Chapter 405: Holy Lord's Grace, the Vice Holy Lord's Poison

When Qingxuan Elder left the quiet chamber, her face had again put on that kind, approachable smile, yet behind it lay a hint of humility and awe rising from deep within her soul, something even she herself had not noticed.

"Yuan Commander, your talent is unparalleled in ages; ordinary quarters no longer suit your status."

Qingxuan Elder bowed, the fabric on her chest trembling slightly, her posture more than ten times as respectful as before,

"I will now take you to the Holy Lord's Hall to claim an exclusive Cave Heaven Blessed Land for you."

This change left the nearby native powerhouses who had not yet departed staring in stunned silence.

They could not understand why, after just a brief moment of private instruction inside, the lofty Immortal Domain Elder's attitude toward the Yuan Commander had done a complete 180‑degree turn.

"Could it be… that the Yuan Commander's talent has become so terrifying that even an Immortal Domain Elder must lower himself to associate with him?"

"To ascend in a single day, this lower‑realm native has actually tamed Qingxuan Elder?!"

The crowd's gazes toward Gu Yuan were filled with envy, jealousy, and a deeper awe.

Gu Yuan paid no heed to their talk, merely nodding lightly, tacitly accepting Qingxuan Elder's arrangement.

Having a lackey at the peak of True Immortal makes many things considerably easier.

Under Qingxuan Elder's guidance, Gu Yuan passed through layer upon layer of camps and arrived before a majestic palace floating at the highest point of the holy land, entirely carved from an unknown white immortal jade.

This is the core of the Chaos Heaven Holy Land, the Holy Lord's Hall.

At the palace gate, two rows of heavenly soldiers clad in golden armor, their auras at the supreme peak, stood solemnly holding long spears.

Upon seeing Qingxuan Elder, they all saluted in unison.

"Greetings, Qingxuan Elder."

"Hn."

Qingxuan Elder nodded, pointed at Gu Yuan behind her, and said in a matter‑of‑fact tone:

"This is the newly risen peerless heaven‑chosen of the Eleventh Land, Yuan Commander; by the General's order I bring him to see the Holy Lord and claim a Cave Heaven Blessed Land."

Hearing this, the heavenly soldiers looked at Gu Yuan with eyes tinged with curiosity and scrutiny.

To have Qingxuan Elder personally guide him and even gain an audience with the Holy Lord, this lower‑realm native is indeed no ordinary person.

After the report, the two entered the Holy Lord's Hall without hindrance.

Inside the hall, the space was vast as a small world.

Above the dome, instead of beams and pillars, the true sun, moon, and stars revolved, shedding a soft radiance.

Beneath the floor ran an endless river of immortal veins, the rich immortal essence condensing into tangible mist that rose within the hall.

At the far end of the hall, a figure sat high upon a cloud‑bed.

His form was blurred, shrouded in chaotic qi, his face indistinct, yet merely sitting there he exuded a supreme majesty that seemed to merge with heaven and earth, where word became law.

He is the Holy Lord of the Chaos Heaven Holy Land, a genuine Immortal King powerhouse.

And at the Holy Lord's side stood another figure.

He was a middle‑aged man in a black Dao robe, his countenance sinister, his aura equally unfathomable; though not as vast as the Holy Lord's, he had firmly stepped into the half‑step Immortal King realm.

He is the Vice Holy Lord of the Chaos Heaven Holy Land.

"Qingxuan, why have you brought this child here?"

The Holy Lord's voice sounded, flat and majestic, like the tone of heaven itself, echoing within the hall.

"I report to the Holy Lord!"

Qingxuan Elder embellished the account of what had happened with the Suppressing Realm Mystic Stele, exaggerating Gu Yuan's talent as unparalleled in ages and surpassing even the offspring of Immortal Kings.

"Oh?"

The Holy Lord's blurred silhouette seemed to shift slightly, two substantive‑like gazes falling upon Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan instantly felt an irresistible power that examined him from inside out, leaving nothing hidden.

He did not care.

Under the guise of the Heaven‑Concealing Cloak, his bones, blood, and Dao foundation could be freely simulated.

All were a wild True Immortal template perfectly simulated by the system according to this world's laws—primitive, crude, yet limitless in potential.

Moreover, only a titan could see through it.

The Holy Lord before him, while not weak, was merely at the level of a Jue Dian Immortal King.

It was impossible for him to see through his disguise.

"Not bad."

After a moment, the Holy Lord withdrew his gaze, his voice tinged with approval,

"Indeed a piece of uncut jade; if polished well, should you emerge from the True Immortal battlefield, you could become a mainstay of my holy land, and even have a slight hope of entering the Hun Clan."

He flicked his finger, a stream of light flying toward Gu Yuan.

It was a jade token.

"This is the token of the Seventy‑Second Cave Heaven, beneath which a high‑grade immortal vein is sealed; from today onward it belongs to you."

The Holy Lord's tone was as if bestowing a mere trinket.

"Thank you for the Holy Lord's grace!" Gu Yuan accepted it with surface gratitude and tears, while inwardly he knew

This Cave Heaven Blessed Land and immortal vein reward is a privilege reserved for core disciples and above; it ought not to have been given to him.

Or rather, it was not meant for him.

But for the Ziqing Xuan behind him.

During that deliberately delayed half‑day just now, Gu Yuan had obtained from the beautiful woman elder, now completely reduced to a prisoner, all the information he needed.

In the Primordial Immortal Domain, the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, the Sanqian Zhou constitute the ten lands, while the later‑discovered Blood Moon Netherworld is the eleventh land.

Among the Nine Heavens, the absolute overlord of the Chaos Life Heaven is naturally the Hun Clan, which commands a titanic Immortal King.

All holy lands within the Chaos Life Heaven—whether the two sole holy lands, the Purple Aurora Holy Land, or the Chaos Heaven Holy Land—are merely branches of the Hun Clan.

And behind this Ziqing Xuan lies the descendant of the titanic Purple Clan in the Purple Rosy Heaven, another region of the Nine Heavens.

Within the great clans, it often occurs that outstanding heavenly talents are swapped, each taking up insignificant posts in the other's forces.

The award not only gave Zi Qingxuan face, but also made him more wholeheartedly devoted to serving them.

A simple award, and that was it.

However, just as Gu Yuan and Zi Qingxuan turned around, about to leave the main hall.

Gu Yuan's step paused imperceptibly.

Beneath his seemingly calm eyes, a flicker of icy gloom flashed.

Just now, in the instant he brushed past the Vice Holy Lord, the World Tree within his inner world actually sent a trace of extremely faint yet intimately familiar disgust.

That…… is the taste of the Now Faction: Zang Tian Ge's source‑annihilating power!

Gu Yuan's heart was overturned by towering waves, yet his face remained the picture of respectful obedience.

Vice Holy Lord? How could it be him?

It's only been over twenty years.

Can the Now Faction: Zang Tian Ge act this fast?

Or…… have they already been here long ago?

Although this aura was concealed layer by layer by an extremely exquisite secret technique, it had almost merged with the Vice Holy Lord's origin, to the point that even the Holy Lord seated high upon the cloud dais had not noticed it.

But how many people from the Now Faction: Zang Tian Ge has Gu Yuan come into contact with?

The divine soul fused with the World Tree's origin is far more sensitive to this power than any Immortal King!

He instantly realized this was not a corrosion of a day or two, but a pawn buried for who knows how many hundreds of thousands of years!

I fear the other party has long since become a member of the Now Faction: Zang Tian Ge!

Just waiting for the critical moment to erupt and viciously stab the Primordial Immortal Realm with a blade!

Gu Yuan's mind instantly flashed with countless thoughts, yet his face kept that respectful, obedient appearance as he followed Elder Qingxuan out of the Holy Lord's hall.

But just as they stepped out of the hall's doors.

Boom—