Chapter 437

The calm before the storm today was directly shattered.

Endless, majestic immortal qi surged down from the firmament toward the Azure Immortal Sea, and the clear, vast seawater instantly boiled violently.

Immediately afterward, countless terrifying figures flew out of the Azure Cloud Immortal Sect and descended upon the void.

Hahaha, this venerable elder has waited for this day far too long; finally I can properly display my fists and feet.

Clad in elder's robes, Long Xie laughed loudly to the heavens.

The old man beside Long Xie stroked his white beard and smiled: "Elder Long, your smile is still as eerily odd as ever—cold on the surface, but your grin shows your teeth with hidden joy."

Ah, Senior Elder, you haven't just met me today; I've always been like this.

That's true, hahaha.

The Grand Elder, Wanderlust Great Emperor—oh, no, now he should be called Wanderlust Immortal King—nodded with a smile.

"Chief Fu, we've decided thus: you will lead fifty elders to sweep the Tianyun Dao Domain, while Liu Liu and Chief Nie head to the Ziyu Dao Domain."

At the forefront, the Evernight Green Willow, the Formation Hall Chief, and the Body Refinement Hall Chief were discussing matters.

For this campaign, they plan to split their forces into two routes to move faster, given that the five major powers are distributed across two different dao domains.

"Let's go! Finish quickly, Liu Liu—I still need to come back and continue sleeping."

At the gate of the Azure Cloud Sect, watching the backs of numerous sect powerhouses departing into the firmament, the Black Emperor shed envious tears, his back molars almost grinding to pieces.

"The Emperor also wishes to go out…" After pondering his peak Golden Immortal cultivation… "The Emperor wants to see who dares to come!"

This scene above the Azure Immortal Sea also shook countless cultivators in cities within a radius of hundreds of millions of li.

"Hiss! Isn't that direction where the Immortal Sect resides? The Immortal Sect has dispatched so many powerhouses at once—what are they up to?"

"What for? Surely they're going to act!"

"The Immortal Sect is at odds with the Five Great Immortal Emperor powers; this immortal suspects the Immortal Sect is about to strike them!"

"Holy shit! This is a heaven-shaking event! We're about to witness epoch-making history!"

News from the Azure Immortal Sea spread at a terrifying speed across the two great dao domains.

Many forces' spies stationed here also immediately used sound-transmission talismans to send out this news.

In an instant, the two great dao domains trembled.

Countless powerhouses of major forces were awakened by their own ancestors' slaps—no, they were shaken awake to attend a council.

Because now is a critical moment, picking sides is vital; otherwise, a small mistake could see them annihilated in the contest between these two great powers.

The Ziyu Mo family, council hall.

"Good! Very good! We weren't going to strike first, but they have!"

"Isn't that perfect? It's just the chance to avenge the young house master!"

"No word yet from the Zi Yun Immortal Sect; let's wait and see, and first gather our family's strong ones to prepare."

In the council hall, the many Mo family elders discussed back and forth.

This time, the Azure Cloud Immortal Sect striking first was also within their expectations.

After all, two months ago, when Azure Cloud opened its mountain to accept disciples, they were thwarted— which great power could swallow that insult?

At the center of the dao domain, the Ziyu Immortal Sect.

At this moment, the Ziyu Immortal Sect's protective grand formation had been fully activated, and within the sect were numerous cultivators standing ready in strict formation.

Clearly, they had received the news and promptly made preparations.

From time to time, terrifying auras still emanated from the sect's hidden forbidden grounds.

"Hehe, finally you can't sit still?"

"This old ancestor wants to see just how much ability Azure Cloud really has, daring to wage war simultaneously against my five great powers!"

The Ziyu Immortal Sect's first ancestor, Ci Chen Immortal Emperor, wore a grim face; surging dao source power rolled around him with each breath, his aura immensely terrifying.

"I haven't concerned myself with worldly affairs for over a hundred million years; people are almost forgetting my prestige."

"This battle will utterly eradicate Azure Cloud! I will wipe clean the shame of my Ziyu Immortal Sect!"

The elder beside Ci Chen Immortal Emperor spoke up.

He is the second ancestor of the Ziyu Immortal Sect, the Demon Sword Daoist, with cultivation at the sixth level of the Immortal Emperor realm.

The Demon Sword Daoist has loved the sword path all his life to the point of obsession; several epochs ago, he single-handedly defeated an elder of the Sword Immortal Sect and several sword-wielding elders with one sword, gaining fame in a single battle, and his reputation thereafter became deeply rooted in people's hearts.

"How dare they kill my sect's divine son? This old man will use this demon‑immortal sword to slice their flesh and blood piece by piece!"

At the center of the Ziyu dao domain, the Tianliu Immortal Kingdom.

After the news of Azure Cloud's deployment of powerhouses arrived, the Tianliu Immortal Sovereign issued an edict, and the gates of all immortal cities in the kingdom were shut, allowing no one to enter or leave.

Immediately, many cultivators throughout the country panicked; most were merchants and members of small‑to‑medium trade guilds.

Their considerations differed from most Tianliu Immortal Kingdom folk, for their businesses were all here; should war break out, they would be ruined at once.

Even if the flames of war would not reach the kingdom's heartland, their businesses would still suffer greatly.

Thus these people everywhere sought connections, hoping to relocate their businesses outside the kingdom.

In the capital of the Tianliu Immortal Kingdom, the civil and military officials at court had already been arguing incessantly.

"What did I just say, official? Our Tianliu Immortal Kingdom shouldn't blindly follow them in sanctioning Azure Cloud Immortal Sect—now we've done it, and we've provoked the sect."

"Minister Wen is right—does our kingdom and Azure Cloud Immortal Sect have any deep grudge? At first we merely wanted to seize the protective stone they held; how did it develop to this point?"

"I reckon all this is a plot by the Ziyu Immortal Sect; their sect's divine son was killed, and they're trying to rope us in to attack the sect—truly a clever scheme."

An old man clad in a red‑robed official's uniform, with thick brows and large eyes, spoke at length about his views.

"Moreover, you know how terrifying Azure Cloud is; we have no need to…"

The old man hadn't finished speaking when a military officer from the other side cut him off.

"Tsk! Old coot, don't boost others' morale and destroy your own prestige."

"Azure Cloud Immortal Sect may be strong, but this general doesn't believe they can withstand our five great powers with their own strength alone."

Immortal Sovereign, the junior general Liu Sanjian requests battle; within ten days he will surely destroy the Azure Cloud sect and exterminate its gate.

In the imperial court, civil officials and military generals each held their own opinions, each expressing their views.

Civil officials tended to avoid participating in this great war, proactively sought peace with the Azure Cloud sect, and stayed out of the matter.

Military generals, like General Liu Sanjian, advocated for combat.

Alright, I have already decided on this matter.

……

At this time, when the undercurrents of the Eight Wastelands surged, the affiliated forces of the Azure Cloud Immortal Sect—the Pure Immortal Clan, the Heavenly Important Immortal Clan, and the Eldest Immortal Clan—expressed their positions in turn, declaring they would share weal and woe with the main sect.

The strong ones of the three forces all mobilized their full strength, heading to meet the strong ones of the main sect.