Chapter 718: Zhiyang Shangren: The Secret Behind the Legend

Inside the Longyuan Hall.

Qin Ming and Han Ya Shangren walked to the seats beside Longmu Zhenjun of the Penglai Sect.

“Qin Daoist, Han Ya Daoist, you’ve arrived.”

“Longmu Daoist.”

“Chen Daoist.”

Longmu Zhenjun and Chen Muzhi rose from their seats and greeted the two.

As soon as Qin Ming entered, over twenty pairs of eyes in the hall fixed on him; though no spiritual sense probed him, he still felt uneasy.

Soon after, two more familiar Nascent Soul cultivators entered.

The moment they stepped into the hall, they headed straight toward Qin Ming’s direction.

“Xia Daoist.”

“Longyangzi Daoist.”

Qin Ming stood and smiled in greeting, then added, “This is my lifelong friend, Han Ya Shangren of the Xuanqing Guan in the Great Zhou Immortal Realm.”

‘Lifelong friend.’ Han Ya Shangren’s face twitched at the words.

He then rose reluctantly and greeted the two.

But upon learning that the two before him were Elders of the Tianhai Alliance—and the two chief and deputy city lords of Tianlan Xiancheng—Han Ya Shangren nearly lost his balance.

He secretly transmitted a message to Qin Ming, then sighed bitterly:

“Qin Daoist, your connections truly are vast—even you know Elders of the Tianhai Alliance.”

Then,

The Nascent Soul cultivators in the hall quietly observed the situation.

Qin Ming noticed several obscure Nascent Soul hermits among the attendees, likely recluses who had long dwelled in remote mountains and great rivers.

One elderly Nascent Soul cultivator, dressed like a fisherman, had even come wearing a straw rain cape, unkempt and unpolished.

The Nascent Soul elders present were either ethereal and dignified, or white-haired and ruddy-cheeked with solemn radiance; some favored simplicity, clad in coarse hemp. As the host of the Jiaoyi Society had yet to arrive,

Qin Ming exchanged cultivation insights with several nearby cultivators, discussing the Dao, speaking of mysteries and subtleties.

Not long after,

A group of female cultivators, flawless in appearance, figure, and grace, entered the Longyuan Hall in slow, elegant steps, wearing silken robes and feathered garments, accompanied by celestial music as they danced to entertain.

Then,

Exquisite immortal delicacies and rare spiritual brews were placed upon jade tables for the Nascent Soul True Persons to enjoy.

The Shitian Rat sat on the jade table before Qin Ming, one hand gripping a Pantao and devouring it greedily, the other holding a wine goblet as large as itself, watching the dancing immortals with delight: “Keep dancing, keep playing~”

……

……

After a long while,

As Qin Ming conversed with several Daoists,

Several more figures entered the hall.

Qin Ming recognized some of them.

All of them radiated immense demonic energy—they were sea folk from the Eastern Sea Immortal Realm.

Their leader was Xuan Xiao, the Third Prince of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace, whom Qin Ming had briefly met two days prior.

Behind him followed Ao Feng and his son from Ao Bie Island, along with two unfamiliar demonic cultivators.

Prince Xuan Xiao bore golden vertical dragon eyes, marking his noble ancient true spirit bloodline.

The moment they appeared, every Nascent Soul elder in the hall turned to look, none daring to underestimate such figures.

Prince Xuan Xiao cast a glance toward Qin Ming’s direction and smiled slightly in greeting.

Longmu Zhenjun beside Qin Ming and Han Ya Shangren and others all felt a chill. “Could it be… Qin Daoist actually knows people from the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace?” Han Ya Shangren was numb but still asked.

Qin Ming merely smiled faintly: “Not really acquainted—just met once on Longyuan Island. Come to think of it, right before I met Han Ya Daoist.”

Even with this explanation, the others still found it hard to believe.

Even Longmu Zhenjun sighed: “I heard Qin Daoist is kindhearted and fond of forging good connections—it seems true.”

Qin Ming felt deeply moved; such a gathering of high-level human and sea cultivators together had likely not occurred in a thousand years.

Normally, humans harvested demonic cores from sea folk to cultivate, or demonic cultivators consumed human Nascent Souls for nourishment—constant warfare between them.

Such peaceful coexistence was rarely seen.

‘Whoever proposed this “Immortal Mansion Gathering” to foster exchange between the two races…’

‘A rare thousand-year truce.’

As Qin Ming pondered, the dancing immortals in the hall’s center all withdrew.

Suddenly,

He sensed an immensely powerful spiritual pressure approaching from outside Longyuan Island.

The next instant, ripples spread through the hall; before anyone could react, a tall middle-aged figure appeared silently within the Longyuan Hall.

He wore a black robe, his face square and stern, radiating the aura of a secular emperor.

The Nascent Soul mid-stage magical pressure he emitted caused every person present to change color!

“Qin Daoist, this is Zhiyang Shangren, the Seventh Elder of the Xingchen Palace—Nascent Soul mid-stage peak, one step away from becoming a Nascent Soul late-stage Great Cultivator.”

“This Immortal Mansion Gathering is co-hosted by Zhiyang Shangren and the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.”

Xia Yuangong secretly transmitted a message to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming nodded inwardly, his gaze toward the man now tinged with interest. ‘Good—he still has 450 years of lifespan left.’

After Zhiyang Shangren arrived, the atmosphere in the hall fell silent.

“Welcome, fellow Daoists, for attending this Immortal Mansion Gathering.”

“Beyond the usual exchange among Nascent Soul cultivators, I shall not waste time on formalities.”

“There is another major matter to discuss with all of you: jointly confronting the descent of the Xuehuan Realm.”

“Reliable intelligence indicates this invading Xuehuan Realm traces its origins to the ancient great realm—‘Demon Realm.’ If fully occupied and corrupted, the mortal realm may become like other minor realms—transformed into a blood-food source and assimilated into demonic Dao.”

“Demon Realm?!”

The crowd below erupted: “It’s tied to the ancient Demon Realm?!”

“So the legends are true. I once saw inscriptions in a secret realm stating that the Xuehuan Realm was once a peaceful Buddhist minor realm, originally without so many demonic sects.”

“But once, it was contaminated by ‘True Demon Qi’ released from the Demon Realm, forcing its cultivators down a bloody, brutal path. The Xuehuan Realm later intersected with the mortal realm, becoming the origin of demonic Dao here.”

“True Demon Qi!!” Qin Ming’s heart tightened.

This was bad.

He had once fused a strand of True Demon Qi with his physical Golden Core to cultivate a demonic Nascent Soul and had barely formed the Yuan Sha True Demon Body.

He never imagined True Demon Qi had such a grand origin, tied to the ancient Demon Realm.

Thinking of this,

Qin Ming immediately questioned Qingyang Laomo within the Xue Futo: “Old devil, did you know about this all along?”

Qingyang Laomo shrugged indifferently: “I’m a demonic cultivator. True Demon Qi is precisely what our sect seeks—why the alarm?”

“Even the true Demon Realm is exceedingly rare.”

“Your little strand of True Demon Qi amounts to nothing—just helped solidify your body and gave you a taste of the Yuan Sha Demon Body’s threshold. You’re nowhere near true mastery—ten thousand miles away. Don’t worry.”

“You’re still alive and well, aren’t you?”

Qingyang Laomo added with a final sarcastic remark.

Qin Ming felt slightly relieved.

But Qingyang Laomo didn’t know that Qin Ming’s strand of True Demon Qi came from the Lei Yuanmo jujube tree—he had recently buried three Nascent Soul corpses into it, and the tree had recently shown signs of budding again. Yet since he was attending this Nascent Soul gathering, he set the matter aside and focused on the hall.

At that moment,

“Zhiyang Daoist, I have a question.”

Nan Mengli, the Supreme Elder of the Shuizhong Palace, spoke up.

“Speak, Nan Daoist,” Zhiyang Shangren replied calmly.

“Is there truly no possibility of reconciliation with the Xuehuan Realm? According to my knowledge, the Xuehuan Realm’s overall strength and resources are even slightly superior to ours—why invade, if not merely for blood-food to cultivate demonic arts and refine demonic qi?”

“After all, our mortal realm has Soul Transformation sects. If full-scale war erupts, who will prevail remains uncertain.”

“Even now, several Xuehuan Realm demon lords have perished.”

“Not to mention the Guiyu Palace in our Eastern Sea Immortal Realm—I refer to Xue Yan Mojun of the Xuelian Demonic Sect, who recently perished.”

“All of you know the Xuelian Demonic Sect is the top sect of the Xuehuan Realm. Xue Yan Mojun’s strength far surpasses the two of Guiyu Palace.”

“According to our intelligence, Xue Yan Mojun brought a powerful demonic treasure down to this realm—likely responsible for the death of Li Huo Shangren of Great Jin.”

“At our level, why not strive for higher realms instead of killing each other to no end? It seems futile for both sides’ high-level cultivators.”

After speaking, Nan Mengli’s gaze swept over the Nascent Soul elders present.

Qin Ming, as if unaffected, calmly sipped his spiritual tea, face calm and heart unmoved…

Zhiyang Shangren paused briefly, then explained: “Nan Mengli’s words hold merit, but fate is against us. This descent of the Xuehuan Realm, besides the convergence of spiritual realms, is tied to the Spirit Realm. The struggles among human, demonic, and demonic races there have persisted since ancient times—impossible to explain in mere words.”

At this level of explanation, all Nascent Soul True Persons in the hall nodded.

Zhiyang Shangren continued: “All of you here are leaders of your respective immortal realms—you must know that the human race also has lineages and traditions in the upper realm, the Spirit Realm.”

“Thus, those exceptionally gifted Soul Transformation cultivators who ascend from the mortal realm serve as vital reinforcements for the human race in the Spirit Realm.”

“This indirectly influences the upper-level power struggles among human, demonic, and demonic races.”

“Conversely, our minor realms at the bottom are affected by these upper-level struggles, locked in perpetual warfare, each side determined to utterly corrupt the other.”

"Remove the fuel from under the pot, sever the Dao lineage"

At these words, all the Nascent Soul True Persons present grew solemn, clearly recognizing the gravity of the situation.

……

(End of Chapter)