Chapter 324: The Descent of the True Monarchs

"We pay our respects to the Elders and True Monarchs!" The cultivators watching from all directions on the Four Dragon Platform bowed in unison.

A group of Elders each wore a faint smile and bowed slightly in return, while Qiyunzi in the center flicked his horsetail whisk and said:

"Daoist Friends, please rise. I believe all of you are already aware of the reason for this Immortal Alliance Assembly, so I and the other Elders shall not repeat ourselves. Currently, the leakage of Nether Qi is not limited to just the southeast corner, but is occurring everywhere across the Shenzhou territory. However, because the southeast is close to the Nether Rift passage, it bears the brunt of the impact and has suffered the most."

"The large and small Immortal Sects of the Shenzhou Immortal World are branches of the same tree and one body; thus, when one side is in trouble, all sides support it. As Elders of the Immortal Alliance, we have an unshirkable duty. After today's oath-taking assembly, we shall set out together with the Daoist Friends of the world to quell the Nether Beast Catastrophe and protect the common people of the Mortal World. This is a matter of great righteousness and cannot be shirked. All large and small Immortal Sects that have come upon summons must obey the arrangements of the Immortal Alliance. You must not act on your own, and even more so, you must not desert the battlefield. Anyone discovered deserting the battlefield, abandoning companions, refusing to save those in danger, or worse, killing others to seize treasures, framing fellow Daoists, or settling personal scores will be punished without leniency. Have all Daoist Friends heard clearly?"

Qiyunzi's shout, carrying incomparable momentum and majesty, boomed like a thunderclap in the Sea of Consciousness of every cultivator, propelled by Spirit Qi.

Tens of thousands of cultivators trembled all over, their faces turning pale and their hearts filled with dread as they hurriedly bowed in unison to accept the order: "We obey!"

Qiyunzi nodded with slight satisfaction, a smile appearing on his majestic face as he said: "However, before the oath-taking today, there is still good news to tell all Daoist Friends. Shortly, True Monarch Yufu of the Taiqing Palace, True Monarch Leiyun of the Thunder God Hall, and True Monarch Daokong of the Junwang Hall will arrive at the Immortal Alliance venue. We shall wait a moment and prepare to welcome the arrival of the three True Monarchs."

Everyone felt that something was not quite right.

Yet, while this news was exciting and surprising, it also brought inexplicable worry and doubt.

True Monarch Guiling's cultivation was higher than both of them, and he was already a figure standing at the pinnacle of the pyramid in the Shenzhou territory, and even the nine continents of the Mortal World, so he could naturally hear clearly.

Although there had been rumors for the past two days that True Monarchs might appear at the Immortal Alliance Assembly, they had not been confirmed by any Great Cultivator of the Immortal Alliance; it was only stated as a possibility.

But today, this news was finally confirmed, and what's more, three True Monarchs were arriving at the same time. For low- and mid-level cultivators who had never seen a True Monarch, this was simply a once-in-a-millennium opportunity.

Xu Chen naturally knew this news as well, and he and True Monarch Guiling were even waiting for the three True Monarchs to arrive so they could exchange pointers on Daoist techniques to thoroughly resolve the matter of the Taiyuan Sect.

The few Elders of the True Spirit Realm could roughly hear a vague idea, but the group of Spirit Transformation Great Cultivators heard it as if it were a heavenly book.

Amidst the low, excited chatter and waiting of tens of thousands of people, half an hour passed quickly.

Including the group of Elders and Spirit Transformation Great Cultivators of the Immortal Alliance, tens of thousands of cultivators were all incomparably shocked and bowed in unison.

True Immortal Ling Yuzhen could naturally hear whatever he wanted to hear; in his eyes, the two True Monarchs were no different from infants.

The topic the two True Monarchs chatted about as if no one else were around was something no one else could understand.

Leiyunzi laughed heartily, cupped his hands in return, and said: "The Thunder God Hall is honored to host this assembly, so I cannot lose my manners. How could I wait for the guests to arrive first? It has been over ten years since we parted in Xizhou, Daoist Friend. It seems your cultivation has improved quite a bit; this is truly a cause for celebration."

The few Elders and dozens of Spirit Transformation Great Cultivators also dared not sit down; they all stood silently on the steps at the entrance of the main hall, waiting quietly.

In fact, even now that the Immortal Alliance Assembly had been successfully convened, apart from True Monarch Chixia and True Monarch Mingyi, the other Elders and Immortal Sects did not take this matter too seriously. They were even bustling about trading, drinking tea, and watching the excitement, without the slightest bit of tension or vigilance.

"We pay our respects to True Monarch Leiyun!"

Every True Monarch could be said to be a pillar supporting the heavens of Shenzhou, possessing immense magical power capable of destroying the world, yet they never appeared before ordinary cultivators, let alone in the eyes of mortals.

True Monarch Daokong was immediately surprised and said: "Looking at it this way, fortunately, I had the self-awareness not to go and join in the fun."

In order to increase the chances of gaining insight into the rules of heaven and earth, one must go to the most unstable places in heaven and earth.

The so-called "wealth is sought in danger"—the higher the cultivation, the slower the advancement. Every small improvement consumes a vast amount of time, energy, and Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure. Relying solely on sitting in meditation and absorbing Spirit Stones is useless. After reaching the Shenling Realm, the Primordial Spirit is already fully formed and begins to come into contact with the rules of heaven and earth; it relies more on insight. The earlier one comprehends the power of the rules, the faster one progresses.

True Monarch Daokong shook his head with some regret and said: "Ten years is but a snap of the fingers; it is all a slow grind, so how can one speak of improvement? Let us not talk of these boring things. During your trip to Leizhou last time, Daoist Brother, did you have any gains?"

The rules of heaven and earth are ethereal, invisible, and intangible, extremely illusory, and therefore even more difficult to comprehend. Sometimes, one might make no progress for decades or even hundreds of years.

"I am Leiyunzi, greetings to all Daoist Friends of Shenzhou!"

After the ceremony, the phantom image of Leiyunzi in the Sea of Consciousness of all cultivators disappeared. The few Immortal Alliance Elders hurriedly stepped forward to bow and pay respects again. Qiyunzi, an Elder of the Thunder God Hall, said with a voice trembling with excitement: "You are the first of the True Monarchs to arrive, True Monarch. Seniors Yufu and Daokong have yet to arrive."

Leiyunzi looked up at the sky and said: "This assembly was originally hosted by the Thunder God Hall; it is only natural that I come first to welcome everyone. Do not be anxious, the two True Monarchs will arrive in an instant."

However, there were three exceptions in the crowd.

The old man looked down at the Four Dragon Platform and Xianyun Palace at the foot of Langya Mountain, took a light step, and landed in front of the main hall. His gaze swept across the entire venue, and every cultivator immediately felt a flash of lightning and sparks appear in their Sea of Consciousness, simultaneously transforming into the image of an old man in black robes.

Leiyunzi nodded and said: "That is indeed the case. Without the strength of the mid-Huashen stage, it is incomparably dangerous to go there. That Leiku was originally the nest of ancient thunder beasts; there are over a dozen fifth- and sixth-tier thunder beasts inside, which are truly difficult to deal with. If I didn't cultivate Thunder Techniques myself, I fear it would have been even more dangerous."

Once this news came out, the entire venue was instantly in an uproar.

True Monarch Guiling thought for a moment and said: "When I left, I was only at the early Spirit Transformation stage, so I am not clear about many things outside of Shenzhou. However, I have roughly heard that there is a Leizhou in the north, where thunder and fire descend all year round, so the local area produces many thunder-type Spirit Materials and items. This Leiku, I imagine, is a dangerous place dense with thunder and fire, and with a large number of thunder beasts entrenched there. Leiyunzi specializes in Thunder Techniques, so he likely wanted to go into Leiku to seek some Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure to assist in Void Breaking."

The middle-aged man also bowed slightly to the tens of thousands of cultivators, his expression very cold and arrogant. After speaking, he ignored the collective return salute of all the cultivators and instead turned to Leiyunzi, cupping his hands with a smile: "I thought I had come fast enough, but I did not expect Daoist Brother Leiyun to be even faster!"

As for the tens of thousands of cultivators watching below, they could hear nothing at all; after all, it was too far, and no one dared to use their Divine Sense to probe the two True Monarchs.

Why did the three True Monarchs appear together?

Could it be that there is some unknown secret behind this Immortal Alliance Assembly and the act of suppressing the Nether Beasts?

Although the Nether Beast Catastrophe in the southeast of Shenzhou has reached a point where it is almost impossible to manage, for these Huashen Great Cultivators who have lived for at least six or seven hundred years, their gaze has long since not been limited to the Shenzhou territory. Their range of activity covers the nine continents of the Mortal World, so for a catastrophe that has not yet reached the point of extermination, they generally do not take the initiative to intervene. After all, Shenzhou still has hundreds or thousands of large and small Immortal Sects, hundreds of thousands of cultivators, and hundreds of Spirit Realm Great Cultivators of the Spirit Transformation and True Spirit realms maintaining order; the situation is far from collapsing.

Therefore, in such a situation that is not particularly critical, the sudden arrival of three True Monarchs at the Immortal Alliance Assembly makes the inside story worth pondering.

"Whoosh~"

In front of the Xianyun Palace main hall, the man in black bowed slightly, and the image of the man in the Sea of Consciousness of the tens of thousands of cultivators also bowed and spoke in unison.

Sure enough, as soon as Leiyunzi finished speaking, a black light suddenly tore through the firmament to the northeast of the Langya Mountain peak. Amidst the shaking and trembling of heaven and earth, a handsome middle-aged man of about forty, dressed in black robes, walked out from the Void. With black hair and a short beard, he looked down with his hands behind his back before taking a step and landing in front of the Xianyun Palace main hall.

Leiyunzi immediately shook his head with a bitter expression: "It was a wasted trip. Not only did I lose several Magic Treasures, but I also almost lost my life inside. Xianggu Valley even lost a sixth-tier Spirit Beast; it can be said that the losses were heavy."

Ling Yuzhen took up the conversation: "Since we have reached this realm, what is the use of going to places without danger? Only in the most dangerous places can one seek the opportunity for a breakthrough."

"Senior, do you know about the Leiku that True Monarch Leiyun mentioned?" Xu Chen turned his head and asked.

Xu Chen nodded: "True Monarch Leiyun is already at the late Huashen stage and still almost met with disaster. Such a place must be even more dangerous than the Mihun Shilin."

Xu Chen, relying on his unique and powerful Soul after merging the Blue Light Treasure Bottle and the Heaven-Suppressing Monument, could hear the conversation between the two from hundreds of feet away even without using his Divine Sense.

And in the eyes of all the large Immortal Sects in Shenzhou, Dongwu is nothing more than a barbarian land in the Eastern Wasteland, with a harsh environment, scarce Spirit Qi, and weak cultivation. If it were gone, it would be gone; it is not worth making a fuss about.

"I am Daokong, greetings to all Daoist Friends of Shenzhou!"

From the leakage of Nether Qi to the present, more than a year has passed, but the only place that has truly completely rotted and become unmanageable is the country of Dongwu.

Of course, he was also somewhat puzzled.

It was just that even if he heard it clearly, it was useless, because he simply did not know what the two were talking about.

Xu Chen and True Monarch Guiling nodded together.

Suddenly, above the clear sky for ten thousand miles, a violent thunder light surged out of thin air, instantly transforming into a gate wreathed in electric light. A half-hundred-year-old man of about fifty, wearing a cyan robe, stepped out. With gray hair and a short beard, his whole body was wreathed in the light and shadows of the sun, moon, and stars. His aura was profound and obscure, and with every movement, there was a faint sound of thunder.

Such a situation, let alone in the eyes of these True Monarchs, even in the eyes of the high-and-mighty Elders of the Immortal Alliance, was merely a relatively critical situation.

Therefore, all Evil Lands are the areas where the rules of heaven and earth are most turbulent and also the most active.

Thus, whether in Shenzhou or other continents of the Mortal World, one could often see the figures of Huashen Great Cultivators in those most dangerous places. In order to seek Void Breaking and become an immortal, they had to race against time to seek and comprehend the aura of the rules in these dangerous places before their lifespan was exhausted.

Sometimes, even if there is only a sliver of a chance, they must risk their lives to strive for it.

(End of this chapter)