The tragedy at the Ten Thousand Swords Assembly soon spread throughout the Immortal Origin Land.
Within scarcely a single day, nearly half the sword cultivation world in the Immortal Origin Land had vanished into smoke and ash.
And behind it all stood that "great devil."
Yin Ji.
Almost every Immortal Cultivator from outside the land feared for their own safety.
Some outside cultivation factions had already begun considering abandoning all their interests in the Immortal Origin Land at this critical juncture and returning to the realms they originally came from to escape it all.
To a certain extent, in Chen Yan's eyes, all these actions proclaimed the growing strength of Yin Ji's influence.
Meanwhile, Chen Yan had also been trying to strengthen the "forces" under his control.
He wanted to meet the future Heaven-Stabilizing Sage who would rule the Immortal Origin Land and discuss a deal with him.
And the best way to meet Yin Ji was to unite a sufficiently powerful force of outside Immortal Cultivators. When the time came, Yin Ji would naturally come knocking.
Autumn arrived particularly early that year.
In a teahouse in the nameless town at the foot of the Bright Azure Sect's mountain, a few Immortal Cultivators gathered in a corner.
A pot of coarse tea simmered on their table. Its fragrance mingled with the cool breeze blowing through the gaps in the window, offering a rare measure of ease amid the tense situation in the Immortal Origin Land.
"Have you heard? The Mystic Mechanism Palace and the Iron Sword Alliance have issued a joint invitation."
An elderly man in the Spirit 통 Realm spoke as he picked up the teacup before him and took a small sip.
The Spirit 통 Realm elder's hair and beard had long since turned completely white, and