Tantai Qingrun

An incense burner sat on a horizontal table in the room, with sandalwood incense smoke rising from it.

Behind the table, a woman sat cross-legged, and the middle-aged man from earlier stood respectfully behind her.

Lu Qingshan took a light breath of the faint sandalwood scent filling the air, and a cool sensation surged straight into his mind.

He felt refreshed, and the stray thoughts in his mind gradually dispersed.

This was Calming Incense!

An excellent treasure to aid cultivation, it allowed cultivators to enter a state of cultivation faster and improved cultivation efficiency.

The market price for the most ordinary Calming Incense started at one third-grade Spirit Stone. Those who used Calming Incense to aid their cultivation were either wealthy or noble.

However, given the woman's status, it was quite normal for her to use Calming Incense to aid her cultivation.

The master of the Zhishou Tower's commandery city branch was a Golden Core cultivator.

In the first four realms of cultivation—Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul—each advancement represented a qualitative leap in strength.

A Golden Core cultivator was already considered the highest level of combat power in Yuanshan City.

The master of Yuanshan Tower was a woman who looked about twenty-four or twenty-five years old.

She was dressed in white as pure as snow, with sharp yet exceptionally delicate features, making her very pleasant to look at.

However, since she was a Golden Core cultivator, her age couldn't be judged simply by her appearance.

She could very well be someone from his great-grandmother's generation.

Lu Qingshan mused to himself.

Because he remembered correctly, his current body was only fifteen years old, a veritable young and fresh cultivator.

The woman sized up Lu Qingshan, who had just entered, her expression as calm as water. She spoke indifferently, "Where did you hear the name of the Underworld?"

Lu Qingshan replied neither subserviently nor arrogantly, "By chance."

"By chance?" The woman's tone rose slightly.

"My name is Lu Qingshan, a disciple of the Lu family from Zhenjiang Prefecture, Qingzhou," Lu Qingshan said, not answering the woman's question directly. He continued, "May I know the楼主's name?"

The Lu family was one of the thirty-six great cultivation families in Zhenjiang Prefecture.

Although this influence was unlikely to be noticed by Zhishou Tower, Lu Qingshan didn't mind giving himself a background.

"Tantai Qingrun." The woman frowned slightly, but still reported her name straightforwardly, without any pretense or hesitation.

"Master Tantai," Lu Qingshan nodded and said, "The Underworld is a demon organization that has been lurking within the Human race, with its sphere of influence spanning the seven domains, making it extremely vast."

The Underworld was initially formed by some demons with camouflage and infiltration abilities who infiltrated the seven domains of the Human race. They lured a large number of cultivators through enticement or coercion.

Nourished by profit and desire, the Underworld's influence grew larger and larger. They disregarded human life and committed all sorts of evil deeds.

During the great war twenty thousand years ago, although Dao Ancestor Xia led the Human cultivators to repel the demons and severely damage the Underworld's forces, and subsequently established the Great Xia Imperial Family to protect the Human race, the Underworld never disappeared. Instead, it stubbornly persisted.

The Underworld lurked silently among the Human race, redeveloping its forces, like a malignant tumor, growing wildly within the Human territory."

Lu Qingshan calmly elaborated on his understanding of the Underworld.

The world of "Nine Heavens" was vast, very vast.

The reason it was called "Nine Heavens" was because this world comprised nine worlds.

However, even before his transmigration, Lu Qingshan only knew the names of two of them.

One was the world where players spawned, and also the current world controlled by the Human race, the Azure Vault!

The other was the world where the demons resided, the Abyss!

The Abyss and the Azure Vault were adjacent. To compete for resources and strengthen their respective races, the demons of the Abyss had always attempted to conquer the Azure Vault and turn the Human race into their vassals and slaves.

During the full-scale invasion war initiated by the demons twenty thousand years ago, the human cultivation world, due to its sect system and the division between righteous and evil factions, fought independently. They were crushed by the demons, and the Azure Vault's seven domains were plunged into suffering.

Just as the Azure Vault was about to fall and the Human race was on the verge of becoming demon slaves, Dao Ancestor Xia endured the Nine Heavens Tribulation, achieved the status of Dao Ancestor, and with his power, turned the tide, preventing the collapse of the empire and repelling the demons.

After driving the demons back to the Abyss and rebuilding the Human race, Dao Ancestor Xia learned from the experience. While preserving the independence of the sects, he established the Great Xia Imperial Family, unified the Human race, and protected them.

This was also why there was still a so-called imperial family in the Xianxia world.

It was nothing more than the Dao Ancestor's bloodline being imperial, deserving utmost respect!

After repelling the demons, Dao Ancestor Xia built a great Human city, Tianhe City, at the junction of the Azure Vault and the Abyss.

Using Tianhe City as a frontline base, the Human race managed to keep the demons outside the Azure Vault. Coupled with the deterrence of the Dao Ancestor, the Human race had been able to rest, recuperate, and gradually grow stronger over these past twenty thousand years.

However, the Underworld, as a force of the demons, remained hidden within the Human territories, like a bomb waiting to explode at any moment.

Therefore, eliminating the Underworld's forces had always been a unified goal for the major powers of the Human race.

Tantai Qingrun raised her delicate eyebrows slightly. "What you said is very accurate. However, these are not things a Qi Refining second-layer cultivator like you should know. Not to mention, you were able to find our Zhishou Tower."

Tantai Qingrun's eyes turned cold.

Instantly, a heavy pressure descended upon Lu Qingshan.

[Divine Sense Projection]!

The mere pressure released by the divine sense of a Golden Core cultivator was enough to render the Qi Refining second-layer Lu Qingshan unable to move.

Lu Qingshan forced a smile. "Zhishou Tower exists to combat the Underworld. Are you sure you don't want me to finish speaking?"

"Sect Master," the middle-aged male cultivator standing by, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up. "Perhaps you should hear him out."

Tantai Qingrun furrowed her beautiful brows. After a moment of thought, she finally nodded and said, "Continue."

Lu Qingshan felt a wave of relief wash over him.

The suffocating pressure had dissipated.

One playing the bad cop, the other the good cop. A classic, albeit somewhat cliché, tactic.

Lu Qingshan chuckled and suddenly spoke, "A Demon Cultivator, the Blood Corpse True Person. Current location: within Yuanshan City. Strength: Foundation Establishment realm. Appearance: a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, accompanied by a female disciple at the fourth layer of Qi Refining."

Tantai Qingrun fell silent for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll give you a small gift first, then we can discuss further matters."

"The matter of the Underworld is of great importance. It's better to believe it exists than to dismiss it," the middle-aged male cultivator said to Tantai Qingrun.

A sharp glint flashed in Tantai Qingrun's eyes. She nodded. "Then I'll trouble you with this, Uncle Rong."

The middle-aged male cultivator gave Lu Qingshan a meaningful glance before turning and leaving the room.

After the middle-aged male cultivator departed, only Lu Qingshan and Tantai Qingrun remained in the room.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

"Sect Master Tantai, you are a Sword Cultivator, aren't you?"