Lowering His Head

Facing the oppressive gazes of those from Gu Jinlai, Liu Yuxi's pretty face turned pale.

"Palace Master Gu, please don't misunderstand. We... it's just that Brother Yuan hasn't seen Qian Tian's hometown people for too long. Hearing about Palace Master Gu's extraordinary talent, we couldn't resist the urge to spar with you."

She spoke with a slight tremor in her voice.

When she mentioned the word "sparring," she seemed to have finally grasped the key point and quickly said, "Yes, sparring. Brother Yuan only sparred with Palace Master Gu. There's nothing arrogant about it. Now that I see Palace Master Gu has such strength, I am filled with admiration. Palace Master Gu truly deserves to be the most outstanding leader of the forces in Qiantian in the past hundred years. Yu Xi is completely convinced."

"To exchange ideas."

Gu Jinlai's gaze turned to Jin Haoran, who was clearly the leader of the three. "Is it a friendly spar?"

"Let's spar! Let's just spar!"

Jin Haoran felt his immortal body being eroded inch by inch by the thunderous bombardment, and he quickly responded with his divine sense, "I was just a little excited and worried about Lin Yuan, so I rashly interrupted the sparring between Palace Master Gu and Lin Yuan. I apologize to Palace Master Gu here."

"Is that so?"

Gu Jinlai looked at Lin Yuan again. "So what do you think of the result of this sparring match?"

"Result..."

Lin Yuan did his best to dodge the lightning that kept bombarding him from all around.

The energy contained in each bolt of lightning terrified him, who was already not good at defense.

If he is struck by any bolt of lightning, or if his movements are slowed even slightly, his body will be blasted into dust by these violent bolts.

"The Ancient Palace Master's Divine Ability are astonishing; I, Lin Yuan, am ashamed to admit my inferiority!"

He knew he was saying he felt inferior, but in reality...

But it was he and Jin Haoran, or rather, their group of people who had rushed back from the Immortal Kingdom, who were willing to admit defeat.

This surrender shattered the myth surrounding him that led to the siege of the Heavenly Emperor a century ago, and was tantamount to handing over the initiative in the Qian Tian Realm to his group.

Next, they planned to undertake large-scale construction in Qiantian, building a grotto-heaven...

We'll probably have to act according to the Gu Jinlai.

"Is that so?"

Gu Jinlai, the power of the Chaotic Star Body has been gradually contained.

"Well then, since you've given me time to warm up, this sparring session is over."

The two halos of lightning that flashed across the sky gradually faded away.

He did not kill Lin Yuan and Jin Haoran.

Firstly, Lin Yuan himself belongs to the Qiantian clan. A hundred years ago, he was instrumental in besieging and killing the Heavenly Emperor and ending the chaos in the Heavenly Demon Palace.

Secondly...

At least they haven't done anything harmful to Qian Tian yet.

The conversation between the group was completely undisguised.

The conversation between the two sides was heard clearly by everyone.

We lost!?

Lord Yuan, who stood at the pinnacle of the True Immortal Realm a hundred years ago, actually lost!?

Even when he joined forces with Jin Haoran, a True Immortal residing in the Immortal Kingdom, he was defeated by someone from Gu Jinlai and was ashamed of his inferiority!

The forces involved in this great battle were too vast.

Especially the final power that stirred up the winds and clouds over a radius of hundreds of miles Gu Jinlai, this range of power exceeded the limits of a Primordial Spirit True Lord's divine sense.

As a result, they were completely unable to distinguish the superiority or inferiority of either side through the course of the battle.

However, through Jin Haoran's sudden intervention as a True Immortal, he vaguely realized that Gu Jinlai might have gained the upper hand in his battle with Lin Yuan.

They had assumed that with Jin Haoran, a legendary immortal in Qiantian, making his move, defeat was inevitable, a fate unmatched Gu Jinlai...

Even when he later forced Jin Haoran to exert all his strength, everyone was only amazed that he actually had such ability, to fight to such an extent with a mortal immortal.

But unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye...

Jin Haoran and Lin Yuan actually admitted defeat!?

As for the remaining True Immortal on Earth, Liu Yuxi, she didn't even have the courage to make a move.

Even when joining forces with another True Immortal and a Land True Immortal.

For a moment, the people from the Sanqing Palace, the Great Qian Imperial Family, Lingxiao Palace and other forces were shocked by this scene and were in an uproar.

"The Ancient Palace Master... is actually this powerful!"

"A True Immortal! A True Immortal! That's a True Immortal who has resided in this world! There's never been a record of a True Immortal being born in the history of Qian Tian! Even the rumors of True Immortals were brought by travelers from other places... But now, an unprecedented True Immortal who has resided in this world has just descended upon our Qian Tian, and he has already been defeated by the Ancient Palace Master with overwhelming force!"

"No wonder! No wonder the Ancient Palace Master didn't even bring that Heavenly Dragon with him. Just as he said, he is stronger than that Heavenly Dragon! Let alone a Heavenly Dragon, he is even stronger than a True Immortal! My God! My Qian Tian Land can also give birth to such a person!?"

"There's hope! Now Qian Tian is saved! With the Ancient Palace Master in charge of Qian Tian, what do we have to worry about being surrounded by Demonic Beasts? What do we have to worry about Qian Tian being in turmoil?"

Various low, deep voices and thoughts echoed continuously among the crowd.

Whether excited, shocked, delighted, or incredulous.

In their hazy vision, they seemed to see the myth of the Abyss Lord, who had fought against the Heavenly Emperor a hundred years ago, and the legendary aura of living immortals like Jin Haoran being shattered, falling apart, and their light dimming.

Looking back through Gu Jinlai, carrying the invincible momentum displayed in this battle, he ascended to the throne of gods, rising slowly and directly to the ninth heaven, so high that even when they looked up, they could hardly see his figure.

Jin Haoran, Lin Yuan, and Liu Yuxi looked rather grim upon hearing the discussions among the crowd below.

These honors should have belonged to them.

These celestial beings, especially with a true immortal accompanying them, should theoretically be able to unify the Qian Heaven and make everyone obediently cooperate with them once they arrive.

But now...

They glanced at the Gu Jinlai.

Their glory was completely stolen by this man who was, in theory, just a native of Qiantian.

"That's... unbelievable."

Lin Yuan took a breath at this moment.

He looked at the figures from Gu Jinlai in the sky, his expression somewhat complicated.

However, the feelings were mainly of gratitude and relief, without any resentment or bitterness.

"I never imagined that such an outstanding person as the Ancient Palace Master could be born in our Qiantian territory."

Then, as if realizing that Gu Jinlai might have traveled abroad and not been entirely cultivated by Qian Tian, he added, "At least, he is one of those who came from Qian Tian."

Jin Haoran glanced at Lin Yuan, looking somewhat worried. "This time, our mission is in trouble."

"Task..."

Lin Yuan wasn't too worried about the mission, saying, "Since the Ancient Palace Master has traveled outside, he naturally knows what the outside world is like now, and he also understands that our Immortal Kingdom is the only main force to resist the Demonic Beasts' attack. Under these circumstances, he should support our actions."

He paused for a moment, then added, "However, ten thousand spots probably won't be enough."

"But we've already agreed on these spots..."

"But we didn't know beforehand that someone like the Ancient Palace Master would be born in Qiantian, did we?"

Lin Yuan glanced at him as he spoke, "Or you could go and discuss the matter of establishing the grotto-heaven with Gu Jinlai in detail?"

Jin Haoran looked somewhat embarrassed and quickly said, "After all, you and he are both members of the same Qiantian, so it would be more appropriate for you to persuade him."

As he spoke, he glanced at Gu Jinlai secretly, his eyes filled with deep apprehension.

Lin Yuan, upon hearing what Jin Haoran said, no longer declined.

The establishment of the grotto-heaven is indeed of great importance; otherwise, the Immortal Kingdom would not have dispatched Jin Haoran and this top expert, whose combat power is close to that of a True Immortal, to Qiantian when its combat power was extremely scarce.

"Today's battle with the Ancient Palace Master has made us realize that there are always people more powerful than us and heavens beyond heavens. Although the Immortal Kingdom gathers the world's top experts, it does not mean that the true immortals of the Immortal Kingdom are invincible."

Lin Yuan stepped forward, forced a smile, and cupped his hands in greeting.

"It's good that you can humbly recognize your shortcomings. However, you don't need to be too discouraged. You are not weak. The Xuan Yang Demon God that I killed back then was inferior to the two of you combined."

This Gu Jinlai.

"Slay the Xuan Yang Demon God!?"

The words from Gu Jinlai startled Jin Haoran, Lin Yuan, and Liu Yuxi at the same time.

Then, as if realizing the significance of the news, they couldn't help but show expressions of shock.

"The Ancient Palace Master... slew a demon god!?"

"Wait, the Xuan Yang Demon God!? This seems to be a powerful demon god that roamed around the Holy Dynasty! It... it was killed by the Ancient Palace Master!?"

Jin Haoran and Liu Yuxi couldn't help but ask at the same time.

Gu Jinlai nodded.

He didn't offer much explanation.

He believed that once they returned to the Immortal Kingdom, or even now, they would use some means to notify the Immortal Kingdom and confirm the information through the Immortal Kingdom's channels.

As they confirm this news, they will also know that the Holy Dynasty has launched a counterattack against the surrounding Demonic Beasts and gained sufficient autonomy.

Currently, the Immortal Kingdom has committed all its manpower to the Blood Swamp Demon Abyss battlefield and cannot mobilize any more additional forces.

In contrast, the Holy Dynasty, including him, is equivalent to seven True Immortal-level combatants.

To ensure the complete annihilation of all seven True Immortal-level combatants and leave no future troubles, it is necessary to dispatch twenty-one True Immortals to guarantee absolute success.

If Liu Yuxi is not mistaken, there are only thirty-six True Immortals in the entire Immortal Kingdom.

The number of twenty-one has already exceeded half of the total number of True Immortals in the Immortal Kingdom.

Of course, there must be some peak True Immortals, even the strongest True Immortals, or even peerless True Immortals in the Immortal Kingdom. The number twenty-one is not accurate, but it can also reflect the weight of the Holy Dynasty in the Immortal Kingdom.

Under these circumstances, even if Jin Haoran, Lin Yuan, and Liu Yuxi suffered great losses at Qian Tian's hands, they would not dare to easily launch a retaliation against Qian Tian.

Jin Haoran did not know the reason why this news had been leaked from Gu Jinlai.

Upon hearing that he had killed the Xuan Yang Demon God, he couldn't help but gasp in shock.

"To be able to kill a demon god, one must have at least the combat power of a high-level True Immortal. If those demon gods insist on escaping, it would probably take the combat power of a top-level True Immortal to ensure absolute safety!"

In an instant, the gazes of Jin Haoran, Liu Yuxi, and the others towards Gu Jinlai shifted from apprehension to a hint of fear.

Especially Jin Haoran.

Gu Jinlai, even demons and gods have been slain; so how could one possibly slay a true immortal like him...?

It is by no means a pipe dream.

"Alright, now that you've all traveled so far to come to our Qiantian, what is the real reason? Now you can tell me."

At this moment, Gu Jinlai spoke up again.