Chapter 406: True Immortal Realm, Opening the Immortal Veins

Outside the Saint Lord Hall, the entire floating continent jolted violently without any warning.

Inside the Hall, the Saint Lord seated high upon a cloud bed trembled sharply, and the chaotic Qi swirling around him surged violently.

His eyes, as if containing the sun, moon, and stars, opened for the first time, their gaze bearing unprecedented gravity.

The Deputy Saint Lord beside him paled slightly, a barely perceptible flash of startled doubt crossing his sharp eyes, and he instinctively stepped back half a pace, creating a small distance from the Saint Lord.

This pressure of authority… is not aimed at anyone, but a pure, unabashed crushing of bloodline and rank!

"They are from the main family."

The Saint Lord's voice rang out, no longer flat, but with a hint of dryness.

Soon, the chaotic sky above the sacred ground was forcibly split apart by three shadows so massive they defied description.

They were three celestial vessels larger than stars, their hulls forged entirely from a dark golden divine steel.

Upon their hulls were engraved intricate, profound formation sigils, exuding an overbearing aura of suppressing ages and asserting sole supremacy.

On the deck of the leading vessel fluttered a simple, austere banner bearing the character "Hun", moving without wind and rustling softly.

"We are unaware of the main family's august arrival; what business brings you? If I recall correctly, the vanguard summons of the True Immortal Battlefield should occur after three months."

"The plan has changed."

A cool female voice came from the leading vessel, devoid of any emotion.

Before the words finished, ten figures leapt from the vessel and landed silently on the plaza before the Saint Lord Hall.

These ten, all young cultivators whose bone ages did not exceed ten thousand years, exuded an aura that made every golden‑armored heavenly soldier present, as well as Zi Qing Xuan, feel a chill.

It was pure, distilled to the extreme, True Immortal pressure!

Especially the leading pair: the man wore white jade battle armor, his handsome face framed by eyes in which galaxies flickered; the woman wore a fiery red long dress, her peerless beauty marked by a vermilion mole between her brows, appearing both coquettish and proud.

Even the mighty Saint Lord was momentarily stunned upon seeing the woman, but quickly recovered.

The Saint Lord, with dignified bearing, bowed respectfully to the other side on the spot.

"Hun Yuan Scripture, pleased to meet you, miss."

Though he is a regional Saint Lord and a powerful Immortal King, in the end he is merely a branch of the Hun Family, tasked with defending a territory for the main house and cultivating troops.

The Jue Dian Immortal King is the pinnacle for him, but for the Hun Yuan Xue before him, the Hun Family's legendary supreme Immortal King's granddaughter, an Immortal King is merely a starting point.

Beside Gu Yuan, Zi Qing Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted; she instinctively clutched Gu Yuan's sleeve, her breath momentarily halted.

"From your reaction, you have a big background?"

Gu Yuan's calm voice resonated within her sea of consciousness.

A startled spirit, almost blurted out: "Master, you don't even know this?"

When Zi Qing Xuan spoke, she realized her tone carried a hint of accusation, causing her spirit to shudder; she hurriedly explained in an even more humble and respectful manner: "They are the Ten Heavenly Talents of the Hun Family! They are the ten most outstanding prodigies of this generation of the Hun Family!"

"Impressive, huh?"

"Of course they're impressive!"

Zi Qing Xuan immediately replied,

"The True Immortal Realm, also called Opening Immortal Veins, is where cultivators, after surviving the heavenly tribulation and condensing a Dao Fruit, upon entering this realm must, with the Dao Fruit as core, carve numerous 'Immortal Veins' within their bodies to carry immortal essence and laws. The more Immortal Veins cultivated, the sturdier the foundation and the stronger the combat power."

"Ordinary True Immortals who can open thirty Immortal Veins are considered decent; those who open fifty can be called Heavenly Talents, and anyone who opens over eighty is invariably a core heir cultivated by an Immortal King lineage, possessing great future prospects and aiming for the Immortal King realm!"

In Zi Qing Xuan's voice there was an unmistakable hint of pride and self‑satisfaction, as if flaunting her erudition and demonstrating the might of the immortal domain to Gu Yuan.

Gu Yuan said nothing, merely listening quietly.

"Immortal Veins?"

That does sound intriguing.

Compared with his own inner‑world system rooted in the World Tree and evolving the three thousand Dao paths, this method of opening veins seems more focused on the purity and refinement of individual power.

Seeing Gu Yuan unmoved, Zi Qing Xuan couldn't help but transmit a voice and ask, "Master, aren't you curious how many Immortal Veins I have opened?"

"How many?" Gu Yuan's tone was very flat.

"Eighty‑five!" Zi Qing Xuan's trailing tone rose slightly, full of pride, "Back then, I was also one of the most noted Heavenly Talents of the Zi family, if not…"

She didn't finish, but the meaning was clear: had she not been sent by her clan to the Hun Heaven Sacred Land as a pawn, her future achievements would have far exceeded this.

"Oh, only eighty‑five," Gu Yuan replied, still flat.

Zi Qing Xuan's momentary pride froze, a surge of irritation rising in her heart.

"What do you mean only eighty‑five?"

That is already an achievement that countless True Immortals look up to!

Does this low‑realm native even understand!

But recalling the opponent's unfathomable tactics and the slave seal deep within her own spirit, she instantly deflated, could only sigh plaintively, close her mouth, and tentatively ask, "Then… Master, how many Immortal Veins have you opened upon entering the True Immortal Realm?"

Gu Yuan glanced at her, offering no answer.

He is not a True Immortal, so naturally has no Immortal Veins.

His Dao is the unification of the Divine Realm, the evolution of the world, entirely different from this system.

Yet his thoughts drifted away because of it.

The method of Immortal Veins… uses the Dao Fruit as core, carving channels within the body that bear laws; the more there are, the sturdier the foundation.

It sounds rather good.

But why, in the Ancient Immortal Realm, have neither grandfather nor father, nor even the Gu Family's inherited ancient texts, ever mentioned this vein‑opening method?

Grandfather's "Primordial Imperishable Sutra" follows a domineering path of using one's body as seed, transforming the body into chaos, entirely different from this.

Could it be that the transmission in the Ancient Immortal Realm has been severed?

Soon, Gu Yuan recalled his own inner world.

The World Tree is rooted in chaos, the three thousand Dao laws become its branches and leaves, the faith power of countless beings converges into a Human Emperor Seal, and the six paths of the Yellow Springs rotate endlessly…

Compared to this, the so‑called opening of Immortal Veins, or even the path to ascension in the Ancient Immortal Realm, both seem overly primitive and singular.

So, of these two paths, who is right and who is wrong?

Or perhaps… both are correct?

Or maybe another possibility…

Whether it's the Primeval Immortal Realm or the Ancient Immortal Realm… they're all wrong!

On the other side, Ziqing Xuan looked at the pensive Gu Yuan, instantly understood, and the look she gave him was indescribably strange.

'So you're just a rookie with few Immortal Veins, only the strength left—my master is truly useless.'

Ziqing Xuan wasn't foolish; such words are best kept to herself, for if she said them aloud Gu Yuan would surely punish her.

At that moment, the young lady of the Hun Clan, dressed in a fiery red long dress, stretched her long legs and strode straight to Gu Yuan.

Her beautiful phoenix eyes scanned Gu Yuan without reservation, as if inspecting a piece of merchandise, her gaze full of criticism and an unmistakable hint of curiosity.

"You are the native who landed two thousand battle merits with a single punch?" Her voice was crisp, yet carried an innate coquettish arrogance.

Ziqing Xuan whispered nearby cautiously: "She, she is Hun Yuan Xue, the only daughter of the Hun Clan head, the Mixed Heaven Immortal King, and also recognized as this generation's foremost Heavenly Pride of the Hun Clan. It is said the number of Immortal Veins she has opened has already reached ninety‑nine! Her future is destined to reach the Half-step Giant Tier!"

Gu Yuan snapped back to his senses without answering Ziqing Xuan, simply lifted his gaze and calmly met Hun Yuan Xue's eyes.

"Interesting."

She extended her slender jade finger, pointed directly at Gu Yuan's chest, her tone leaving no room for doubt:

"From now on, you are mine. In this True Immortal Battlefield, you will be my chief enforcer. I send you east; you must not go west. I order you to kill dogs; you must not let a person escape. Got it?"