[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-immortal-path-among-the-stars":3,"chapter-the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-158":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Immortal Path Among the Stars",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2320090,4537,"Chapter 158: The Open Strategy","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-158",158,"\u003Cp>“What conspiracy? It’s plainly an open strategy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Jialan Secret Realm was discovered centuries ago by the founding masters of our four sects, based on the three secret keys left behind by the ancient Jialan Zhenren; but because the fourth key was always missing, it could never be fully opened.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we don’t want to abandon this secret realm, we’d best send our disciples in to compete with them; otherwise, once the three demonic sects seize control of the realm and plunder all its resources and treasures, they’ll grow even stronger.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides, the keys were left by Jialan Zhenren himself—perhaps he also hid his lineage transmission within this realm. How precious an inheritance from a Nascent Soul true immortal is, I needn’t elaborate further.” The elderly woman in blue robes spoke slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The elder Qing is right. Whether it’s a conspiracy or an open strategy, we absolutely cannot afford to let this realm go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not to mention the possibility of Jialan Zhenren’s transmission—even if only one or two Nascent Soul-level treasures remain inside, we can’t afford to miss them. Who knows if any of these treasures might harbor the great opportunity to form a Nascent Soul?” The elder Lieguang of Luorì Sect suddenly startled, nodding vigorously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, the other three perked up, but after a moment’s thought, the elder Tianchan still hesitated and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I never imagined the fourth key would fall into the hands of the demonic sects. Add to that our own key, which has long been guarded by that traitor surnamed Yao, and now the demonic sects possess two keys.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But I can’t understand how they knew the other two keys were with Elder Qing and Elder Lieguang.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And how could they time it so precisely—slipping into our camp unnoticed, activating their own key to force the keys guarded by Master Ximen and Elder Qing to activate, thus fully opening the Jialan Secret Realm?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is strange. Who holds the Jialan keys should be known only to our own Jin Dan elders. The demonic sects shouldn’t possibly know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Elder Qing, Elder Lieguang, when you two led your teams here for this Dharma assembly, was that your own decision—or did someone else in your sect suggest it?” The Guangfa elder monk asked after listening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Elder Guangfa, what are you implying? Are you suspecting that someone in our two sects has been bought by the demonic sects? I personally requested to lead this delegation, because one of my direct disciples is participating in this four-sect Dharma assembly.” Elder Lieguang frowned, displeased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Guangfa elder monk merely nodded, his gaze turning to the elderly woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old woman, however, now wore an expression of hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, Elder Qing, you didn’t come here of your own accord?” The elder monk’s eyes narrowed slightly as he pressed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Elder Lieguang and Elder Tianchan both stiffened, their eyes fixed on the old woman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t hide it from you, my friends. I had been in seclusion cultivating a certain secret technique and had no intention of leading a delegation to this four-sect Dharma assembly. It was my junior sister Caiyun who personally came to ask me to break my seclusion. She said this assembly was of critical importance, that no one else could be trusted to lead it—only I could assure her peace of mind.” After a long pause, the old woman spoke slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You mean the Caiyun Immortal! Isn’t she the one who truly manages the affairs of the Thousand Bamboo Sect now?” Elder Tianchan exclaimed in surprise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes. The current sect leader of the Thousand Bamboo Sect is Caiyun’s descendant, so it’s true that Caiyun is the one who truly runs the sect. My brother Weng and I mostly remain in seclusion, rarely involving ourselves in the sect’s day-to-day affairs.” The old woman continued thoughtfully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elder monk beside her merely murmured a Buddhist chant, his expression unreadable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Elder Lieguang, in his purple-red robe, also frowned slightly but said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Cough, cough. We certainly can’t base suspicions on mere conjecture and accuse other sects of treachery. We’ll discuss this later. Right now, the most urgent matter is that the demonic sects have just opened the entrance to the Jialan Secret Realm before our very eyes—and they claim to control another entrance as well?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Elder Qing, you’re an expert in arrays and prohibitions. Could the demonic sects truly accomplish this?” Elder Tianchan cleared his throat and turned to the old woman, then looked up at the white halo above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just this short time, a pale green array had appeared at the center of the massive halo, and within its heart, a faint shadow of an ancient green gate was barely visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Normally, the four keys should activate the secret realm’s entrance. But if someone tampered with those two keys and prearranged a corresponding array elsewhere, it’s certainly possible to tear open another entrance.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know of several such arrays capable of this.” The old woman thought for a moment, then replied seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So these demonic sects aren’t bluffing—they’re truly using an open strategy to force us into a direct clash with them inside the Jialan Secret Realm, through our disciples.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh, I think that’s exactly it. The demonic sects of Yu Kingdom cultivate disciples differently from our Wu Kingdom sects.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They favor the ‘cultivating poison insects’ method: they accept nearly every applicant, teach them a little, then leave them to fend for themselves. Those with talent and strength rise to the top and reach their masters; the weak become food for the others.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So combined, the demonic sects’ disciple numbers far exceed ours.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To them, using their disciples to wear down ours is a massive profit—why bother with any conspiracy?” Elder Lieguang chuckled darkly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Elder Lieguang speaks sense.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The demonic sects chose this moment—the four-sect Dharma assembly—to execute this plan, likely because they have confidence in their disciples’ strength. They’ve probably gathered all their strongest Qi Condensation disciples.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Black Soul Sect and Joy Palace are one thing, but Mo Luo Sect is far from us—we know little of their disciples’ strength. And since it’s the sect of that person, we must be cautious.” The elder monk, after thinking, spoke cautiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph! So what if it’s his sect? Can he enter the secret realm himself? Even if Mo Luo Sect’s disciples are strong, they’re all Qi Condensation. I refuse to believe our four sects’ elite disciples will lose to them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides, we don’t need to kill every demonic disciple—we only need to disrupt their search for the true core of the realm, the fifth key.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If necessary, even if we can’t seize the key, destroying it is a hundred times better than letting it fall into demonic hands.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If that still fails, have our disciples delay their search.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The secret realm’s opening is time-limited. Once the time ends, it closes automatically. No one knows when it’ll open again. I don’t believe these demonic brats will dare stay inside after that.” Elder Qing snorted coldly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah! Elder Qing is absolutely right. Even if our disciples are slightly weaker, we must send them in.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we can grab the fifth key, grab it. If not, destroy it. If we can’t destroy it, delay them. In any case, we must deny the demonic sects possession of it.” Elder Tianchan laughed heartily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The elder monk and Elder Lieguang exchanged glances and both nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, all four had reached a decision.\u003C\u002Fp>",1237,"2026-06-20T15:44:30.991Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","f7dd27e2f554b65b84bf63ca5a1845ceba5a8f9f17f26c7a0257cd3c6a8f7497","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-159","the-immortal-path-among-the-stars-chapter-157",530,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-immortal-path-among-the-stars-cover.jpg"]