Chapter 983

In his daze, Jiang Ding felt a wisp of his divine sense follow certain threads of cause and effect in the unknown, delving into space, into the wind and tides of the star realm's nether darkness, merging with them until there was no distinction between self and other.

He did not know how much time had passed or how many winding, tortuous roads he had traversed when suddenly he arrived in a void-like, ethereal space.

Here, a hazy figure was already seated.

Seeing him enter, this hazy figure's gaze shifted slightly, but it said nothing.

"Seven, four, nine, one, two, two..."

Jiang Ding himself was also hazy, his form indistinct, and he spoke slowly, reciting a string of one hundred and twenty-eight numbers.

Not only were they numbers; with each character he recited, he displayed a wave of his soul, revealing one hundred and twenty-eight distinct soul waves in succession.

This was the secret key for identity verification.

Sealed by the mighty ones of each respective Immortal Sect into their souls, it changed at all times; once any sign of soul-searching was detected, this key would self-destruct, and even the Dao Son himself would forget many memories, forgetting them forever.

This was the situation within the Immortal Sects.

If an Immortal Sect acted more ruthlessly, it was quite possible for the Dao Son himself to die on the spot; it was extremely merciless, for the Dao Son's life counted for nothing before the grand situation of such a realm.

"Your Excellency, it has been a long time."

The hazy figure opposite felt a sense of relief in its heart.

Jiang Ding's expression remained unchanged; he offered no response.

"Three, two, five..."

In the next moment, this hazy voice also began its key verification.

Jiang Ding listened carefully, comparing it with the key in his mind, missing not a single detail.

This was the Shadow Demon Dao Son.

The Shadow Demon Dao Son who had been lying low in Jiao Jiao Mingyu for who knew how many years.

By logical calculation, her strength should have advanced greatly; she was no longer at the bottom among the Dao Sons, for she was practicing her own path, hiding and lying low within a powerful race that had produced cultivators beyond the Void Refinement realm, yet she had not died nor been exposed to this day.

This process was similar to a Sword Cultivator slaying a powerful enemy; both were processes of proving the Dao.

Jiang Ding said nothing to her and waited silently.

He did not know how much time passed before a hazy figure entered this place, and the three of them began verifying their identities once more.

This was Taiyi Taiyi Qingmu's Dao Son, Ji Liuyue.

Immediately after, one by one, hazy figures whose forms and faces were indistinct entered; the group repeatedly verified each other's identities, feeling no sense of repetition or trouble.

"Shadow Demon Son, could you introduce a few things to us..."

The Heavenly Mechanism Dao Son asked.

Buzz!

In the next moment, two powerful killing intents suddenly appeared, falling upon him, causing his voice to suddenly stiffen; he retreated repeatedly, utterly bewildered.

"Why"

"have you betrayed?"

The Heavenly Mechanism Dao Son's expression changed abruptly.

He stared at the two figures, especially the Shadow Demon Dao Son and another Dao Son who was crazily bloodthirsty, numerous guesses and much wariness arising in his heart.

The Dao Sons around began to feel uneasy and doubtful.

This should not be happening.

A Dao Son was already the supreme ruler of a sect, second only to the Void Refinement mighty ones.

Wherever they went, they could never attain a higher status; moreover, this was a foreign race's power; being allowed to serve as a pet or slave would be lucky enough, with no path of cultivation to speak of.

The Shadow Demon Dao Son looked at the hazy figure nearby.

Shadow Demon Dao Child looked toward the hazy figure nearby.

That figure said coldly.

"You must not call anyone by their name directly."

The Shadow Demon Dao Son took a deep breath and said to the Heavenly Mechanism Dao Son: "This is an extremely dangerous foreign realm; at any time, in any place, do not relax even a fraction; you must always maintain doubt and vigilance, for outside the sect, there is no place that is completely safe, and all sorts of possibilities exist."

Shadow Demon Dao Child took a deep breath and said to Heavenly Mechanism Dao Child: "This is an extremely dangerous alien realm. At any time, in any place, do not relax even a sliver. Always maintain doubt, always stay vigilant, because outside the sect, there is no place that is completely safe — all kinds of possibilities exist."

"In every other aspect, it should be the same; without an extremely special reason, you should not meet or contact one another, and you must do your utmost to reduce such connections."

"In every other aspect, it should be the same. Without extremely special reasons, you should not meet or contact each other, and should make the greatest possible effort to reduce such connections."

The Shadow Demon Dao Son pleaded.

She did not care about the lives of the other Dao Sons, but the mistakes of the other Dao Sons might affect her and implicate her, and that was something she could not tolerate.

The Heavenly Mechanism Dao Son fell silent.

"Fellow Daoist, no, friend."

"I humbly receive your teaching!"

The Heavenly Mechanism Dao Son bowed deeply with clasped hands.

He changed the title to Fellow Daoist and performed the ritual of bowing with clasped hands.

Because this was a ritual unique to the Human Immortal Dao Sects.

"I know you are unaccustomed to this, but you must become accustomed to it."

"Because this concerns life itself."

The Shadow Demon Dao Son said solemnly.

He glanced with a concealed look of surprise at the hazy figure not far away; great apprehension rose in his heart, and he even formed the thought of borrowing a knife to kill.

This person's direct combat strength was extremely powerful; one could easily defeat five of him, not to mention possessing powerful abilities to break concealment.

Now, he was even displaying terrifying concealment abilities!

Now, it even displays terrifying concealment abilities!

This person is a complete and total counter to him!

Dealing with someone like this, let alone if one's strength is far weaker than his, even if equal, or even surpassing him by a margin, facing him would still lead to defeat and destruction; it makes no sense.

It is fine for now, but if they turn against each other in the future...

Soon, the Shadow Demon Disciple quickly hid his thoughts.

This person hides very deeply; such calculations are nothing but nonsense, and one

must not let one's guard down or be countered; it is better to wait for the right moment, at least until the Horned Demon Imperial Clan is no longer a threat.

Otherwise, if the Nine Spirit Realm is destroyed, she cannot escape unscathed either.

"Friends, there are two things we must do."

The Shadow Demon Disciple raised his hand, unfolding a dark, deep map of the realm's starry sky; eleven Minor Thousand Worlds shone brightly upon it: "First, we must set up incomplete sixth-rank concealment great arrays within these eleven Minor Thousand Worlds, ensuring that the Void Refining fluctuations produced when the Sect Ancestors act, and the fluctuations generated when the space channels open, do not spread beyond these worlds."

"Second, lure the Flame Stone Great Emperor near the Mo Shi Xiao Gao Jie."

"Once these two matters are completed, we may have the chance to instantly capture the Flame Stone Great Emperor and gain more initiative."

The Disciples around, though they already knew the target beforehand, still held their breath for a moment.

The eleven Minor Thousand Worlds enlarged before everyone, revealing the forms of each world.

Some Minor Thousand Worlds were relatively clear, marked with the locations of fifth-rank spiritual veins, fourth-rank spiritual veins, and third-rank spiritual veins in various regions, along with the powers there, the sects, the races, and so on.

Most worlds were blurry and indistinct, showing only the name of a single Minor Thousand World.

Clearly, even though the Shadow Demon Abyss cultivators are skilled at lurking, the time was too short to accomplish too much.

"So many spiritual vein and earth qi nodes..."

Jiang Ding sighed in his heart.

These numerous fifth-rank, fourth-rank, and third-rank spiritual vein nodes all require the individual installation of sixth-rank array artifacts pre-crafted by the Jiudaxian Sect; the requirements for the Void Refining great array are extremely high and cannot be ignored.

However, on each of these spiritual vein nodes, there stands a Horned Demon Imperial Clan king, equivalent to a Soul Transformation cultivator, or a king of the various slave races, guarding it.

If there were only a few, it would be fine; just fight through them.

With such a vast number of spiritual and earth qi nodes, can one possibly fight through them one by one?

Who possesses such capability?

This is not a matter of combat power; once exposed, it means instant death.

This is the difficulty of this matter.

It is also the reason why so many Void Refining experts earnestly hope for it, allowing them to act according to local conditions and seize opportunities, without any binding restrictions or regulations.

Because this matter is too difficult, nearly impossible.

The Disciples around fell silent for a moment, looking somewhat helpless.

They are Disciples of the Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong, always refining their strength, and are truly unaccustomed to matters like this.

For a long time, there was silence.

"Sigh."

"We must stir up a riot within the scope of the Flame Stone Star Domain."

"Strike from within the Horned Demon Imperial Clan."

Jiang Ding sighed, ending the long silence, and slowly spoke in a chaotic, distorted voice: "Give me the history, current situation, and intelligence on changes regarding this star domain and the entire existing Jiao Jiao Mingyu."

"As detailed as possible; even uncertain speculations are needed."

"As detailed as possible — even uncertain conjectures."

The Shadow Demon Disciple said instinctively.

The Disciples around were shaken in their hearts.

They looked at that hazy figure in disbelief, as if seeing some earth-shattering wonder.

This sword cultivator looks so intelligent, so experienced.

This sword cultivator looks so intelligent and so practiced.