Chapter 450: Preparations Complete, Heading to the Qingxuan Star Realm

I really should have asked for less before!

At this very moment, Meng Changqing felt nothing but this heartache.

Had he known that Senior Martial Brother Chengru True Monarch was wealthy to such an extent, he certainly wouldn't have agreed to the terms so easily; now, it was too late to say anything... Perhaps, could I try being a bit more shameless? Anyway, there's no need to be polite with these guys! "Finally, I have one more secret technique here, called the Nirvana Profound Strategy. It is a secret technique created by imitating the divine ability of Phoenix Nirvana. One of you is a Divine Mirror Crow, and the other is a human-race Little Golden Crow; you should both be able to use this to briefly obtain quite decent power. Of course, how exactly you use it depends on yourselves."

Just as Meng Changqing was struggling with this, Chengru True Monarch tossed out another jade slip.

It was a jade slip made from the exotic material Phoenix-Cry Stone. As it spun around, crisp phoenix cries rang out, instantly making one feel as if their soul were purified. However, to tell the truth, if it weren't for the fact that the Phoenix Remnant Grudge's port was now basically under the control of Du En's side, I fear its edge heat would already be clamoring and boiling, noisy and incessant.

Clearly, this inheritance appeared quite extraordinary!

This finally made Meng Changqing unable to help but sink his face.

Because Chengru True Monarch really gave too much this time!

The other party's accumulated wealth over nearly ten thousand years was simply absurdly exaggerated; the crumbs that leaked out were things that Meng Changqing, a young quasi-True Monarch, could not compare to.

Therefore, as he looked at the one god and one human beside him, he always felt that their calm, stunned expressions contained a flavor of "Oh no, we followed the wrong person!"

Unable to help thinking this, Meng Changqing gave a start and became very nervous, secretly transmitting his voice to the two: "You must be careful. Although this Nirvana Profound Strategy is visibly extraordinary, I fear he is thinking of dragging out the Phoenix Remnant Grudge. His motives are unfathomable and his intentions are sinister; he wants you to sacrifice yourselves at the necessary moment! Even if everything goes smoothly, there might be a situation where he triggers it from afar..."

Because the Phoenix's Nirvana divine ability is now bound to the Phoenix Remnant Grudge, if the two of them really learn to use this secret technique, I fear they might truly borrow the body to pull out the main body of that Remnant Grudge. At that time, their fate will only be like that Formless Birth Mother—one hundred percent dead on the spot!

However, although one certainly cannot ignore Chengru True Monarch's malicious intentions, your current anxiousness clearly shows that you have lost your composure and are quite lacking in confidence.

Du En thought this to himself in secret.

"Don't worry about the problem of the Solar Essence, I will handle it!"

"The resolution is indeed a profound insight; I will be careful and on guard."

Du En calmly changed his phrasing and transmitted back.

Then, without waiting for the somewhat stressed Meng Changqing to comfort An Shen, Chengru True Monarch seemed to have already sensed the lack of confidence here, so he said to An Shen:

"This fellow Daoist's current situation cannot be delayed, especially at this critical juncture of being entrusted with a task in a crisis. Therefore, if possible, it is better to get a body as soon as possible."

This remark clearly carried an intention to recruit, as if An Shen only needed to nod and change sides for him to immediately reshape a body for him.

Meng Changqing could not help but widen his eyes, his gaze unkind as a blade, fiercely gouging his Senior Martial Brother.

An Shen, however, appeared very calm: "As for advice from a senior expert, a junior like me will naturally listen and accept it."

"Is that so?"

"Naturally."

"... Truly a wise course of action."

The conversation between these two was somewhat enigmatic; in just a few short sentences, it was hard to tell for a moment where the wisdom lay.

In any case, their conversation suddenly came to an end here.

Meng Changqing naturally breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly gave his word to An Shen in secret.

After receiving his positive response, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued the inspection.

The scene suddenly became quiet, with only the quasi-True Monarch still busy without stop, determined to carefully examine every single item; he couldn't even let a blade of grass go, having to look inside and out a dozen times! His distrust of Chengru True Monarch was completely etched on his face! This True Monarch was light and breezy, saying absolutely nothing about it, and even seemed to carry a little smile, as if treating a naughty, stubborn child. At the same time, his posture was far too peaceful, as if the imminent urgency were fake, hollow, and wrong.

However, it was not that the situation was not truly urgent, but rather that if the other side really wanted to buy some time, it was actually quite simple.

The flow of time seemed to have become a bit off?

Although the entire Fifth Peak, and even the entire Falling Feather Main Sect, actually appeared quite normal, with no traces of the time sequence being affected, at this moment, Du En scanned his surroundings imperceptibly and still faintly sensed a very subtle clue.

Because when he was previously being re-nurtured by the Source of Ten Thousand Lights, he was in a place where time was very peculiar. Coupled with the fact that he had already comprehended and mastered a secret technique involving the principles of time, he was able to detect that clue.

In any case, let's not think too much about other things for now. It was clear that this delay was something Chengru True Monarch had long anticipated and prepared for, so it would not affect the main business.

Although this only served to highlight his unfathomability and Meng Changqing's inferiority.

Thus, he and An Shen took advantage of this gap to talk quietly.

"What does Fellow Daoist An think?"

"Think about what?"

"Just the Resolution's performance earlier. His attitude would likely cause some unease for allies and fellow practitioners, as it might affect Fellow Daoist An's stance, so I couldn't help but put in a word."

Du En acted as if he didn't want to waste energy on such matters, but since he had a little free time, he would help the higher-ups share the burden. In short, he was very calm and didn't seem to feel that a change in An Shen's stance or attitude would have any substantial impact on him.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

Having a powerful and reliable companion to help is certainly a good thing, but even without one, it would just return to the previous state of being enemies.

Not long ago in the Life Source Star Realm, Du En had not been shaken or afraid because of this, and naturally, it would be even more so now and in the future! "... Resolution Meng is indeed very lacking in confidence when facing this Hidden Venerable, so he is overly nervous and guarded, and just now he even lost his composure. I must say, as an allied fellow practitioner or a superior leader, that is a major point deduction."

An Shen was silent for a moment, seemingly weighing whether Du En had any hidden attitude; after all, this topic was quite subtle, and one careless word could easily lead to misunderstanding. However, he immediately spoke quite directly.

Du En's tone of reply was also very ordinary; it was not cold, calm, or distant, but as ordinary as water—just chatting.

"Lacking confidence is actually quite normal. Facing this True Monarch, apart from the Supremes, who would dare say they have sufficient confidence? Also, although the Resolution always considers himself a senior and likes to act as a patriarch, sometimes even wanting to force others to move forward, if you think about it carefully, the things he has actually experienced personally should not be many. Compared to Fellow Daoist An, one can only say he is very top-tier."

"... Are you trying to say he stands too high?"

"I didn't say that."

"... Then what exactly are you trying to say?"

"I'm just idle with nothing to do, so I said it casually."

"..."

An Shen could not help but fall into silence. Looking at Du En, who was calm, relaxed, and as usual, as if he were not bothered by the current situation at all, many thoughts flashed through his mind.

To tell the truth, as he gradually understood Meng Changqing's subtle situation within the Immortal Sect, he did indeed have some other considerations.

To be in the same boat... if one could really be that naive, the Holy-Dark War would not have broken out previously. Relatively speaking, compared to Chang Meng, the Holy God was a more reliable and credible image in his heart.

Meng Changqing chose to trust him without suspicion so readily precisely because he underestimated the rational thinking here, while Du En understood very well that such vague words were like a warning, or perhaps a reminder of something.

The An Shen Diamond Mirror floated up and down, and suddenly paused slightly.

Du En spoke again.

"Actually, the Resolution being extra careful now is not a wrong thing. After all, Chengru True Monarch just probed our side slightly and even brought out the Nirvana Profound Strategy, which is clearly a poisoned bait." "That is indeed true."

"There is one more point. If the Resolution can really detect some hidden moves or tricks in it, the situation might actually be better. Otherwise, given his generous performance this time, it only shows that even with these safeguards, it is still not secure enough for the Qingxuan Star Realm we are about to face."

Life and death are unpredictable, and the danger is extreme! The more the True Monarch is unsparing and lavish with his actions, the more it only goes to show the arduousness of the path ahead, to the point where he doesn't even have the spare energy or heart to play any little tricks.

"The Supreme's scheme..."

An Shen murmured to himself, his gaze deep and filled with apprehension.

In truth, he was not only wary of that Supreme Luoyu, but also quite wary of True Monarch Chengru, who was not far away, wearing a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, as if he had been eavesdropping, yet also as if he hadn't.

To be honest, his impression of this person was actually quite terrible.

In his rational logic, if he were to cooperate with True Monarch Chengru, the cost of cooperation would be to a degree he could hardly bear.

Unless he reached the Integration Stage and arrived at the True Monarch's level, perhaps he might have a sliver of an adventurous mind to snatch chestnuts from the fire; as for now, he would naturally stay as far away as possible.

But conversely, if he reached the Integration Stage, then...

Du En glanced over secretly, as if it were just a casual action, yet also as if he were observing carefully.

At this point, the brief conversation in the shadows had already ended, and the overall atmosphere seemed to have undergone a subtle change.

Among the four present, Meng Changqing's state of mind was likely the most simple and direct at the moment.

Muttering and cursing.

However, his efficiency in screening was actually super high, and his methods were quite numerous; hundreds of screening methods, whether long-established or self-created, were deployed to the maximum extent through his main body.

Even so, it took a full two hours to finally finish the screening.

He returned a small portion of the materials, as well as some tools for setting up arrays.

Then, from the main room where his main body was located, he flew out the items he had hastily made to fill the gaps.

It wasn't that there was anything wrong with those things, but he couldn't guarantee there wasn't, so he simply did it this way.

Only then did he nod with satisfaction and hand the items to Du En and the others.

Du En only took those materials, because he had the blessed land of Kongsang Mountain, which had enough space to easily fit an entire mountain, so these were naturally not a problem.

"Let Fellow Daoist An hold the treasure array; I haven't studied this, and if I were to control it, it would truly be a waste of a heavenly treasure. As for learning from scratch now, I likely don't have the time or leisure."

Seeing him say this, An Shen did not refuse; his main body in the mirror spread its wings slightly, forming a small space within the space, immediately sucking the two sets of treasure arrays inside, and then began to ponder the mysteries within while multitasking.

Setting up an array is not a simple matter, especially this kind of sixth-tier treasure array. If Du En were to do it, he would likely have to ponder for a year or half a year just to get started, and then he would have to work from scratch to reach the level of a master of the sixth tier, or even perfection, to ensure nothing goes wrong.

Next, Du En conveniently gave An Shen one Nine-Turn Life-Returning Treasure Pill, one Flowing Light Treasure Talisman, and one Return-to-Self Reappearance Treasure Talisman, which counted as the distribution for this.

The treasure artifacts are held here, the treasure arrays are held there, and the rest are basically split in half. If materials are needed later, they can be taken then; if no one speaks up to say they are needed, then it is defaulted that they all belong to Du En.

"Simple, fast, and high efficiency!"

True Monarch Chengru clapped his hands lightly, appearing to be praising.

"... Forget it, I won't bicker with you right now."

Feeling like he was being alluded to, Meng Changqing twitched the corner of his mouth and decided not to say anything.

"Since that is the case, let us set off immediately."

True Monarch Chengru said this, and after Meng Changqing nodded, his expression became solemn. He raised a hand and pointed at the sky above, and in an instant, a page of space-time was peeled back, as if a cover had disappeared, revealing a very bizarre and grotesque phenomenon from within.

Orderly yet twisted, strange yet upright...

"Is this the Path of Luli?"

"That's right. I searched secretly for a long time before finding it in a corner of the starry sky. It is a secret treasure left behind by the Luli King, who was killed by Supreme Mucang back in the day."

"Is that so? If it really is the Path of Luli, then you two can indeed pay a little attention to sensing it; it is very beneficial for Void Refinement."

Meng Changqing was somewhat hesitant, but still said this. Du En and An Shen naturally nodded, then without hesitation, they leaped up and stepped into it together.

The page of space-time slowly flipped back to cover it.

A long time passed, yet it was also only an instant.

When the Path of Luli closed, the people walking inside had already left and arrived at the Qingxuan Star Realm.

"Bizarre and grotesque, orderly and upright, good and evil, heaven, earth, people, and spirits—in the end, all are heaven and earth, all within heaven and earth."

True Monarch Chengru suddenly sighed with emotion, shook his head, and was about to turn and leave.

"Hmm?"

Meng Changqing flashed over to block him: "Are you really not going to look after them a little? Just letting go and not caring at all?"

"What could be done has already been done. Do one's best and leave the rest to fate. Let's just see if these juniors can shoulder the future. After all, if things go wrong in the near future, you and I will have to risk our lives against Master."

"..."

Meng Changqing immediately fell silent. He had originally wanted to ask more about how they would return, but looking at the Senior Brother in front of him, he ultimately did not ask again or stop him.

Because, in fact, there was no need to pursue the question.

If this attempt to stop the Supreme's scheme succeeds, then there will be plenty of ways to return by using various means.

But if the operation fails, then surely not even a scrap of a corpse will be found!

Going to the Qingxuan Star Realm at this moment and stepping into the Supreme's trap, there could not possibly be a third outcome!

But even so, for Du En, it was something he had to do.

Because the Supreme's scheme affects the whole world, and no one can stay out of it.

Moreover, it concerns resentment and evil; that thing has a special fondness for Du En, so it really cannot be ignored.

Finally, if the obstruction is successful, the proficiency of Zhujun Cheshi will surely be able to skyrocket...

(End of chapter)