Chapter 459: Zhiyang Shangren, Rumored Secrets

Inside the Long Yuan Hall.

Qin Ming and Elder Cold Crow walked over and took their seats next to the position of Long Mu Zhenjun of the Penglai Sect.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, Fellow Daoist Cold Crow, you have arrived."

"Fellow Daoist Long Mu."

"Fellow Daoist Chen."

Long Mu Zhenjun and Chen Muzhi rose from their seats to greet the two.

The moment Qin Ming entered, more than twenty pairs of eyes within the hall fell upon him; although no divine sense was emitted to probe him, he immediately felt somewhat uneasy.

Immediately after, two familiar Nascent Soul cultivators walked in.

As soon as these two entered the hall, they headed straight toward Qin Ming's direction.

"Fellow Daoist Xia."

"Fellow Daoist Long Yangzi."

Upon seeing the two, Qin Ming also rose, smiling to greet them, and did not forget to introduce: "This is Qin Mou's friend across generations, Elder Cold Crow of the Xuanqing Observatory in the Great Zhou Immortal Realm."

'Friend across generations.' Hearing this, Elder Cold Crow's facial skin couldn't help but twitch.

Immediately, Elder Cold Crow had no choice but to rise and greet the two.

However, upon learning that the two before him were elders of the Tianhai Alliance, and furthermore the two city masters of Tianlan Xiancheng, Elder Cold Crow nearly failed to sit steady.

He couldn't help but secretly transmit a voice to Qin Ming, then said with a bitter smile:

"Fellow Daoist Qin truly lives up to his reputation for having extensive connections, even knowing fellow Daoists from the Tianhai Alliance."

Afterwards.

All the Nascent Soul comrades within the hall were secretly observing the situation.

Qin Ming discovered that among the cultivators present, several obscure rogue Nascent Soul cultivators had also appeared, estimated to be ascetics who had hidden for years within famous rivers and great marshes.

Among them was an elderly Nascent Soul cultivator dressed like a fishing old man, who had even come wearing a straw raincoat, utterly unkempt.

The Nascent Soul old monsters seated there were either ethereal and bone-deeply immortal, or had white hair and youthful faces with solemn, majestic appearances; some adopted a simple, frugal style, wearing coarse cloth and hemp garments. Seeing that the person hosting the trading assembly had not yet entered.

Qin Ming also exchanged cultivation insights with several nearby comrades, discussing immortals and debating the Dao, speaking of the mysterious and the wonderful.

Not long after.

Inside the Long Yuan Hall, a group of female cultivators, whose beauty and figures were both supreme regardless of appearance, gracefully walked in; clad in rainbow skirts and feathered robes, accompanied by faint celestial music, they danced gracefully to add to the festivities.

Afterwards.

Various immortal delicacies and fine dishes, along with precious gourmet foods and spiritual brews, filled the jade tables for the enjoyment of the Nascent Soul True Lords present.

The Shi Tian Shu squatted on the jade table before Qin Ming, one hand clutching a flat peach and gnawing wildly, while the other held a wine cup as large as itself; watching the fairies dancing and singing joyfully within the arena, it said with animated eyebrows: "Keep dancing, keep rejoicing~"

……

……

After a while.

Just as Qin Ming was exchanging words with several fellow Daoists.

Several more people walked in from outside the hall.

Qin Ming recognized some of these individuals.

These people radiated a massive amount of demonic power from head to toe; they were members of the Sea Race from the East Sea Immortal Realm.

The leader was Crown Prince Xuanxiao of the East Sea Dragon Palace, whom Qin Ming had met once just two days prior.

Following behind him were father and son Ao Feng from Ao Bie Island, along with two unfamiliar demonic cultivators.

Crown Prince Xuanxiao possessed a pair of golden vertical-pupiled dragon eyes, manifesting his noble bloodline of an ancient true spirit.

The moment their group appeared, all the Nascent Soul old monsters present turned their heads in unison, daring not to underestimate such figures.

Crown Prince Xuanxiao also cast a glance toward Qin Ming's side, smiling slightly as a gesture of acknowledgment.

Long Mu Zhenjun beside Qin Ming, along with Elder Cold Crow and others, upon witnessing this scene, all felt a chill in their hearts! "Could it be... could it be that Fellow Daoist Qin actually knows people from the East Sea Dragon Palace?" Elder Cold Crow was already numb, yet couldn't help but ask.

Qin Ming merely smiled faintly and said: "It's not quite knowing them; I just had a brief encounter on Long Yuan Island, come to think of it... right before meeting Fellow Daoist Cold Crow."

Even with such an explanation from him, the other several comrades still found it somewhat hard to believe.

Even Long Mu Zhenjun sighed with emotion, saying: "I heard that Fellow Daoist Qin is kind-hearted and likes to broadly form good affinities; it seems this is indeed the case..."

Qin Ming felt deeply moved; a scene like this, where high-level cultivators of the human race and the sea race gathered happily together, had probably occurred only once in a thousand years.

Normally, either the human race sought to take sea race demon cores for cultivation, or demonic cultivators used human Nascent Souls for nourishment; it could be said that slaughter between them was incessant.

Such a situation of peaceful coexistence was not easily seen.

'I wonder which great expert proposed this 'Immortal Mansion Grand Assembly' as an opportunity to promote exchange between the two races.'

'A rare ceasefire and end to hostilities in a thousand years.'

Just as Qin Ming was thinking this, all the fairies in the center of the hall's dance floor withdrew one after another.

Suddenly.

He sensed an extremely powerful spiritual pressure coming from outside Long Yuan Island.

The next moment. Ripples spread through the hall; before anyone could react, a tall, middle-aged figure appeared silently within the Long Yuan Hall.

This person wore a black robe, had a square face, projected authority without anger, and possessed a dignified countenance like that of a worldly emperor.

The mid-Nascent Soul stage magic power and spiritual pressure he emitted caused everyone present to change color in alarm!

"Fellow Daoist Qin, this is Zhiyang Shangren, the Seventh Elder of the Star Palace; he is at the peak of mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivation, only one step away from breaking through to become a late-Nascent Soul Great Cultivator..."

"This Immortal Mansion Grand Assembly is jointly hosted by Zhiyang Shangren and the people of the East Sea Dragon Palace."

Xia Yuangong secretly transmitted a voice to introduce him to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming nodded inwardly, and his gaze upon this person gained a hint of pity... 'It's still alright; he has four hundred and fifty years of lifespan remaining...'

After Zhiyang Shangren arrived, the atmosphere within the hall suddenly fell silent.

"Welcome, fellow Daoists, who have traveled from afar to attend this Immortal Mansion Grand Assembly."

"Regarding this Immortal Mansion Grand Assembly, aside from exchanges among fellow Nascent Soul cultivators, I shall not burden everyone with excessive pleasantries."

"Instead, there is another major matter to discuss jointly with the fellow Daoists present: uniting our forces to deal with the descent of the Blood Universe Realm."

"According to reliable intelligence, this invading Blood Universe Realm inherits its origins from an ancient great realm—the 'Demon Realm.' If this realm completely occupies and corrupts us, I fear the Human World will, like other minor realms, be utterly reduced to a plane providing blood food, assimilated and fallen into the Demonic Path."

"The Demon Realm?!"

The crowd below the hall erupted in an uproar: "It actually involves the ancient Demon Realm?"

"So the legends are true after all. I once saw it inscribed on a stele within a secret realm: this Blood Universe Realm was originally a peaceful minor realm of the Brahma Gate, initially devoid of so many demonic sects."

"However, by chance, it was contaminated by the 'True Demon Qi' released from the Demon Realm; its path of cultivation took a different turn, becoming bloody and cruel. Furthermore, the Blood Universe Realm intersected with the Human World, marking the beginning of the Demonic Path in the Human Realm."

"True Demon Qi!!" Upon hearing this, Qin Ming felt a chill strike his heart.

Wasn't this bad news?

Back then, in order to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, he had already combined a wisp of True Demon Qi with his fleshly body's True Pill, refining it into a Demon Infant and even initially forging the Body of the Yuansha True Demon.

He had not expected the True Demon Qi to have such a significant background, possessing connections to the ancient Demon Realm.

Thinking of this,

Qin Ming immediately secretly questioned the Qingyang Yan Laomo within the Blood Pagoda: "Old Ghost, did you know about this all along?"

Upon hearing this, the Qingyang Yan Laomo merely shrugged indifferently: "This old man has always primarily cultivated the Demonic Path; this True Demon Qi is something we cultivators seek desperately. What is there to make such a fuss about?"

"Let alone the Blood Universe Realm; even a true Demon Realm is an extremely rare existence."

"That tiny bit of True Demon Qi you possess doesn't even count as scratching the surface; it merely helped you condense your fleshly body further, allowing you to barely touch the threshold of the Yuansha Demon Body. You are not even considered to have truly entered the door yet; the gap is vast, so do not worry too much."

"Have you not been contaminated by demonic qi and are you not living perfectly well?"

Having said this, the Qingyang Yan Laomo couldn't help but mutter a complaint.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming felt slightly reassured.

However, what the Qingyang Yan Laomo did not know was that his wisp of True Demon Qi had been grown from that Lei Yuanmo Jujube Tree, harvested via a trait. Not long ago, Qin Ming had buried the corpses of three Nascent Soul cultivators inside it; recently, this demonic jujube tree had shown faint signs of blooming again. But since he was currently attending a Nascent Soul gathering, he did not dwell on the matter further, shifting his attention back to the assembly hall.

Just then,

"Fellow Daoist Zhiyang, this palace has a question."

Nan Mengli, the Grand Elder of the Crystal Palace, spoke up to ask.

"Fellow Daoist Nan, please speak," Zhiyang Shangren said lightly.

"Is there not even a slight possibility of reconciliation regarding the Blood Universe Realm's invasion of the Human Realm? For as this palace knows, in terms of overall strength and resources, the Blood Universe Realm is even slightly superior to the Human Realm. Could their invasion be solely for the purpose of harvesting blood food to cultivate demonic arts and refine demonic qi?"

"After all, our Human World also possesses Soul Transformation sects; once a great war erupts between the two realms, it remains unknown who will emerge victorious."

"Just looking at the present situation, several Demon Lords of the Blood Universe Realm have already perished."

"Not to mention the Ghost Scorpion Palace that descended upon our East Sea Immortal Realm; this palace refers to that Blood Aversion Qishang Mojun of the Blood Refinement Demonic Sect, who also perished not long ago."

"Everyone should be aware that the Blood Refinement Demonic Sect is the foremost sect of the Blood Universe Realm; the cultivation strength of the Blood Aversion Qishang Mojun was significantly greater than those two from the Ghost Scorpion Palace."

"Furthermore, according to intelligence obtained by our sect, the Blood Aversion Qishang Mojun brought an extremely powerful demonic treasure down to the lower realm; it is highly probable that Great Jin's Li Huo Shangren perished at this person's hands."

"When cultivation reaches a realm like ours, instead of looking toward higher heights, we engage in life-and-death struggles only to end up with nothing in the end; this does not seem beneficial for high-level cultivators on either side, does it?"

After Nan Mengli finished speaking, her gaze swept over the Nascent Soul cultivators present.

Hearing these words, Qin Ming acted as if nothing concerned him, lightly sipping a mouthful of spiritual tea, his face neither flushing nor his heart racing...

Zhiyang Shangren pondered briefly before explaining: "What Fellow Daoist Nan Meng says has merit, alas, things do not go as wished! This descent and invasion by the Blood Universe Realm, aside from the intersection of the Lingxi plane, is related to the Spirit Realm. The hegemony and conflicts among the Human Race, Demon Race, Yao Race, and various other races within the Spirit Realm have continued until now; this cannot be explained in just a few words..."

Speaking to this level, the various Nascent Soul True Lords present all nodded in agreement.

Subsequently, Zhiyang Shangren continued speaking: "All the fellow Daoists present today hold the reins of power in their respective regions of the Immortal Realm; surely you must also be aware that within the upper realm, the 'Spirit Realm,' the Human Race also has lineages propagating and inheriting their traditions."

"Therefore, those talented Soul Transformation cultivators who ascend from the Human World constitute a tremendous reinforcement for the Human Race of the Spirit Realm."

"Consequently, this indirectly affects the upper-level gaming between the Humans, Demons, and Yao."

"Thus, conversely, we small realms situated in the lower layers are also influenced by this upper-level gaming; for ages, we have been in a state of mutual attack, willing to pay any price to completely corrupt the other side..."

"Removing the firewood from beneath the pot, cutting off the lineage."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of all the Nascent Soul True Lords present turned solemn, clearly realizing the gravity of the situation.

(End of Chapter)