he did not use it, he was unworthy of sitting on the Tiancaishen Alliance's throne.

Seeing Yuan Qing bow to the void,

everyone in the council hall rose to their feet, bowing to the empty air and shouting loudly: "Thank you, Ancestor, for your protection."

Soon, news arrived from the Great Battlefield.

The Divine Clan had withdrawn voluntarily and restored the great array between their lands and humanity's.

Since the Divine Clan had withdrawn, humanity naturally rushed to restore the great array as well.

In just a few years, over a hundred million cultivators from both races had perished.

After years of war, the conflict ended, and both races returned to their former state—as if nothing had ever happened.

The war between the Divine Clan and humanity had ended.

The first task for the Geda Sects of Shangshen Land was not to discuss how to respond if the Divine Clan broke their word—but to investigate the robbery of the Dao Xu Merchant Guild's building.

The Dao Xu Merchant Guild had once been the top merchant guild in the Divine Realm.

It had nine Divine Kings.

Four of them perished on the Great Battlefield during this war.

Two died on Dao Xu Street.

Now, the Dao Xu Merchant Guild had only three Divine Kings left, one of whom was severely wounded.

But the Dao Xu Merchant Guild's influence in the Divine Realm extended far beyond its nine Divine Kings—many sects harbored their agents.

One of the Tiancaishen Alliance's elders was a Divine King of the Dao Xu Merchant Guild.

With no need to fight the Divine Clan, the Dao Xu Merchant Guild's demand for a full investigation into the robbery was immediately elevated to the top of the Tiancaishen Alliance's agenda.

…

Ding Huan did not know they were being investigated.

If he had known, he would have demanded the Divine Clan continue attacking humanity—you may destroy Shangshen Land, but you must not disturb my cultivation seclusion.

At this moment, he had already entered Divine Lord Level 10.

And Yi Jie had also triggered the Level Three Divine Beast Lei Jie.

Fortunately, Ding Huan had set up a Level Seven Concealment Divine Array, which concealed Yi Jie's Divine Beast Lei Jie from the Liyin Divine Valley.

The Council Hall of the Liyin Divine Valley.

Although Zongzhu Xian Wushang was severely injured, he immediately convened a sect assembly upon returning to the sect.

He felt this matter was not over, since the existence of the Divine Union Ancestor Master Huan Ye was rather dubious.

As the head of a sect, even if he could not stop the Divine Clan from occupying the Human Realm, he still had to consider the welfare of his own sect.

Looking at the council hall, where only two Divine Kings remained—including himself—Xian Wushang's gaze grew dim.

In this war against the Divine Clan, the Liyin Divine Valley had also lost two Divine Kings.

He was lucky to survive; otherwise, he himself would not have walked out of the Great Battlefield.

This work has been compiled and uploaded~~

"Elder Yu, during my absence, did the Divine Clan attack the Liyin Divine Valley's protective array from the Daxing Wasteland?"

Although Xian Wushang was on the Great Battlefield, his greatest fear was that the Divine Clan would strike the Liyin Divine Valley's protective array, then flatten the sect and attack the Human Realm from behind.

But he could not leave.

No Divine King could leave.

Any Divine King must remain on the Great Battlefield to confront the Divine Clan.

This is also why Ding Huan and Mo Changcan could cultivate openly without any Divine King pursuing them.

Just as Internal Affairs Elder Yu Ning stepped forward to speak, a hoarse voice came from outside: "Wushang, are you still alive?"

Xian Wushang froze, then suddenly stood up and laughed heartily: "Zi Che, you didn't return to your sect to heal—why have you come to my Liyin Divine Valley?"

The newcomer was Shu Ziche, also a staunch pro-war faction member.

Unfortunately, there were too many in the Human Realm who cared only for their own interests—they dared not fight to the death, nor dare to flee.

This caused the Human Realm to suffer greater losses than the Divine Clan each time.

Alas, he and Shu Ziche had little influence; aside from fighting fiercely when personally engaged, they could barely sway the situation.

Fortunately, he, Shu Ziche, and several other pro-war sect leaders could still hold their ground at the Great Battlefield encampment.

"Wushang, I have something important to discuss with you—could you postpone this council meeting?" Shu Ziche, who had a close relationship with Xian Wushang, spoke without restraint.

Xian Wushang nodded: "Come, to my Liyin Peak."

"Zongzhu, the sect's protective array remains intact—you need not worry. I frequently inspect it; over the past one or two years, there have been almost no attacks."

Elder Yu promptly shared what he knew.

Xian Wushang finally exhaled in relief.

His greatest fear was the Divine Clan cultivators from the Daxing Wasteland.

"Wushang, haven't you noticed something strange about this matter?"

After following Xian Wushang into the private guest pavilion, Shu Ziche did not bother with formalities—he immediately voiced his suspicion.

He had come here today specifically to discuss this matter with Xian Wushang.

Xian Wushang sighed: "Don't just you and I—over ninety percent of people sense something is off.

The Divine Clan has already seized our Upper Divine Lands—on what grounds are they negotiating peace? Why abandon the Dao Xu?"

"The problem is this—if this were a conspiracy, it makes no sense. Why abandon something within reach? Isn't a conspiracy meant to secure the Dao Xu? What's the point?"

Shu Ziche had long been unable to understand this matter; he had no common ground with Yuan Qing and the other Divine Kings.

So after the peace talks ended, he did not bother returning to his sect—he came straight to the Liyin Divine Valley to find Xian Wushang.

"Zi Che, do you believe Yuan Qing's claim about the Divine Union Ancestor Master Huan Ye actually exists?"

Shu Ziche fell silent for a long while before sighing: "I once thought it absolutely impossible, since the Divine Realm is a shattered domain after the Great Calamity.

It was universally accepted that no one could reach the Divine Union realm in the Divine Realm. But the Divine Clan's unexplained retreat is unnatural. The only explanation is that our Human Realm truly has a Divine Union Ancestor.

The reason I came here today is because I received a piece of information…"

"What information?"

Shu Ziche spoke with grave tone: "I received word that our Human Realm has indeed deployed a Killing Divine Array in the Daxing Wasteland.

This Killing Divine Array can silently kill Divine Clan cultivators through the Dao's principles, while Human Realm cultivators remain unaffected by its lethal laws.

The Divine Clan chose peace because the cultivator who set up this array warned them: if they dare to strike the Human Realm again, he would not hesitate to exterminate them entirely."

Xian Wushang stared blankly at Shu Ziche, then said after a long pause: "This… this rumor is too extreme."

Shu Ziche shook his head: "This isn't a rumor—it's intelligence from my inside agent in the Divine Clan.

He is one of the survivors who fled into the Daxing Wasteland and dares not show his face. And the information he gave me isn't just this one—there's another, even more terrifying piece."

"What is it?"

"It concerns the Divine Union. I always believed the Divine Union didn't exist—but do you know why the Divine Clan suddenly sought to seize the Dao Xu?

It's because their Tree Ancestor may be trapped within the Dao Xu, and they wish to rescue him. And that Tree Ancestor's power may very well be Divine Union level."

(Fellow Daoist, good night!

My old ailment flared up again—I couldn't even cough without being unable to write. Today's update ends here. Tomorrow I might take a day off. Sigh—I've been posting three chapters since the subscription launch, unwilling to break the rhythm. But now I'm forced to stop due to health. Sorry.)

(End of Chapter)