Immortal Armies

When faced with Zhang Xingfeng's question, Daoist Kongming remained silent.

Zhang Xingfeng looked at Daoist Kongming with mixed feelings. He admired and worshipped Daoist Kongming, but he was also puzzled by Daoist Kongming's indifference to the lives of the Tianxin Sect disciples, and felt a trace of anger.

Kongming Daoren, a man of extraordinary talent, was originally a wandering cultivator without a sect. Relying on some ordinary cultivation manuals he obtained, combined with his own experience, and grasping the profound principles of heaven and earth, Daoist Kongming, having reached the Tribulation Crossing Stage, finally created the "Heart Sutra" and founded the Tianxin Sect. Daoist Kongming, without any immortal artifacts, easily passed the Heavenly Tribulation relying on his powerful True Primordial Energy. Later, he used secret methods to conceal his power, managing to remain in the Cultivation World for nearly a thousand years after his Tribulation Transcendence, completely solidifying the foundation of the Tianxin Sect. Finally, having reached the Luo Tian Heavenly Immortal realm, he was discovered by the Immortal Realm and entered the Immortal Realm.

For a cultivator to escape the detection of the immortal realm and hide for nearly a thousand years is a miracle in itself. Moreover, in just a thousand years, without Immortal Stone or Cultivation World crystals, relying solely on the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi, he has reached the level of Luo Tian Heavenly Immortal. One can only imagine the talent of the Daoist Kongming.

Zhang Xingfeng didn't know what life was like for Daoist Kongming in the Immortal Realm, but he could imagine it. After all, for Heavenly Immortal and Luo Tian Heavenly Immortal without a background, the Immortal Realm was like hell! Daoist Kongming had founded his sect a million years ago. He had also cultivated for a million years, but in the Immortal Realm, a million years was normally only enough to reach the Nine Heavens Profound Immortal realm, yet Daoist Kongming had already reached the Immortal Emperor realm.

Zhang Xingfeng naturally admired such a person! Although Zhang Xingfeng was much faster than Daoist Kongming, it was due to the protection of his predecessors or good fortune that he began cultivating as a fetus, possessing Innate Primordial Qi more than ten times stronger. Later, he obtained the "Six Revolutions Profound Body Art," and the Demon Emperor's Secret Realm was filled with countless treasures. The Limitless Power allowed Zhang Xingfeng to directly reach the level of Great Luo Golden Immortal after Tribulation Transcendence.

It was only after some fortuitous encounters at the Hall of Illusory Fire God and the mysterious stone tablet that Zhang Xingfeng reached his current level.

Perhaps the only thing Zhang Xingfeng can be proud of, and which he himself worked so hard to create, is the unique physical attack he developed!

However, luck is also a factor. Zhang Xingfeng 'Innate Fire Spirit Body, reincarnation memories, Pangu's inheritance, the favor of the Old Man Huo, and so on have all contributed to his current status.

After a long while, Daoist Kongming finally sighed and smiled slightly, as if he wanted to let everything pass with a laugh.

"Xingfeng, I really didn't know that my Tianxin Sect could have such an outstanding disciple as you. I only heard your story from Brother Yuanmu, hehe..." Daoist Kongming said with a smile as he looked at Zhang Xingfeng.

Zhang Xingfeng glanced at the green bamboo in the courtyard. He didn't know why the Daoist Kongming hadn't answered his question. Zhang Xingfeng suddenly smiled and thought to himself, "Perhaps the patriarch also has his own reasons!"

"Grandmaster, the Tianxin Sect has been established for a million years. You entered the Immortal Realm long ago, while I only started cultivating in the last few thousand years. It's quite normal that you don't know me." Zhang Xingfeng said to Daoist Kongming with a slightly respectful tone, after all, Daoist Kongming was the founding patriarch.

Daoist Kongming stood up from the stone bench and slowly walked away. Suddenly Daoist Kongming turned around abruptly, looked at Zhang Xingfeng, and said, "Are you surprised that I didn't save the Tianxin Sect disciples?"

Zhang Xingfeng looked firmly at Daoist Kongming and nodded.

A ruthless glint flashed in Daoist Kongming's eyes, his white beard trembled a few times, and then he suddenly regained his composure.

"Now I will tell you who is the culprit who caused my Tianxin Sect's ascended disciples to linger in the Immortal Realm?" Daoist Kongming said, looking at Zhang Xingfeng.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xingfeng's eyes flashed with Killing Intent, but he quickly withdrew it, though his aura of coldness intensified.

"Who?" Zhang Xingfeng squeezed out the word through gritted teeth, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

"Purple Cloud Realm!" Daoist Kongming said calmly, but the Killing Intent contained in that calm voice was even more terrifying than Zhang Xingfeng 'Killing Intent.

Zhang Xingfeng was taken aback, then suddenly said coldly, "It's that Purple Cloud Realm again. One day, I will destroy the Purple Cloud Realm!" Zhang Xingfeng now wanted to settle both old and new scores, as well as sect feuds.

The Killing Intent on Daoist Kongming's body was completely eliminated, or rather, concealed. He smiled bitterly and said to Zhang Xingfeng, "Destroy the Purple Cloud Realm? Do you think the Purple Cloud Realm is so easy to destroy? The number one power in the Immortal Realm has five experts at the Immortal Emperor level alone, plus the hidden enshrined experts, which is definitely more than ten experts at the Immortal Emperor level. Hmph, ten Immortal Emperors, what a powerful force."

Zhang Xingfeng said, "Ten Immortal Emperor level experts are indeed terrifying, but in terms of the number of Immortal Emperor experts in Fengyuan Gate and Tianlong Sect, they are probably not much different from those in the Purple Cloud Realm!"

Daoist Kongming nodded and said, "Yes, you are absolutely right. It's not just Fengyuan Gate and Tianlong Sect. If we only consider the number of experts, even the Four Sects of the Immortal Realm are not much different. But that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is the Immortal Army!"

That immortal army was absolutely terrifying. While the immortals in that army were mostly at the level of Luo Tian Heavenly Immortal Great Luo Golden Immortal, their sheer number, combined with the activation of the earth formation, meant that a single attack of 100,000 would instantly annihilate even a late-stage Immortal Emperor. Do you know why the Purple Cloud Realm has remained the number one power in the Immortal Realm for so many years?

Zhang Xingfeng understood a little. "Could it be an army of immortals?" Daoist Kongming nodded.

Zhang Xingfeng immediately frowned and asked in confusion, "That's not right. Doesn't Fengyuan Gate and Tianlong Sect both possess immortal armies? Can't they compete with the Purple Cloud Realm?"

Daoist Kongming shook his head and said, "Although they both have armies of immortals, the numbers are vastly different!"

"How big? I refuse to believe that the combined immortal experts of Fengyuan Gate and Tianlong Sect are fewer than the number of immortal army experts of the Purple Cloud Realm?" Zhang Xingfeng sneered. He desperately wanted to kill those people from the Purple Cloud Realm. Back in the Cultivation World, he had wanted to destroy Purple Cloud Realm's power, but his strength was insufficient. After all, Purple Cloud Realm was the number one power in the Cultivation World Realm, and now that he had come to the Immortal Realm, Great Emperor Ziwei was completely at odds with him.

Daoist Kongming smiled wryly, "Yes, just as you said, the combined immortal armies of the Tianlong Sect and the Fengyuan Gate don't even number as many as those of the Purple Cloud Realm!!!"

Zhang Xingfeng was stunned. The combined immortal armies of Fengyuan Gate and Tianlong Sect did not even number as many as those of the Purple Cloud Realm!

"How could this be? How is this possible? The number of experts is about the same. Why does his Purple Cloud Realm immortal army have so many more immortals?" Zhang Xingfeng stared wide-eyed at Daoist Kongming, his face filled with disbelief.

"Do you know where these immortals in the army of immortals come from?" Daoist Kongming asked in return.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Xingfeng said, "That goes without saying. These immortals are naturally those without background or support. Where do they come from? Of course, from the Ascension Platform, the gathering Ascension Platform for all ascending cultivators!"

Daoist Kongming gave a cold laugh and said, "Ascension Platform? Yes, these immortals all come from the Ascension Platform, but do you know where the Ascension Platform is?"

Zhang Xingfeng's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "Could it be that this Ascension Platform is within the territory of the Purple Cloud Realm?"

Daoist Kongming did not speak, but from Daoist Kongming's expression, Zhang Xingfeng could tell that this Ascension Platform was within the Purple Cloud Realm.

"That's not right, Ancestor. These newly ascended immortals are only at the Heavenly Immortal level; they're not qualified to be part of the Immortal Army. So what if the Ascension Platform is in the Purple Cloud Realm? Won't those immortals leave on their own? Can't they leave the Purple Cloud Realm? Is the Purple Cloud Realm forcibly keeping them here? No, based on what I've seen in the Immortal Realm, they don't care about the comings and goings of these Celestial Heavenly Immortal at all." Zhang Xingfeng was puzzled again.

Daoist Kongming smiled and said, "Xingfeng, you haven't been in the Immortal Realm for long, and there are many things you haven't seen through yet. When you went to the cities in the Purple Cloud Realm, whether it was Maoyang City, Hundred Rain City, or Loufeng City, although they were nominally controlled by some third-level major powers, they actually belonged to the Purple Cloud Realm. Those third-level powers were merely subordinate to the Purple Cloud Realm. Do you understand?"

Zhang Xingfeng nodded knowingly. It seemed that although these third-level forces occupied a city, they were still only subordinate to it.

Daoist Kongming glanced at Zhang Xingfeng's expression, smiled slightly, and said, "In the entire Immortal Realm, the Four Sects of the Immortal Realm are completely independent. The cities they occupy are not affiliated with the three Immortal Emperors. There are also some sects close to the Four Sects of the Immortal Realm that are affiliated with them, but have broken away from the control of the three Immortal Emperors. However, in general, most of the cities in the Immortal Realm are in the hands of the three Immortal Emperors."

"Let me tell you, Purple Cloud Realm has eighteen cities that it completely controls, and nearly thirty more cities that are dependent on it. These cities are all close to the Purple Cloud Realm. You should also know how far the distance is between two cities in the Immortal Realm."

Zhang Xingfeng nodded and said, "Although I don't know the exact distance between some cities, I do know one thing: they are definitely very far. My brothers A-Jia and Xiao-Yu are only Heavenly Immortal. They don't dare to teleport at Teleportation because they don't have many Immortal Stones, let alone Immortal Crystals. So they fly slowly, and it takes them almost a hundred years to travel from one city to another."

Daoist Kongming agreed, "Indeed, those pitiful people who have just become Heavenly Immortal and have no background have no Immortal Stone and dare not use Teleportation at will. Even if they Teleportation, it is only a hundred times faster. They save Immortal Stone and can only fly slowly."

Daoist Kongming suddenly sneered, "That's right, they are all pitiful. Back then, Purple Cloud Realm even moved its mountain gate next to the Ascension Platform. You know that with the Ascension Platform as the center, nearly fifty cities around it are within the territory of the Purple Cloud Realm. As long as these immortals do not leave such a large area, even if they become Luo Tian Heavenly Immortal, if they want to join the army, they can only join the army of the Purple Cloud Realm."

Zhang Xingfeng's eyes widened suddenly, and he immediately understood. "This... this... Heavens! Fifty cities! If we choose one direction and go straight, there are probably ten more cities blocking our way. Each city takes a hundred years, so ten cities would take a thousand years. This means we have to keep traveling, and there's only hope after a thousand years! But most immortals find a good place to settle down, find some work to earn some Immortal Stone for cultivation, and only continue traveling when they are bullied or chased by spoiled brats. As long as one is at the Luo Tian Heavenly Immortal realm and still within the Purple Cloud Realm, this Luo Tian Heavenly Immortal can directly enter the Purple Cloud Realm's army."

Thinking of this, Zhang Xingfeng became even more worried.

Daoist Kongming smiled and said, "It's not as scary as you think. If it were as you think, wouldn't most immortals without backgrounds be in the Purple Cloud Realm? The Purple Cloud Realm currently has nearly a million immortals, and the Fengyuan Gate and the Tianlong Sect each have around four or five hundred thousand immortals."

In the Celestial Realm, most Heavenly Immortal were bullied and forced to constantly migrate, spending most of their time living in the wilderness outside of cities. Therefore, more than half of the Heavenly Immortal had left the Purple Cloud Realm's sphere of influence.

Hearing this, Zhang Xingfeng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Daoist Kongming changed the subject, saying, "Do you know where we, the worshippers, come from?"

Zhang Xingfeng was taken aback. He really didn't know that even if an Immortal Emperor -level expert lived a carefree life, there would be absolutely no force that could threaten him. What benefits would Immortal Emperor -level expert have in becoming a hidden worshipper?

"Could it be an invitation? Or was it lured in with rare and precious items?" Zhang Xingfeng asked uncertainly.

Daoist Kongming smiled faintly, shook his head, and said, "No, or to be precise, not entirely. What you're describing might exist, but only a very small minority. What could possibly attract someone who has reached the Immortal Emperor realm? Moreover, once you reach the Immortal Emperor realm, you can practically establish a sect in the Immortal Realm. How many people would be willing to become an honored disciple?"

"Then?" Zhang Xingfeng asked, puzzled.

Daoist Kongming explained, "Let me tell you, all the immortals who join the army have lost their freedom because when they join the army, they must swear Blood Oath to be loyal for eternity. These worshippers are mostly people who have slowly cultivated themselves out of hundreds of thousands of immortals. Because they are bound by the oath, they can only be worshippers. Of course, after becoming worshippers, their status is different from before. Now they are almost equivalent to sect elders, but they are not allowed to leave their sphere of influence."

Zhang Xingfeng suddenly opened his eyes wide, looking at Daoist Kongming in disbelief. "Could it be that you, Ancestor, also..."

Daoist Kongming nodded, seemingly recalling those days when he created the "Heart Sutra" and, in just a thousand years in the Cultivation World, reached the Luo Tian Heavenly Immortal realm on his own. How proud and arrogant he was! Back then, someone from the Purple Cloud Realm offered him a place in the army, but he refused because he wanted freedom. He preferred to cultivate slowly in the wild for freedom!

But he was wrong, terribly wrong. He forgot the cold laugh of the person in charge of the Purple Cloud Realm whom he had rejected. Living like a rat in the street drove Daoist Kongming almost insane. He was not a saint, and in the end, like almost all immortals without a background, he joined the army. However, Daoist Kongming was proud and arrogant, and did not join the army of the Purple Cloud Realm whom he had rejected. Instead, he joined the army of the Fengyuan Gate!

Zhang Xingfeng was chatting with Daoist Kongming, while the Old Man Huo had finally finished his wine at a leisurely pace, so...