Chapter 504: The Attendees

Several people arrived in the meeting hall, where a crowd of familiar faces was already seated.

On the side of the Ancient Race, the Clan Leaders of the Lei, Yan, and Yao clans were present in person. Although the initial great war had caused significant casualties to the three clans, thanks to the overall improvement of the environment in the Dou Qi Continent, each clan's strength had recovered quite rapidly. Clan Leaders Lei Ying and Yan Jin had already grown to the late stage of Nine-Star Dou Sheng, not far from the Dou Di realm they once dared not even imagine.

In comparison, due to his advanced age and the severe injuries he had suffered in the past, Yao Clan Leader Yao Dan's progress in strength had been slower, barely reaching the mid-stage of Eight-Star Dou Sheng. However, the move by the Yao Clan's experts to risk their lives to protect the clan's geniuses during the Yao Realm war had now paid off; the new generation of the Yao Clan had produced nearly ten Dou Sheng experts, and after several decades, the number of Dou Sheng experts was only slightly inferior to what it was before the heavy losses.

As for the Shi and Ling clans, they had once been almost equivalent to being wiped out. With fewer than ten clansmen left each, it was extremely difficult to revive their races. After the Soul Clan was destroyed, their old lands were hard to return to, so after careful consideration, they joined upon the invitation of Langya Pavilion. Since the survivors were the most gifted batch from their respective clans, their quality had instead become the strongest among the many Ancient Races, reaching the level where everyone was at the Saint Realm. At this moment, the temporary leaders of the two clans, Fairy Lingyi and Shi Clan Great Elder Shi Yuan, were also seated.

On the side of the Central Plains factions were Heavenly Mansion Master Yao Chen, as well as the Tower Master, Xuan Kongzi, the Flower Sect Supreme Elder, Huo Yun Lao Zu, and others. Everyone's aura had improved significantly compared to the past, clearly having gained quite a lot during this period.

Yao Chen, in particular, could be described as having a rosy complexion and a spirited demeanor, cheerful all day long. His cultivation growth had also been the most rapid; he had now become an Eight-Star Dou Sheng, not inferior to Yao Clan Leader Yao Dan. After all, having a good disciple and the status of the only current Emperor Teacher on the Dou Qi Continent was something that made others envious whenever it was mentioned.

As one of the few staunch allies of Langya Pavilion, Tianyin Laoren, who was now a Five-Star Dou Sheng, naturally would not be absent. Standing prettily behind him was a young girl with a short flute hanging at her waist and a long zither on her back. Her brows and eyes were extremely similar to Ye Shenghan's; she was none other than Ye Shenghan's daughter, Yin Qiyue.

Having long since become a young woman, Yin Qiyue appeared somewhat naive under the protection of Sound Valley and Langya Pavilion, but the aura she emitted invisibly indicated that this seemingly innocent girl could truly crush a Heavenly Spirit with her bare hands. Her soft, water-like eyes looked around curiously, and her eyes lit up the moment she saw Yi Huang appear.

Yi Huang also saw the young girl. She liked this girl, whom she regarded as her own granddaughter, very much. She smiled slightly as a greeting, and Yin Qiyue, knowing the occasion was serious, did not make any excessive movements.

In addition, Huang Jingtian and Tianyun Elder were also seated separately. The former, limited by the difficulty of training as a Body Cultivator, was still trapped at the peak of Nine-Star Dou Sheng, but beneath that seemingly shallow torso lay a heart-palpitating power. The toughness of his physical body gave him the strength to fight even in front of a Dou Di expert, and he had even exchanged more than ten moves with Xiao Xuan after the latter became an Emperor without showing signs of defeat.

As for Tianyun Elder, because he had already been in his twilight years and his body was severely aged, his life was coming to an end. Being alone, he faced life and death calmly and did not have a deep obsession with becoming a Dou Di. Even though Xiao Yan, the current number one Emperor Pill Master, had personally adjusted his body, he had still only barely broken through to Nine-Star Dou Sheng.

The reclusive Tianyun Elder had found a small town on the edge of the Endless Mountains at the junction of the Central Plains' Western Region and the Western Continent, where he opened a school to teach young children the basics of cultivation, living a peaceful and carefree life.

Everyone originally did not want to disturb the old man's twilight years, but when Langya Pavilion was laying out its plans across the continent, they had bad luck and ran into the old man who was taking a stroll in the Endless Mountains. Sensing something was wrong, Tianyun Elder immediately came to Langya Pavilion to ask for the reason. Yi Huang had no choice but to reveal the truth to him, and the former took the initiative to join, remaining unmoved no matter how Yi Huang and the others tried to dissuade him.

Besides the allies from the time of dealing with the Soul Clan, there was also a new face present—Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan Leader Huang Tian.

Speaking of Huang Tian's joining, there was a story behind it. At that time, the Soul Clan was destroyed by the joint efforts of several major factions. Subsequently, Xiao Han's identity was revealed, and Xiao Yan and Xiao Xuan succeeded in becoming Emperors one after another. Langya Pavilion, which had intricate ties with the Xiao Clan and possessed formidable strength itself, was naturally in its prime in the Central Plains. The Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan in the Beast Domain, which was close to the Southern Region, was also under considerable pressure, as the relationship between the two sides could hardly be called friendly.

However, what truly terrified the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan was the news that the Taixu Ancient Dragon Old Dragon Emperor Zhu Kun had returned as a king and broken through to become an Emperor. The Taixu Ancient Dragon and Heavenly Demon Phoenix clans were absolute mortal enemies. When Zhu Kun was still around, the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan had suppressed the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan tightly, and they had finally managed to wait until he disappeared.

After Zhu Kun disappeared, the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan also voluntarily hid in the void, and the Beast Domain was almost dominated by the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, living very comfortably!

But the good days did not last long; Zhu Kun was back, and he had become an Emperor!

If Zhu Kun were to find the time to wipe out the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, it would not be impossible.

Facing a Dou Di expert, only a Dou Di expert could contend with them. The Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan did not have that ability, so they could only find a backer.

However, there were only four Dou Di experts on the continent, and they had almost all become Emperors one after another. The heads of the various factions were comrades-in-arms with Zhu Kun in the same trench, so how could they offend a Dou Di expert for the sake of a mere Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan? The Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan themselves did not want to believe it.

Just as the entire Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan was terrified and the experts were scratching their heads and trembling with fear, a Dou Zun Elder of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan who was usually quiet stood out, bringing the hope of survival to all the members of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan.

His method was to seek help from Langya Pavilion.

But would Langya Pavilion agree?

Clan Leader Huang Tian did not blindly refuse because the other side had once made the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan lose face; instead, he raised a more realistic question.

When Langya Pavilion became famous in the Central Plains, he was well aware of the conflict between his own clan and Langya Pavilion. They and Yi Huang had the feud of a murdered father!

It was already considered magnanimous that Langya Pavilion had not ground the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan into dust.

But the Elder also pointed out concisely that the punishment in the clan rules for Yi Huang's father—who was a member of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan—for having an illicit affair with an outsider and concealing the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan's bloodline was at most stripping the bloodline, expelling from the clan, and demoting to a lower branch; it was not enough to warrant death. The culprit who caused the death of Yi Huang's father was not the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan's rules or the sentence passed at the time, but the Elder who changed the execution method during the process due to personal grudges.

It was also the death of Yi Huang's father that indirectly led to a series of subsequent vicious consequences, thereby accumulating a deep hatred between Yi Huang and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan.

However, the culprit had been killed by Yi Huang herself a hundred years ago, and the other side clearly stopped pursuing the matter afterward. The subsequent conflict between the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan and Langya Pavilion was merely a dispute over interests, not hatred.

It could be said that the foundation of hatred between the two sides no longer existed, and now only a sufficiently weighty gift was needed to move the other party.

As for the gift, Huang Tian looked at the other party in shock after hearing the whisper, and finally nodded slowly.

Under the crisis of annihilation, the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan's actions were clean and efficient. Half a month later, Clan Leader Huang Tian and that Elder personally visited to seek an audience with Vice Pavilion Master Yi Huang, getting straight to the point to offer the gift and stating that the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan was willing to submit to Langya Pavilion and become the latter's subordinate faction.

Upon seeing the gift, Yi Huang was suddenly silent, her eyes red. This gift was worthless to others, but it was absolutely a priceless treasure to Yi Huang—her father's remains.

The remains of a Heavenly Demon Phoenix clansman who had been punished to death by the clan rules were not allowed to enter the clan's forbidden grounds, but would be burned by fire, signifying that they would never be accepted by the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan.

She had thought that her father, who was wanted by the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, would end up with no remains after death, and the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Elder whom Yi Huang had killed back then had told her the same thing.

However, perhaps that Elder could not have imagined that someone would actually dare to risk severe punishment by the clan rules to swap the remains right under the noses of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix clansmen!

As for the person who swapped the remains, it was naturally the Elder who had suggested the idea to Huang Tian.

This Elder had no relationship with Yi Huang's father; he simply could not stand the behavior of the Elder at that time who used his backing to frame a Heavenly Demon Phoenix clansman, and on an impulse, he felt compassion and used the convenience of his status to swap the remains.

He had wanted to secretly bury the remains of Yi Huang's father in the inner forbidden grounds of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, but was unable to do so for various reasons. He also did not expect that this unintentional act would save the entire Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan a hundred years later.

Along with the remains of Yi Huang's father, a massive amount of resources unique to the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan were sent. Yi Huang did not even take a look at them. After burying her father's remains, she fulfilled her promise and invited her ancestor Xiao Xuan to go to the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan to meet Zhu Kun.

Regarding Yi Huang's request for the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan to show mercy and let the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan go, Zhu Kun unexpectedly agreed casually.

If he had wanted to take action, he would have done so when he was still the Dragon Emperor; why wait until now? He had no such intention to begin with.

Only the Ancient Heaven Phoenix was qualified to be an enemy of the Taixu Ancient Dragon. The Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, as a bloodline descendant of the Ancient Heaven Phoenix, was not worthy.

This was originally the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan's groundless fear. Zhu Kun just happened to push the boat along and sell a favor to Langya Pavilion; why not do it?

The crisis of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan was thus resolved. Originally, such an act of hiding a clansman's remains seriously violated the clan rules. As the Clan Leader, Huang Tian should have punished the Elder severely.

But the other party had clearly saved the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan's life. At the same time, the Elder had very tactfully informed Huang Tian alone of his act of hiding the remains and did not spread it widely within the clan. Only the two of them knew the whole process, so the impact was completely zero.

Finally, after confirming that the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan would not take action against the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, Huang Tian announced the Elder's contribution in front of all the experts of the clan, rewarding him for his merits, promoting him, and raising his salary, reaching the pinnacle of his Phoenix life.

Because of this, the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan was incorporated under the command of Langya Pavilion and also attended this meeting.

The meeting began, and the experts did not waste words. Except for the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, the other factions had already cooperated once when they strangled the Soul Clan. Now, they only needed to re-divide the tasks and expand the alliance to the entire continent. After a brief discussion, they began to finalize the personnel for each side.

"The Magic Beast families in the Beast Domain of the Central Plains will be left to this Emperor to persuade. You should have no problem with that, right?"

The target of Zhu Kun's question was naturally Nine Serenity Deep Earth Python Clan Leader Yao Ming and Huang Tian. The latter, having been swept by Zhu Kun's gaze inadvertently, felt his scalp go cold. Having already obtained Langya Pavilion's opinion on the issue of belonging, Huang Tian immediately stood up and said hurriedly:

"My Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan agrees."

Yao Ming was stunned by Huang Tian's quick reaction before nodding in agreement.

"How about the Ancient Races and their affiliated factions be led by the Ancient Clan and the Xiao Clan?" With Gu Yuan and Xiao Xuan speaking, the other Ancient Races naturally agreed. This was also the best result.

"The factions in the Central Plains will surely give our two sides some face, so let us handle it." Heavenly Mansion's Yao Chen also took over his task. As the giants of the Central Plains, the joint efforts of Langya Pavilion and the Heavenly Mansion were enough to sweep away all discordant voices in the Central Plains.

With the Central Plains finalized, the other regions of the Dou Qi Continent remained. Although the Central Plains was the most prosperous and powerful, it did not mean that other regions could be abandoned at will.

"Leave the South Continent to my Tianman Sect," Huang Jingtian said. As a local faction, he had absolute say.

"Hey!"

Tianyun Elder tapped the floor with his cane, and his aged voice rang out in the hall.

"This old man also spent some time wandering in the Western Continent; presumably, those sects still recognize me, so leave that place to me."

"Leave the North Continent to my Xiao Clan," Xiao Xuan said after some thought. Unlike other Ancient Races located in the Central Plains, the current Xiao Clan's place of rise was the Northwest Continent, and the North Continent happened to be their base of operations.

"As for this Eastern Continent..." The powerful figures from the various factions present looked at one another. The Eastern Continent was not close to any of their factions, and their impressions were limited to understanding and knowing the local powers; to say that the major factions had any deep influence over the Eastern Continent was completely unrealistic.

"Then let my Ancient Clan take it." Gu Yuan thought for a moment and took on this seemingly troublesome task. With the current scale of the Ancient Clan, covering the Eastern Continent should not be a problem. At this time, he did not yet know that this task would be far more lethal than he imagined.