Chapter 1393: The You Ming Sword Cave Heaven's Bright Light Palace Itself Admits It Is My Magic Treasure

It wasn't just the Heavenly Spirit Dao Child who was active; the other Dao Children were as well.

Antu, Ji Liuyue, Teacher Gu Lin, and others chatted cheerfully with the many Dao Children, and amid what seemed like idle conversation and discussions of the Dao, they hammered out one matter of diplomatic relations and trade after another.

There were even deeper-level alliances; all of these had taken their first steps.

This kind of negotiation lasted about a year, and every Dao Child gained something.

Overall, it was peaceful and friendly—even the two factions that reeked of blood the moment they met, Brother Brother Xuanwu's Heavenly Palace and the Heavenly Spirit Palace, had established ties and trade, and on the surface everything looked splendid.

Yet everyone knew this was nothing but an illusion.

The moment the opportunity arose, this peaceful, beautiful illusion would be torn apart in an instant, and both sides would surely launch a fight to the death, devouring each other; only the strongest could represent the Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong's inheritance, and coexistence was utterly impossible.

Rather than calling it peace now, it was better called the unnatural calm before war began.

"Fellow Daoist, I shall take my leave here."

Antu cupped his hands in a bow to the Dao Child of the Five Qi Immortal Sect and the other Dao Children, saying somewhat sheepishly, "A man of the countryside, this is my first time in a Yin-Yang Void Realm of a Zhong Senior Qian Shi Gao Jie like this—my eyes were truly dazzled. I want to go seek out some opportunities; please, fellow Daoists, do not take offense."

"Not at all, not at all."

The Dao Child of the Five Qi Immortal Sect waved his hand.

"I take my leave."

"If any of you have matters, you may speak with the disciples below…"

"Farewell…"

Ji Liuyue, the Brother Xuanwu Dao Child, the Tianji Dao Child, and the Shadow Demon Dao Child each took their leave one by one.

Like a bunch of junk-peddling cultivators.

Their expressions were perfectly normal, not the slightest bit sheepish; in the face of heavenly materials and earthly treasures that could enhance the power of Order, face was simply a matter of no consequence.

Soon, only the nine Dao Children of the Ancient God Domain remained here, along with the many Soul Transformation and Nascent Soul cultivators of the Badaxian Sect.

There were no cultivators from the Immortal Gate.

Even a single Nascent Soul cultivator of the Immortal Gate was a citizen of the Immortal Gate; Jiang Ding and the others could not possibly leave them behind in a dangerous place while they themselves went off alone to seek treasures.

The Heavenly Spirit Dao Child, the Green Valley Dao Child, the Taiyou Bright Sword Child, and the other Dao Children exchanged glances, each able to detect a faint trace of contempt in the others' eyes.

"Sigh, the Nine Spirit Domain truly is barren."

"These fellow Daoists have suffered."

The Heavenly Spirit Dao Child sighed. "It's nothing but tailings from some Xuanhuang Hongmeng Crystals, yet they're so impatient—afraid we'll snatch it away—truly…it's unseemly."

If it were other cultivators, that would be one thing.

But these were Dao Children, people just like them, the seeds of inheritance of the upper realm's Immortal Sects, yet looking so pitifully poor—it really did tug at the heart.

"We mustn't be careless—harsh environments

forge a person."

"If we were stranded in a place like the Nine Spirit Domain, we might well be worse off than Daoist Tianji and the others."

The Dao Child of the Heavenly Fortune Immortal Sect shook his head slightly.

"That is true."

The Heavenly Spirit Dao Child laughed ruefully.

This was indeed the truth—if they too were so destitute, seeing for the first time something that could enhance the power of Order, they would probably get desperate too, unable to spare a thought for poise.

Unfortunately, this world had no "if."

Rich was rich, strong was strong—not some equal conditions, not the same environment; the real world only needed real reality, not any "if" or hypothesis.

……

In a deep, dark place underground, Jiang Ding lightly stroked his sword hilt, his eyes vacant, thinking about something.

Beside him, Teacher Gu Lin was refining a crystal suffused with Hongmeng purple qi, causing his own Yuanci Order to begin showing a faint and continuous increase.

In the Nine Spirit Domain, this was a first since the dawn of creation!

For the first time, the power of Order was not something a cultivator had to comprehend, temper, and experience on their own, growing stronger as their foundation deepened—but could be directly enhanced through heavenly materials and earthly treasures.

This enhanced power of Order could in turn elevate the cultivator's foundation, a marvel of creation itself.

"A pity, there's only a small fragment."

Not long after, Teacher Gu Lin opened his eyes and said with regret.

This was the scheming of the nine great Immortal Sects of the Ancient God Domain; they could never truly grant them a great opportunity. Over three thousand years ago they had already harvested once, and the nine Dao Children had gained that one opportunity, experiencing a single massive surge in their power of Order.

"It's fine."

"Once we break through the You Ming Sword Cave Heaven, everything will be ours."

Jiang Ding's gaze was deep and distant.

As for whether to ally with the Heavenly Spirit Palace, he already had an answer; his heart had already inclined.

There was no helping it—destroying Brother Brother Xuanwu's Heavenly Palace was indeed a good thing, and the Immortal Gate was willing to give it serious consideration, but the Heavenly Spirit Palace's strength was just too…ordinary.

For example, in the earlier battle between the Brother Xuanwu Dao Child and the Heavenly Spirit Dao Child, after the Brother Xuanwu Dao Child held out for a while, the Firmament Great Shield was breached by the Heavenly Spirit Dao Child, and he was heavily wounded and vomited blood; had rescue not arrived in time, the Brother Xuanwu Dao Child would have died on the spot.

This was what happened on the surface.

But in reality?

The Brother Xuanwu Dao Child wasn't even scratched!

This person had completely abandoned offense, pouring every path into defense; the intended goal was to resist the Great Sun Sword Child's flying sword assault and create an opening for the others.

The Heavenly Spirit Dao Child's Dragon Heaven Divine Spear looked majestic and awe-inspiring, blasting through ten thousand li of space and shattering the rules, but in truth it didn't break the defense at all!

Every wound on the Brother Xuanwu Dao Child's body was something he had inflicted on himself.

To prevent the ruse from being exposed, he had even asked Jiang Ding to use the Human Realm Dao to help him

cover it up—every detail had been considered; even his severe injuries were real, only they weren't the work of the Heavenly Spirit Dao Child.

If the Dao Child of the Heavenly Spirit Palace was of this caliber, what of the Heavenly Spirit Ancestor?

With this kind of strength, how could they possibly form an alliance?

The Immortal Gate truly hopes for an outside force that can break the united front of the Badaxian Sect and the other seven great immortal sects, allowing the Immortal Gate to overcome every obstacle and completely unify the homeland, sending the Badaxian Sect into the history books—just like the barbarian tribes surrounding the Central Plains dynasties of the past, leaving only a name to be remembered by future generations.

The Immortal Gate is absolutely sincere about forming an alliance.

Unfortunately,

the Heavenly God Palace really doesn't seem up to much.

"Launching an unprovoked attack on others—that's not quite right, is it?"

Teacher Gu Lin frowned slightly: "The Immortal Gate is the righteous light between the realms, the very embodiment of love and peace—how could they possibly do such a thing?"

"Besides, they're at the peak of Unity of Dao!"

"How could it be unprovoked?"

"There are reasons for all of this."

Jiang Ding said calmly: "There are two dharma treasures in the Youming Sword Grotto-Heaven, called the Palace of Radiance and the Youming Pool. These are treasures I accidentally left behind there, and I have proof. Setting aside the Youming Pool for now, the Palace of Radiance—if I call out to her, she really will answer; she really will admit that she is my dharma treasure."

"The Immortal Gate's going there is entirely to retrieve my dharma treasures."

"If the Youming Sword Grotto-Heaven is willing to return my dharma treasures, and also send back the caretakers of my dharma treasures—those disciples of the Taiyin-Taiyang lineage—and send back my dharma treasure maintenance manual, that is, the inheritance above Unity of Dao, then as long as these things are done, I will turn around and leave without another word."