Chapter 331: The Immortal Gates Arrive Together (Ten-Thousand-Character Chapter)

That speech was calm and appeared natural, causing the two involved parties to suddenly freeze. They looked up subconsciously, only to see, amidst the slightly dissipating smoke, Du En's face, which was as calm as water.

Exceptionally intimate!

For some reason, their backs straightened up, and they pulled You Rou along, preventing her from prostrating herself. She looked up in a flustered and helpless manner, likewise seeing Du En, who was looking over and even gave her a nod of acknowledgment.

Heavens, he actually nodded at me!

In this instant, You Rou's hundred-year-old maiden heart couldn't help but begin to palpitate.

Unfortunately, before her palpitations could be expressed or shown, True Monarch Zhuding took off first, with the other Nascent Soul cultivators following closely behind. Their figures vanished in an instant; they had already departed Lin'an City.

The pause just now was naturally not time left for Du En to exchange greetings, but rather for True Monarch Zhuding to observe the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate on the opposite bank, judging whether they were up to any small or major tricks.

Now that the judgment was made, there was naturally no more lingering.

The fifteen people moved through space in the blink of an eye and vanished directly, which gave the three local upper-echelon figures left behind a full, tangible sense of the power of the Nascent Soul stage.

"The Nascent Soul stage, it is truly impossible to fathom, difficult to resist!"

"Haha! Traveling Du has actually reached Nascent Soul perfection; he is truly peerless in the world, looking down upon all heroes!"

Tong Wenrong and Zuo Kui became more excited as they spoke, so subconsciously, they began to chatter incessantly at You Rou, talking about Du En's glorious deeds.

You Rou, who had broken free from their mutual support, felt somewhat helpless about this, while at the same time, her heart was filled with envy.

Back during the Lin'an affair, the three of them had a friendship. Seeing his gentle and intimate attitude, and how he treated her with equal kindness out of love for his old acquaintances, she could understand that the other party had not forgotten their past friendship.

How could this not make one envious?

One must know that over a decade ago, Du En was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, and now he is already at the Nascent Soul stage—Nascent Soul perfection. If he were to advance even further, he would be a Great Cultivator, capable of seeking out seniors, establishing his own sect, and taking a Dao title to build a mighty reputation, truly escaping the ant-like existence of the bottom layer.

When that time comes, the two people here who have a friendship with him might perhaps also rise to the heavens along with him!

"How wonderful!"

"However, it is fortunate that I was understanding and generous at the time, and had absolutely no opinions or grudges regarding the matter of the spirit beast... Hmm, next, perhaps I can put in some effort with that little sister; after all, she is the foreign Dao companion of that adult's old subordinate."

While listening to the chattering of the two excited men, You Rou couldn't help but start calculating her own plans.

What is meant by "those near the water tower get the moonlight first"?

This is it!

At the thought of this, she couldn't help but feel jubilant, while at the same time, she couldn't help but have some maidenly fantasies.

"Do you know them?"

While moving south along the South River—the river that flows past the border between the Falling Feather Immortal Gate and the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate—Jiang Ying asked with a bit of curiosity.

Others either did not care about those lower-level beings, feeling that they were worlds apart and not of the same kind, or they found it inappropriate to show concern for people of the Southern lands, being relatively rigid about factional and camp positioning, so none of them showed anything regarding this.

Even if they were actually quite curious and concerned.

Only Jiang Ying was straightforward and appeared simple; there were no real intersections or conflicts between the Northern and Southern lands, which is why she asked directly.

"Mm, during my previous travels, I came here once. Among the monotonous 'not worth pitying' crowd, they are the type whose deaths would be quite a pity."

Du En's answer was also very direct.

"Oh? Are they that rare? How do I see it? One is limp and soft, one is stiff and dull, and the other—how should I put it? A hundred-year-old crone, why is she acting like a maiden?"

Jiang Ying did not know which two he was referring to specifically, and she knew nothing about the Lin'an affair back then; after all, she was busy dealing with the encirclement and killing by geniuses of the same rank at that time!

However, she was actually a bit envious.

Especially that limp and soft fellow, who could actually be full of fat—it shows he lives very comfortably and leisurely.

If he were in the Northern lands, he would have long since died without a corpse left!

"It is the two in front that you mentioned." Du En's tone was calm, truly treating everyone equally, and he continued: "Also, before calling others pretentious, you should at least look at yourself. At the very least, you are in your thirties; by your own logic, why are you acting with such delicate, maidenly affectations?"

"..."

Jiang Ying was silenced all at once, because following his logic, it seemed that he was indeed correct!

So she had nothing to say, even though she was actually quite angry.

"Speaking of which, have you fought Sheng Zhaoshui yet?"

Du En asked about this.

Since Meng Changqing could accelerate time, other True Monarchs could naturally do so as well. In other words, despite it appearing that there was only one day of preparation time, in reality, it could be stretched to over a thousand times that.

During this period, it was possible for Jiang Ying to have gone to find Sheng Zhaoshui for a duel.

Du En was somewhat concerned about that fellow's methods. Previously, he clearly hadn't revealed everything; if nothing else, his natal dharma treasure hadn't appeared, his strength was actually unfathomable, and his temperament hid a sinister and ruthless nature. One could not be lax or careless.

"No, I just finished choosing my Dao technique and haven't learned it yet. Once I learn it, he will be the first one I test it on!"

Speaking of this, Jiang Ying thought Du En was beating around the bush to point this out, so she immediately spoke up, not very pleased: "Don't worry, no need to beat around the bush. It was agreed that we would both use it, so it is definitely so. I am not like you all; I say what I mean, and what I say is true!"

"I was not beating around the bush, and also, really?"

"..."

Du En's counter-question made her fall into silence all at once.

Just at this time, they had also moved along the river and arrived at the coast of the South Azure Sea.

What met their eyes was a peaceful, azure sea. Even standing at a high altitude to look out, one still could not see the edge, only the water-blue horizon.

As their divine sense probed deeper into the sea, wherever it reached, they could see schools of fish swimming, and vicious demon sharks peeking at prey, wanting to wait for an opportunity to act and have a full meal. But there were even more cunning groups of demon whales that had already quietly surrounded the fish schools and the demon sharks—the oriole behind the mantis.

Passing over these marine ecosystems and looking deeper, one could reach the seabed of the near-shore continental shelf.

Relying on his spirit-seeking skills and his perception of the spiritual energy environment, Du En could detect that this entire sea was actually like a spiritual energy generator, with a massive, endless amount of spiritual energy rising from the seabed, dissolving into the seawater, and nourishing this sea.

It was just that, despite having such an exaggerated scale of endless supply, it could hardly withstand the invisible sucking tentacles of the two great immortal gates reaching into it, draining that spiritual energy until only a meager second-tier level remained—even worse than the Southern Frontier mountain forests south of the Southern End.

Therefore, the many sea demon beasts here could at most only have cultivation at the early-to-mid second tier, unable to give birth to sufficient intelligence, repeating the primitive law of the jungle—survival of the fittest—and it was unknown how many years it had been without change.

"Oh, oh, oh! The sea!"

Jiang Ying couldn't help but feel jubilant and excited at this moment, casting the topic she had just been discussing with Du En to the back of her mind.

If it weren't for the fact that they still had to continue moving, she would have already been unable to resist diving straight in with a splash.

However, very quickly, her lightness and excitement vanished completely.

Because their party rapidly penetrated deep into the South Cang Sea, arriving above a specific stretch of sea.

The sea was boundless, the clear sky like it had been washed.

The personnel of the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate were, at this moment, waiting quietly above the waves, making the naturally blue scenery appear suddenly crowded with extra things.

Although the various people who had rushed over from the Falling Feather Immortal Gate side were actually intruders who would not appear in the past, just as sea birds would fly across the sea, they were actually not too abrupt or sudden.

But the Rotten Forest side was different.

They had a total of thirteen people, led by a True Monarch of the Integration Stage, while the rest, just like the Falling Feather Immortal Gate side, were all at the perfection of the Nascent Soul Stage, the top geniuses among their peers.

A True Monarch naturally possesses majesty, difficult to fathom, not to be looked at recklessly, so the Falling Feather Nascent Souls who had moved through space to this place subconsciously looked toward their counterparts on the opposite side, their opponents and enemies.

Overall, they gave one a sense of abrupt strangeness, or rather, they were truly too exquisite and inorganic, thus revealing a cold, art-like sensation; they were not born this way, nor had they practiced any unique spirit body.

Rather, their bodies were refined post-natally!

That was why they stood out as unnatural amidst the natural world!

Puppets?

Are they living-person puppets?

Du En could not help but fit them into this concept, because back when he was in the Scripture Pavilion of the Southern Pivot City, he had flipped through records of this type of puppet, which the ancient Puppet Sect had pioneered, claiming to seize all heavenly secrets and allowing one to re-refine their own body to obtain higher spiritual root aptitude and other such things.

But comparing them carefully, one could also discover many points that did not match or fit.

For example, the living-person puppets in those records were truly like living people, being vessels of flesh re-created post-natally, not the situation displayed by the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate now, which was overly exquisite, overly cold, and highlighted a non-human, non-natural material texture.

Which one could be said to be more outstanding?

This actually did not need comparison at all; after all, that Puppet Sect had already been dead for ten thousand years and had long since been wiped out by the immortal gates, so who was higher or lower was self-evident.

Next, in the second moment, Du En noticed another point.

Compared to the undisguised hostility and eagerness of the Falling Feather Immortal Gate side, the people on the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate side were overly silent.

It was not to say that because of those puppet bodies, they were truly completely cold, artificial objects without a shred of emotion; in fact, their eyes were still very lively—one could not say they had all the emotions a normal person should have, but it could prove they were not completely devoid of emotion.

Therefore, their current silent muteness appeared quite abnormal.

Even if they had been in a ceasefire with the Falling Feather side for a thousand years, it should not be an attitude like this; did they not see that the Falling Feather side did not treat them as friends at all?

In other words, the situation was unusual...

Thus, in the third moment, Du En glanced at the True Monarch on the opposite side.

That was a very normal-looking person, with a face appearing middle-aged, faintly carrying a smile, wearing a cloud-patterned robe that was neither luxurious nor simple.

He stood high above the clouds, without the transcendent, overlooking air of someone in their prime; he was more like drifting clouds or air, quite ordinary and common, and if one looked closely, it was as if he had melted into his surroundings.

Harmonizing with the light, not mingling with the dust.

Generally, the feeling he gave was that of such a relatively ordinary True Monarch majesty, and at this moment, facing True Monarch Zhuding who stood at the same height as him—and even slightly higher—this person, because he was too normal, could not help but appear somewhat weak.

Or rather, guilty!

Consequently, the atmosphere gradually became stagnant.

True Monarch Zhuding did not speak first either; he just smiled lightly, looking calmly at the other party, silently appearing like a monarch naturally overlooking his subjects, waiting for the other party to bow and report on their own.

Nangong Sheng and the others also began to realize something was wrong because they had not received a normal response from their opponents and enemies, so they all retracted their expressions, becoming silent one by one, and compared to the Rotten Forest cultivators opposite, they actually appeared almost identical.

The atmosphere became even more heavy and solemn because of this; the clouds in the sky began to flee, the waves on the sea surface dared not stir, and both sides fell into a silent deadlock, with faint signs of being on the verge of breaking out.

Many people could not help but become nervous; after all, if a real fight started, the aftermath of a True Monarch's battle could easily kill them!

Under these circumstances, a change suddenly occurred.

"Roar!"

A terrifying roar transmitted from the east, like thunder, yet without the slightest grandeur; it could only bring horror and fright, making one's body subconsciously begin to tremble, with an uncontrollable, unspeakable fear rising in one's heart.

A great fierce beast!

A great evil!

Taotie!

That mountain-like, fierce body forcefully intruded into everyone's divine sense and vision; its shape was like a sheep's body but with a human face, its eyes grew under its armpits, and it had tiger teeth and human claws—it was truly terrifying, making one not dare to look at it directly, feeling only deep submission.

However, this fierce beast had not come here to kill or eat people; on the contrary, after approaching aggressively, it actually took the initiative to restrain its fierce aura.

Therefore, the roar and fierce majesty just now were more like saying hello from afar, indicating that it had no hostility, so as to avoid receiving a move of Daoist magic from a thousand miles away.

True Monarch Zhuding's eyelids drooped slightly, and he did not make a single move.

The True Monarch of the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate opposite squeezed out a bitter smile at this moment.

"Hahaha! Uninvited, I hope little Zhuding does not take offense!"

Taotie emitted its evil, nasty voice, then opened its mouth to spit out a group of people, while it itself shrank slightly; it did not change back into a human form, but squeezed into the ranks of the True Monarchs, surrounded by fierce malevolence.

Fudong Immortal Gate, True Monarch Taotie!

Taking Taotie as his title, possessing a Taotie beast body, he was a human True Monarch, but he was more Taotie than a Taotie, because he ate Taoties, refined Taoties, seized all Taoties, and surpassed Taoties!

Now that he spoke, it also carried a thick scent of gunpowder; on that face without eyes, he revealed a ferocious grin, as if he wanted to detonate the situation that was just on the verge of breaking out.

But in reality, he instead eased the situation.

"So, what exactly is going on here?"

True Monarch Zhuding ignored True Monarch Taotie and only asked Kezhan, the True Monarch of the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate opposite.

He only had a bitter smile now, but he also let out a sigh of relief, hurriedly cupping his hands and saying: "Brother Zhuding, do not take offense; this is the decision of the Supremes, and I am also helpless."

As he spoke, as if to echo this point, from the west and from the south, two more parties arrived.

One was sinister, one was mysterious, but both appeared silent and quiet; it was also because the Fudong side had already caused a stir, so there was no need to signal in advance, so as to avoid inviting misunderstandings.

Mucang Immortal Gate!

Zhijing Immortal Gate!

The situation was already very clear: the actions of the Falling Feather Supreme had been detected by the other Supremes, and so, everyone wanted to interfere, attempting to throw a wrench in the works!

And the Rotten Forest Immortal Gate side would not refuse, because they believed that the Dragon Palace should have been explored by their own side alone, and it was only because of premature exposure that the Falling Feather Immortal Gate, which also had influence and control over the South Cang Sea, was brought in.

To give away profits for nothing is clearly very unpleasant, and coupled with the realization of the actions taken by Supreme Luoyu, Supreme Xiulin naturally went with the flow, allowing the other three great immortal sects to intervene smoothly.

"It really has turned a simple matter into something complicated."

True Monarch Zhuding seemed to be complaining.

"That is to say, it was originally just a perfectly normal matter of treasure hunting and exploration, but now, it has become entangled in the schemes of the Supremes, and there is no telling how it will develop; it just so happens that this Dragon Palace, even for True Monarchs like us, is difficult to actually interfere with or peer into."

True Monarch Kezhan also appeared very troubled, full of helplessness.

Regarding this, True Monarch Zhuding, who had just been complaining, only chuckled lightly, with no intention of echoing the sentiment.

Because he highly suspected that Xiulin's previous actions were done on purpose!

At that time, the way of doing things was very rough, basically just sitting and waiting for death, waiting for Du En to discover it in Lin'an City, or being caught up in the rectification at that time; in any case, once the situation changed, it would be exposed.

And then, the Luoyu Immortal Sect would naturally and inevitably intervene.

Therefore, this should be a form of probing.

It was probing whether there was any connection between Supreme Luoyu and the strange movements of this Dragon Palace!

If there was none, it would just be a matter of each relying on their own abilities to explore and compete, but if there was, then naturally, other plans and responses would have to be made.

For the Xiulin Immortal Sect, this was acceptable.

Considering it further from this direction, Supreme Xiulin should be controlling the transmission of information, and with Supreme Luoyu truly taking action, the two working together would make concealing it for a time no problem.

However, the current development, which seems to be an intentional leak of information, makes the intentions and thoughts of Supreme Xiulin become obscure and difficult to clarify for the moment!

Thinking up to this point, True Monarch Zhuding waved his hand casually, causing the group of True Monarchs to be secretly vigilant.

Rumble—

Land rose from the seabed, shaking the azure sea into waves, startling away the creatures in the sea.

A large island rose from the ground in an instant; water spilled away, trees grew in clusters, and in the blink of an eye, it was already lush and flourishing.

"Since it is rare for so many fellow Daoists to gather, and it happens that there is still some time before the Dragon Palace opens, why not discuss the Dao in the clouds and wait a while?"

True Monarch Zhuding asked, his words ordinary and accompanied by a light chuckle, yet they allowed for no refusal.

The four True Monarchs each had changes in their expressions.

With their strength, directly forcing open the gate of the Dragon Palace and launching an exploration would naturally be no problem.

Therefore, for True Monarch Zhuding to say this now was clearly to borrow the name of discussing the Dao to try and probe the reality of each side, or perhaps waiting for something; they... naturally went along with it, and no one spoke to refuse.

Even though their grievances were intertwined and they were actually old rivals, it was difficult for them to get along in one place.

From this point of view, they might also be full of doubts, not having figured out the many suspicious points of this matter.

"You all go down to rest and prepare for the exploration."

True Monarch Zhuding then ordered all the Nascent Soul stage cultivators present, which immediately made the few Nascent Soul stage cultivators of the Cangmu Immortal Sect feel somewhat offended, wanting to refute something.

And then, there was no then.

"Do not take offense, Brother Zhuding."

True Monarch Youfeng, who led the Cangmu Immortal Sect, directly ground those few people into flying ash, then took the lead to go to a higher altitude, to the other side that ants and common things could not see.

Rather than letting True Monarch Zhuding take action to establish his prestige, it was better to kill them himself first, and then decide the height and place for discussing the Dao, which could be considered regaining a bit of face.

True Monarch Taotie grinned, as if mocking this side, or perhaps silently approving; he leaped and flew away, and the mysterious True Monarch of the Zhijing Immortal Sect also followed suit, which counted as echoing the sentiment.

"Brother..."

The bitter smile on True Monarch Kezhan of the Xiulin Immortal Sect seemed unable to dissipate.

"Let's go, let's discuss the Dao."

True Monarch Zhuding did not care, so True Monarch Kezhan breathed a sigh of relief, and both also disappeared from the spot, heading to the high place where they ought to be.

The remaining Nascent Soul stage cultivators, of course, dared not express any more opinions, and one after another, they descended onto the large island, dividing into five positions to establish bases, waiting for the True Monarchs to come to some conclusion in their discussion.

The Luoyu Immortal Sect side naturally landed on the high mountain in the center of the island, able to overlook the four great immortal sect strongholds on the edge of the island through the drifting clouds.

Du En appeared even more matter-of-fact, directly and straightforwardly transmitting his voice.

"True Monarch."

"Mm, I am here."

True Monarch Zhuding responded, not seeming to find it strange; instead, there was a feeling that he had been waiting for this.

"The situation has changed now, and the prospects are obscure, so I will not beat around the bush: give me a top-grade technique."

Du En was blunt as soon as he spoke, wanting to advance and obtain the top-grade technique that should have been granted only after meritorious service.

It was mainly because this timing was truly good; not trying would be a disservice to True Monarch Zhuding, who had always wanted to poach him!

"Heh heh, you certainly dare to ask."

"You told me before that your ultimate vision is for everyone to be in their proper place, shining and generating heat together, and in this current situation, I feel it is time for me to shine and generate heat."

"As a surprise force, one can have expectations; after all, the current situation is indeed obscure, and one needs to consider various circumstances to make appropriate responses. It is just that giving it to you so directly is not quite in line with the rules, as you know, Meng Changqing is sometimes most concerned about this."

"I am willing to sign a military order; if I cannot reach the Deity Transformation stage after obtaining the technique, I will accept the punishment."

"You do not mention the Dragon Palace matter at all!"

"Who can guarantee anything when it concerns the schemes of the Supremes?"

That was true.

True Monarch Zhuding could not help but nod secretly.

Looking again at the four peers in front of him, who were each saying their own thing and could not get to the point, clearly each having their own thoughts, he immediately made a decision.

"Very well, I will take the responsibility to grant you the top-grade classic in advance; you just wait for now."

He did not give it directly, because he still had to ask Meng Changqing what classic he had originally intended to give Du En, and then have him secretly send it over.

After all, he still had to entangle the four True Monarchs in front of him; in reality, he could not be careless.

Having obtained what he wanted, Du En naturally appeared satisfied.

Looking at his side, he did not need to worry about the camp and stronghold matters at this moment; others who came with him were very conscious and went to work on setting them up.

The four of them appeared to have nothing to do; having achieved dominance among their peers of the same rank, they could be considered the designated leading generals this time.

Since they were the generals leading the charge, naturally, they did not need to engage in manual labor or construction.

"I am the most important person here right now, so it is only right that I should be the first to speak!"

Nangong Sheng looked around the circle, and without yielding, spoke thus.

According to the unspoken rule of precedence, the five people from the upper-echelon factions determined their ranking among their peers of the same stage based on the leaders of their respective factions.

He was a member of True Monarch Zhuding's faction, and now that Sheng Zhaoshui, who was like a True Monarch himself, was not here, it was indeed true that he could say he was the most important person present.

Regarding this point, among the four idle people, Lou Shuyue appeared completely indifferent, because no matter how they were ranked, she would always be in the middle, and she couldn't be the Senior Martial Sister anyway.

Therefore, since it did not involve any substantial interests, there was no need to care.

Jiang Ying had originally nodded as well, secretly counting and feeling that she was about to become the youngest, but she suddenly realized that there was also the rising dark horse, Du En, who was a representative figure of Meng Changqing's faction as it gradually became active and began to step onto the stage.

This was not the key point; the key point was that she didn't seem to be the youngest anymore!

Consequently, Jiang Ying directly abandoned the serious business on Nangong Sheng's side, turned her head with a skip, and looked toward Du En: "Ahem, Junior Martial Brother Du, come, call me Senior Martial Sister!"

Having said that, she was incomparably expectant.

After all, the target was Du En; if she could really make him call her that, wouldn't it be a disguised way of making him submit to her?

In matters like this, one had to compete for superiority!

And so, the other two who were about to discuss serious matters and had appeared indifferent could not help but fall into a pause of silence, and even the other ten people who were busy building the stronghold secretly pricked up their ears.

*Heh! * I admit that I can't beat you right now, but don't you still have to call me Senior Martial Brother/Sister?

Facing this bunch of people who won through mental victories, Du En looked at Jiang Ying, who was leaning in the closest, and calmly began to improvise: "Although there is that unwritten rule, in reality, there is also a semi-written saying."

"Hmm?"

"Strength is respected." Du En spoke with certainty, as if it were only natural, "In the Grand Competition, I defeated Sheng Zhaoshui, so now I should be ranked ahead of him, and since he is your Senior Martial Brother, it follows that I am now the Senior Martial Brother. That's correct, right?"

"Ah? This... seems, correct?"

Jiang Ying latched onto this logic and was successfully led into a loop, because it sounded reasonable and well-founded, and even the others could not help but nod.

After all, the current trend was just like that; regardless of whether it was written or not, in the end, strength was supreme, and the strong were respected!

"So, if we put it this way, the five of us circle up and re-rank, and then, I am actually still the youngest one?"

"That was already the case; there is no need to re-rank."

"Hiss..."

Jiang Ying immediately revealed a dejected expression, looking pitiful and quite cute, but it made the ten people building the stronghold shiver in unison, recalling her previously contrasting, ruthless methods.

It also made the other two on this side shake their heads secretly, thinking only that this little girl was truly easy to fool, but they did not speak out, because Du En's argument was naturally invincible for the moment; if they really spoke up to refute it, they would likely be asked with a blank expression, "Can you beat Sheng Zhaoshui?"

At that point, without a battle record, to merely rely on the sharpness of one's tongue and end up unable to step down would not be a pretty sight!

Therefore, it was better not to speak.

That way, it was neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and afterward, everyone could just address each other as they pleased.

"Ahem! Let's get back to business!"

Nangong Sheng pulled the topic back, "Internal strife is one thing, but the situation has changed; the five great Immortal Sects are gathered here, so we should temporarily put aside our grudges, face the outside together, and work in concert."

Hearing this, Lou Shuyue subconsciously wanted to argue about who was the actual leader, but then she thought of Du En's recent argument, so the words on the tip of her tongue were directly converted: "What are Senior Martial Brother Nangong's thoughts right now?"

Just thoughts for now, not thoughts for the next steps or the future.

In other words, who would be the actual leader going forward would still need to be discussed properly.

Four generals who refused to submit to one another were truly a bit too many!

The other ten "pawns" who were secretly observing this side could not help but think this at that moment.

Nangong Sheng could naturally hear the subtlety in these words and subconsciously felt only displeasure.

He actually looked down upon this kind of scheming, sinister, and sneaky behavior.

One could have strategy, but one should not be too sinister!

For example, like Du En, who was calm and open, saying what he meant, even if at times he was full of nonsense and full of schemes... never mind, let's not mention him.

Nangong Sheng shook his head in silent speechlessness, but on the surface, he did not nitpick, only speaking of his current thoughts: "Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win a hundred battles. Since the four of us come from four different regions and have all had contact with the four great Immortal Sects, we can now travel together to recognize their people and probe their bottom lines."

Simply put, it was for everyone to introduce the general situation to the others; if they encountered old rivals, they could even reveal their secrets, so that when they met later, they would naturally be able to seize the initiative.

But if things went too smoothly, it would actually not be beneficial to one's own schemes.

After all, the four of them represented four factions, and they each had their own plans and intentions for the hidden secrets within the Dragon Palace; in the end, they would still have to turn against each other...

Lou Shuyue could not help but think this, and naturally had the intention to shirk and did not want to facilitate it.

Because once the bottom lines were successfully probed and targeted preparations could be made, it was clear that the Zhuding faction, which had the most people this time, would gain the greatest advantage!

However, she immediately thought of a major, important situation to consider.

True Monarch Zhuding was leading the team!

Thus, she quickly pondered and weighed the situation, ultimately not refuting, but instead showing an attitude of silent, tacit agreement.

Jiang Ying had no opinion on this, and Du En had even less; anyway, he knew nothing, and he wanted to know everything.

Just like that, with no one objecting, led by Nangong Sheng, the four of them walked down the mountain peak and began to travel around the island, approaching the strongholds of the four great Immortal Sects to evaluate and spy on their situation.

The first stop was naturally the Mucang Immortal Sect.

Because True Monarch Zhuding, who governed the western part of the main territory of the Immortal Sects, faced the Mucang Immortal Sect, and as a member under his command, Nangong Sheng had stepped onto the front lines many times and had deep interactions with his peers of the same rank on this side, having fought them all basically, so he was naturally very familiar with them.

"They haven't suddenly popped out with any strange characters; the ones who are already dead don't need to be mentioned. On this side now, only those so-called Two Envoys of Yongliu are qualified to be opponents. As for their techniques... in short, they are a bunch of strange and troublesome guys. Previously, in the Blood-Colored Desert, they fought me repeatedly, and they were very hard to kill."

As for exactly how hard they were to kill, Nangong Sheng did not hide anything and spoke bluntly: "At the very least, you have to kill them three or four times to completely finish them off. Otherwise, if you only kill them once, you might run into them again next time; it's practically like seeing a ghost."

This kind of situation could not help but make one wary and concerned.

An immortal body?

It didn't quite look like it.

If one followed the saying about "seeing a ghost," could it be that they were using a unique technique where "humans die to become ghosts, ghosts die to become zhen, zhen die to become xi, xi die to become yi, and yi die to become the void"?

In short, if this is truly the case, it is quite troublesome!

"However, there is actually no need to worry too much about this, because they do not resurrect on the spot after death, so one only needs to kill them once inside the Dragon Palace."

"Also, according to my experience, to break their secret arts or secret methods, it is best to kill them until their Dao Heart shatters; that way, you will never see them again. But the key is that these guys are arrogant, conceited, and rigid, so it is actually very difficult to achieve this."

Speaking of this, he feigned a frown of concern, though in reality, he was quite expectant.

Because Du En's Phoenix Blood Spear, or rather, Phoenix Remnant Hatred, is actually quite effective at restraining these guys!

The other two women also understood this and did not reveal any clues at this moment, even Jiang Ying was the same.

Du En nodded gently and, as if inspecting, looked toward the stronghold camp opposite.

Gusts of sinister wind blew, bringing a chill to the daylight.

Individual figures were wrapped in deep black robes, revealing only a pair of eyes; the atmosphere appeared sneaky and sinister, as if they had the words "I am not a good person" carved onto themselves.

It was quite normal; the four of them, who had come over brazenly to scout the enemy situation, were naturally discovered by the Mucang cultivators.

At this moment, the ten people remaining on this side stopped their original movements one after another, appearing to look over with arrogant disdain, a sense of pride arising spontaneously, as if they felt naturally superior to others by one or even several levels—this was already carved into their Dao Hearts.

Judging from Nangong Sheng's words, even a forceful defeat of them would not be able to break this arrogant mindset and subsequently dismantle the strange method they possessed.

This was quite strange, because people who would normally think this way would surely do so because of the superiority of their strength and status, or because of a wicked nature, which is why such twisted changes would sprout.

Once defeated, they would be unable to believe it, and their Dao Hearts would collapse!

Yet these Mucang cultivators were completely different; the most obvious point was that, when faced with the decision of True Monarch Zhuding earlier, they actually dared to act out!

Although they now seemed to have learned their lesson and appeared silent, having just expressed nothing toward Nangong Sheng's words, they still appeared exceptionally unperturbed, still feeling that they were high and mighty, as if they were above all living beings!

Therefore, in order to further confirm this, Du En spoke intentionally at this time: "Speaking of which, judging from the performance of the True Monarchs just now, our sect's True Monarch Zhuding seems exceptionally forceful?"

Once these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

What surprised Lou Shuyue and Jiang Ying was that Du En had dared to observe just now, and now dared to say it out loud, not fearing being heard by the high-end True Monarchs in the sky.

Nangong Sheng's silence was him organizing his words; he was not afraid to discuss this matter, though he had not dared to observe just now either.

Having organized them quickly, he only carried feelings of respect and admiration.

"Because the True Monarch is different; he is a true legend, the only legend in the history of Immortal Sect hegemony who climbed up step by step from an ordinary person of no rank to reach his current position as a powerful Heaven's Pride True Monarch!"

"Unlike other living True Monarchs, whose starting points were at least first-class elites, and most of whom were born Heaven's Pride, he is the only record holder to date!"

"And it has been five thousand years since he achieved the position of True Monarch; he once fought three True Monarchs of the same rank alone without falling into a disadvantage—he can be called a model for us all!"

His ferocity is beyond doubt.

Judging from the reaction of the Mucang cultivators upon hearing this, it can indeed be corroborated—they are very clear about the weight of this situation; their gazes became heavy, but even so, they were still able to maintain their original nature.

There is a hundred percent chance there is a problem!

It is very likely that, like the lower-level bottom-dwellers over at Fudong, there is a situation involving external intervention and processing!

Du En pondered this in his heart.

And seeing him appear so calm, while the enemy side had no obvious reaction, Nangong Sheng, who had been talkative and full of admiration just a moment ago, was immediately unhappy.

"Du En, you could at least show some change in expression; you can't just think you can do it too because you also climbed from the bottom with no rank—I also climbed up from being bottom-tier cannon fodder, and I wouldn't dare think like that..."

He rambled on, full of complaints and hidden dissatisfaction.

It was very genuine, because True Monarch Zhuding could be said to be a monument he pursued, an object that those of them with the worst starting points needed to look up to...

In any case, he was using his own situation to further give the enemy a false perception.

The Mucang cultivators all knew about Nangong Sheng's situation; when they met in the past, they could not avoid mocking each other, and they had fought until both sides collapsed more than once in the Blood-Colored Desert.

If the Mucang cultivators were misled into thinking that Du En was also a peer of the same type, a type inclined toward frontal combat, thereby ignoring his most outstanding point—his talent as an Artifact Master—then they could be given a surprise when the time came.

In any case, Du En had a life-bound magic treasure with a thousand transformations, so pretending to be a combatant was very simple; if nothing else, Xiong Fa's War-Stopping Halberd seemed appropriate, though it was a bit weak in strength and needed additional amplification and strengthening.

Of course, there was also some resentment and dissatisfaction, which Nangong Sheng expressed along the way.

"I know, I admire him very much; back then, when facing him, I even dared to strike head-on."

"Hm?!"

Oh?

Hearing this, the Mucang cultivators could not help but pay extra attention.

Although judging by the fact that he was able to come along, he was inevitably a newly risen peer powerhouse, but now it seemed he was even more fanatical than the battle-maniac Nangong Sheng?

It might be empty talk, but there was no need to talk big, or rather, one could not treat it as him talking big!

Thus, the Mucang cultivators became somewhat more solemn, but because of this, their contempt for Du En actually increased.

In any case, it was not right; it was very strange!

Du En kept it in mind secretly and left with the other three.

Because some topics, no matter how impatient one is, cannot be discussed in front of the enemy.

(End of this chapter)