Chapter 428: Li Huo Shangren, A Guest from the East Sea [Thanks to Daoist Chunnuan Shiyizhou for the 6666 coin donation]

Half a year later.

The news of Qin Ming achieving the status of a Nascent Soul True Monarch spread farther and farther, already reaching several surrounding Immortal Realms.

As time passed.

Not only was Moon Gazing Island bustling with excitement, but the entire spiritual energy Archipelago was also immersed in a festive atmosphere for a long time.

Qin Ming's Nascent Soul grand ceremony was about to begin; cultivators from the Four Nations Alliance and the people of Moon Gazing Island were all busy making various preparations.

Sending out invitations to all parties, decorating the venues, preparing banquets—everything was proceeding with intense urgency.

On Moon Gazing Island.

A streak of yellow escape light tore across the sky, landing on the spiritual island to reveal Wu Jiang, his head full of silver hair.

He solemnly instructed the cultivators below who were busy decorating the square: "All of you be careful; every blade of grass and every tree on this spiritual island is extremely precious; absolutely do not damage any of them!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Clan Leader Wu."

Wu Jiang nodded, then departed with satisfaction.

The cultivators busy on the periphery watched Wu Jiang's departing figure, and everyone couldn't help but reveal expressions of envy.

After all, being able to work under a Nascent Soul True Monarch was a position countless people would break their heads trying to obtain.

However, just as they were working energetically.

The entire space nearby suddenly began to tremble, as if some terrifying entity was about to descend.

Consequently, the spiritual energy in the surroundings also became chaotic.

Then, ripples suddenly spread across the sky above; the next moment, an immense spiritual pressure abruptly descended.

The cultivators of the Four Nations Alliance and the members of the Wu family, including Wu Jiang himself, all revealed panicked expressions in the face of this shocking spiritual pressure.

Some cultivators with lower cultivation bases even lost their footing and fell directly to the ground in a sitting position.

As a streak of crimson escape light dissipated, a cultivator had somehow appeared in the sky above them without anyone noticing.

This was an elderly man with golden hair wearing a python robe; his figure was slightly slight and small, yet the magic power and spiritual pressure he emitted caused everyone below to change color in shock.

"A Nascent Soul True Monarch!"

The next instant.

Whoosh! On the main peak of Moon Gazing Island, a green rainbow flashed and vanished, then steadily landed before the red-haired elder, revealing Qin Ming's form.

His powerful divine sense, comparable to that of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, had actually detected the red-haired elder's tracks long ago; he had simply chosen not to go out to greet him intentionally. The moment Qin Ming appeared, an even more terrifying spiritual pressure descended, instantly overwhelming the pressure released by the other party.

The red-haired elder's expression changed abruptly, unable to suppress a hint of horror.

He immediately retracted the spiritual pressure and aura emanating from his body.

"Hehe! You must be the newly promoted 'Moon Gazing True Monarch' of the Southern Wilderness, correct?"

"Congratulations on your successful breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm; I am Li Huo Shangren Ding Pu, here specifically to witness the ceremony and offer my congratulations."

"Friend Qin achieved the Nascent Soul realm in merely three hundred years, breaking the record for the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator in both Great Jin and the Southern Wilderness over the past thousand years."

"Your path of cultivation knows no limits! Truly something to celebrate."

Li Huo Shangren was seeing this newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivator of legend for the first time; he immediately plastered on a smile, his lips smiling but his eyes not, and cupped his hands toward him.

Qin Ming's first impression on him was like an ancient, verdant, towering evergreen tree; his temperament was as indifferent as water, and he appeared extremely young.

Yet after that slight probe just now, he already had a rough estimate in his heart.

This youth's cultivation strength was likely exactly as his disciples had reported back; he was no ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

Cultivators capable of surviving an Earthly Fiend Heavenly Tribulation had not appeared even in the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty for a very long time.

His divine abilities and methods would certainly not be mediocre.

Therefore, Li Huo Shangren did not dare to act arrogantly; upon seeing Qin Ming, he did not put on a haughty posture relying on the power of the Li Huo Palace.

For cultivators who had reached their step, the art of hiding one's light and nourishing obscurity had already reached an extremely profound realm.

"So it is Fellow Daoist Ding from Li Huo Palace; please come onto the island for a chat." Qin Ming's expression remained normal as he made an inviting gesture.

Immediately, Qin Ming led Li Huo Shangren to the Green Wood Pavilion on the main peak.

A moment later.

Li Huo Shangren witnessed the fourth-grade spiritual vein on the island, as well as the dazzling array of high-grade spiritual plants, which were no inferior to the spiritual plant gardens of their own sect.

There were even some rare spiritual plants that the Li Huo Palace had never seen before, causing him to admire deeply in silence.

"I heard that Fellow Daoist Qin originated as a spiritual planter; I did not expect your attainment in this path to be so high; you are probably not far from the fourth-grade realm, are you?"

"Hehe! These are just some little trifles Qin Mou planted in his spare time; they cannot compare to your sect's treasures." Qin Ming replied casually.

"Hehe! Fellow Daoist Qin is truly humble and low-key."

"Breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm silently and without fanfare is quite consistent with your style."

After entering the main hall, Li Huo Shangren flipped his hand, and a long wooden box appeared in his grasp.

Then he stepped forward with a smile and presented it to Qin Ming: "Fellow Daoist Qin, please forgive my previous offenses; had I known that such a great cultivator was guarding the Southern Wilderness, I would never have come here to conscript soldiers."

"The disciples under the Palace are ignorant; if any have offended or clashed with Fellow Daoist Qin, please do not take it to heart."

"Since the Southern Wilderness has you guarding it, it will no longer be in a vassal relationship with Great Jin in the future, and the Li Huo Palace will no longer interfere in the affairs of the Southern Wilderness Immortal Realm; please rest assured on this point."

"Sigh! It is mainly because the front lines are critical and the demonic path is rampant; I too was forced by circumstances."

"This set of fourth-grade lower-grade Celestial Gang Crimson Yang Array shall serve as a congratulatory gift, just to express my slight intentions."

As an old monster who had lived for over a thousand years, Li Huo Shangren's narration was reasonable, vivid, and convincing; had it been anyone else, they might have actually believed it.

Qin Ming accepted the wooden box with an expressionless face, put it away without even glancing at it.

"Then Qin Mou accepts your sect's kind intentions."

When Li Huo Shangren arrived at Moon Gazing Island, he had already discerned that there was only a single third-grade middle-grade island-protection great formation here.

Originally, for this visit, he had prepared to bleed heavily, intending to endure the pain of gifting a bottle of spiritual pills suitable for the Nascent Soul stage.

Firstly as an apology, and secondly as a congratulatory gift.

But when he saw the conditions of this place clearly, he temporarily changed his mind; although the value of this fourth-tier protective formation was not as great as that of a spirit pill, it was still presentable.

More importantly, it saved a huge expense.

After all, fourth-tier pills for the Nascent Soul stage were truly rare and hard to find.

"By the way, Daoist Ding, with your sect, the Alliance of Upholding the Dao, and the many powers and sects of Great Zhou, can you not pacify this war?" Qin Ming took this opportunity to inquire silently.

After inviting the other party to be seated, he poured a cup of Snow Soul Spirit Tea for them. Upon hearing this, Li Huo Shangren sighed, "Daoist Qin, you do not know!"

"With your current cultivation and vision, you should have heard of the matter of 'World Descent,' correct?"

Qin Ming took a sip of tea, did not hide anything, and nodded slightly.

Li Huo Shangren continued speaking, "If it were only the Yin Demon Sect of Great Li and the Divine Dao Mountain of the Southern Border, our Alliance of Upholding the Dao would have long since repelled them at the gates."

"But the key point is that we never expected that during this descent of the Blood Universe Realm, some unexpected anomalies occurred; when the time limit arrived for what should have been a ten-year Heavenly Demon Tribulation to end, the demon tribulation not only failed to end and return to the upper realm, but instead intensified."

Hearing this, Qin Ming also showed surprise on his face and could not help but ask aloud, "Something went wrong with the World Descent?"

After all, it concerned his own life; although Qin Ming had already broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, his body still bore the Blood Ring Curses of disciples from several Blood Refining Demon Sects.

He had to be cautious.

"That is correct; no one knows what went wrong with this tidal convergence of realms, but until a few years ago, I finally sent people to investigate and clarify the reason behind it."

"Between the Blood Universe Realm and the Human Realm, at several spatial rifts located in Great Li, abnormal fluctuations appeared, directly connecting a spatial channel."

"An endless stream of cultivators from the Blood Universe Realm is flooding into the Human Realm through this channel."

"It is precisely because the demonic path of Great Li has the backing of the Blood Refining Demon Sects that they have been able to contend with our Alliance of Upholding the Dao until now."

Qin Ming had not expected that merely a few years after he left Great Jin, the situation would have changed so drastically.

But at the same time, he also sneered at Li Huo Shangren; this old fellow was also cunning and treacherous.

To this day, he had not mentioned the matter of the Qingyuan Sect's secret realm to him in the slightest.

However, since the other party did not wish to speak of it, Qin Ming had no intention of asking further, after all, he was truly not very interested in matters regarding secret realms.

Immediately, he asked the question he was currently most concerned about.

"Then, according to what Daoist Li Huo has said, if a spatial channel has appeared between the two realms, will the high-level cultivators within those Blood Refining Demon Sects descend directly to the Human Realm?"

Li Huo Shangren seemed to have anticipated this question, "Hmm, judging by the current situation, although the convergence of realms has greatly increased the number of demon cultivators passing through, it is limited to demon cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage."

"But if the spatial channel undergoes changes and widens in the future, what situation will develop then is something we cannot predict."

"It is not impossible for a Nascent Soul Qishang Mojun or even a Soul Transformation Demon Venerable to descend to the lower realm; at that time, the Human Realm will inevitably suffer devastation, and even we Nascent Soul cultivators will be unable to fully protect ourselves."

"Fortunately, the overall strength of the Blood Universe Realm and the Human Realm is evenly matched, with the former only being slightly stronger."

"If other major realms were to converge and invade, such as a convergence with the true Demon Realm, the consequences would be truly unimaginable; I fear the Human Realm would be bathed in blood in an instant."

"Therefore, Daoist Qin must also understand the difficulties of our sect! At present, it is only because the Alliance of Upholding the Dao of Great Jin is holding the line at the front that the Southern Wilderness is under no pressure from demonic invasion."

"Once Great Jin falls, it is only a matter of time before the demon sects invade the Southern Wilderness."

Seeing Qin Ming's considerable interest in this, Li Huo Shangren took the opportunity of explaining to play the emotional card, describing how their Li Huo Palace spared no means to fight for resources as magnificent and utterly selfless.

Qin Ming, however, held his teacup, his expression showing complete indifference, and said lightly, "If those demonic paths wish to invade the Southern Wilderness, they had better think twice; I happen to wish to experience the methods of a Qishang Mojun firsthand."

Hiss~ He had not expected that even after saying all this, Qin Ming would still react with such an attitude, appearing extremely confident in his own strength.

Li Huo Shangren's expression was utterly shocked.

Are young people all like this nowadays? One must remember that he had only just advanced to the Nascent Soul stage.

"Hehe! Daoist Qin possesses extraordinary courage and divine abilities; I, an old man, am impressed!" Li Huo Shangren could only force a laugh to agree.

Immediately following this.

Qin Ming transmitted a voice to Shi Tian Shu, telling it to bring Jing Qing from the Li Huo Palace up.

The moment Li Huo Shangren saw Shi Tian Shu, he was also suddenly startled; this third-tier peak semi-formed Demon King before his eyes was already comparable to half a Nascent Soul cultivator.

'No wonder this Wangyue Zhenjun was so calm upon hearing of the demonic invasion; it turns out that not only is his attainment in spirit planting peerless, but his path of beast taming is also unassuming yet profound.'

Shi Tian Shu led Jing Qing into the main hall; at this moment, relying on its master's power, it did not put this Nascent Soul Zhenjun, Li Huo Shangren, in its eyes at all.

It shoved Jing Qing forward and shouted in a ruffian manner, "Be more low-key next time, don't fall into this Grandpa's hands again; having to serve your food and drink for the past half-year has truly affected my clam-fishing time, hmph!"

"Consider yourself lucky, kid."

Then, raising its black steel fork, it patted its buttocks and walked out of the main hall. Seeing this scene, Li Huo Shangren's eyelids could not help but twitch.

Jing Qing's aura was withered; seeing his own ancestral elder come to retrieve him, and recalling all that had happened to him over these past half-year, having suffered endless torment from that rat demon, instantly various inexplicable emotions surged into his heart, and he could not help but choke up, "Disciple Jing Qing pays respects to the Supreme Elder!"

Seeing that the Nascent Soul seed of his sect had been reduced to such a state, Li Huo Shangren immediately reached out to check; fortunately, only some meridians were damaged, the foundation was not harmed, and it would not affect future cultivation.

As long as he returned to recuperate for ten or so years, he would be able to recover.

Only then did his complexion improve slightly, "Hehe! I have caused trouble for Daoist Qin."

"It is nothing," Qin Ming said indifferently.

Just at this moment, Qin Ming's expression moved slightly; he discovered that the aura of another Nascent Soul Zhenjun had already approached the vicinity of the spiritual energy Islands.

So he turned his head and asked Li Huo Shangren:

"Did Daoist Li Huo invite any other fellow daoists to come along on this visit to Wangyue Island?"

Li Huo Shangren was immediately stunned, "I did not? Why does Daoist Qin say this?"

"In that case, I am afraid I must go out to welcome them; a Nascent Soul daoist has already arrived outside," Qin Ming said lightly.

Immediately, Li Huo Shangren, with a look of suspicion, secretly released his divine sense to probe, yet he detected nothing. Why would Qin Ming say such a thing? As Li Huo Shangren came to his senses, he was suddenly startled; could it be... In less than half an incense stick's time, a blue streak of escaping light landed on Wangyue Island with extreme speed, emitting a Nascent Soul-level magic power aura. Li Huo Shangren was instantly stunned on the spot; what did this signify? It signified that Qin Ming's divine sense was so powerful it far exceeded his own.

A distance that he himself could not probe, the other party had actually detected with ease.

While still shocked, he also followed Qin Ming flying out, preparing to meet the arriving Nascent Soul fellow daoist.

When Qin Ming and the other arrived above Wangyue Island and saw the newcomer clearly, it was a strange Nascent Soul early-stage cultivator.

This person was dressed in extremely plain hemp clothing; she was a silver-haired old woman, her gaze restrained, her complexion ruddy, holding a dragon-wood staff that was pitch-black throughout, emitting a subtle yet powerful aura.

Merely from the first glance, Qin Ming had already judged that although they were both at the Nascent Soul early stage, this old woman before him was obviously much stronger than that Li Huo Shangren.

As he expected, the moment Li Huo Shangren saw the silver-haired old woman appear, he immediately put on a smiling face and greeted her warmly:

"Fellow Daoist Long Mu, it has been a long time; I never expected you to come as well."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, allow this old man to introduce you: this is the renowned True Monarch Long Mu of the Penglai Immortal Sect in the East Sea Immortal Realm."

The silver-haired old woman known as 'True Monarch Long Mu' merely gave a slight nod in response to Li Huo Shangren's greeting.

Immediately, she turned her head, a smile appearing on her face, and said to Qin Ming:

"This old one was recently conducting affairs near the Black Sea and happened to hear that a new Nascent Soul fellow Daoist has once again emerged in the Southern Desolate Immortal Realm; thus, I have come uninvited to beg a cup of celebratory wine. I hope you do not mind, Fellow Daoist?"

……

(End of Chapter)