"Elder Mu, are you all right?"
Jiang Youlong and the others' expressions changed dramatically. They braced themselves for another attack, but fortunately, none came.
"It was only a wisp of divine consciousness tracking us down along the karmic threads. Don't worry!"
Elder Mu rose from the ground and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Fear showed in his eyes as he said gravely, "Youlong, I did everything I could!"
"The other party is far too powerful—far beyond me. I suspect that even if she isn't an emperor, her cultivation has at least reached the Mahayana Realm!"
Jiang Youlong's voice rose in surprise. "The Mahayana Realm?"
In the current Cultivation World, those in the Mahayana Realm were considered peerless experts. The Jiang Clan patriarch himself had cultivation at that level.
She was only one of the Immortal Great Emperor's women, yet she was in the Mahayana Realm too?
Hua Hongyi pondered for a moment, then a light gleamed in her beautiful eyes as she said,
"If that's the case, then finding out who this woman is should be simple."
Jiang Youlong caught on and said, "Exactly!"
"There are only a handful of Mahayana Realm cultivators in the current Cultivation World. Anyone who has reached such a level—even a rogue cultivator—would never be an obscure nobody."
Jiang Youlong paced back and forth a few steps before continuing, "Besides, most people at this level come from some supreme power. That greatly narrows down the list of suspects."
The Jiang Clan, the Hua Clan, and the others were ancient cultivation clans.
Their lineages stretched back through the ages.
In terms of their foundations, they were hardly inferior to some of the supreme sects and Holy Lands.
If they could narrow down the search enough,
then figuring out someone's identity really wouldn't be too difficult.
Hua Hongyi hesitated, looking troubled, then added, "But since she's a Mahayana Realm cultivator, even if we find out who she is, taking action against her won't be easy."
As soon as she said this, the air fell silent.
The people present exchanged uneasy glances, but no one spoke again. They were clearly weighing their options in their minds.
A moment later.
Jiang Youlong's eyes suddenly flickered as he looked up at the sky. "Those people can't wait any longer."
"I suspect the Gate of the Immortal Realm will open very soon!"
"When it does, all the emperors of the mortal world will ascend to the Immortal Realm. Nothing can be allowed to go wrong."
Hua Hongyi and the others all looked yearningly at the thought of the Gate of the Immortal Realm opening.
Ascending on rosy clouds!
Becoming a true immortal who lived forever in the Immortal Realm was every cultivator's ultimate dream.
No matter how powerful a cultivator became—even an emperor!—their lifespan still had an end. Even an emperor in the Tribulation Transcendence Realm couldn't break the limit of a hundred thousand years.
But now, an exception had appeared.
Two thousand years ago, Lin Feng had already broken through the Tribulation Transcendence Realm and become an emperor, yet when the Gate of the Immortal Realm last opened, he had refused to ascend!
That had enraged those people. They couldn't let this example spread; they had to crush it in its infancy with thunderous force.
Hua Hongyi thought it over for a moment, then suddenly understood what Jiang Youlong meant. "You're saying that the Immortal Court has to eliminate the Immortal Great Emperor before the Gate of the Immortal Realm opens again?"
Jiang Youlong nodded. "Exactly. The Immortal Court would never allow such an insidious trend to spread through the mortal world."
He continued his analysis. "So all we have to do is report the truth. Someone else will surely step in and solve our problem."
Silence fell again.
The corner of Jiang Youlong's mouth curved in a smile. "In their eyes, what does a Mahayana Realm cultivator amount to?"
Hua Hongyi and Zuo Qingtian looked solemn!
Even Elder Mu, standing to one side, stirred with excitement.
Hua Hongyi suddenly smiled seductively. "I really wonder what the Immortal Great Emperor is thinking. Ascending to the Immortal Realm is the dream of so many cultivators!"
"And yet he won't do it!"
"He refuses to ascend no matter what and insists on staying in the lower realm, leaving us to run ourselves ragged chasing after him."
Zuo Qingtian's enormous frame leaned closer, and he laughed heartily. "Perhaps he's grown used to roaming freely in the mortal world and is afraid he'd feel out of place after ascending?"
"Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix!"
Hua Hongyi nodded in agreement, then shook her head. "I hope we get the chance to ascend one day too. I wouldn't think that way—I'd be willing to be the chicken's backside in the Immortal Realm!"
Her expression turned dreamy. "The air in the Immortal Realm must be brimming with immortal spiritual energy..."
They left the Cloudfall Mountain Range.
Back aboard the enormous flying ship, they each washed up and changed into clean clothes.
Elder Mu treated his injuries nearby, refining the Dao Injury inside his body.
That blow had gravely wounded him. It would probably take three to five months for him to recover completely.
In a secret chamber aboard the flying ship,
Jiang Youlong, Hua Hongyi, and Zuo Qingtian exchanged solemn looks.
"Let's begin!"
After speaking, Jiang Youlong took out an ancient scroll. Its paper had yellowed, but it bore not a single character.
Hua Hongyi extended her slender jade hand, and a black-inked brush appeared.
Zuo Qingtian, standing beside her, took out an ancient inkstone and began grinding the ink.
Once everything was ready,
Jiang Youlong took the brush from Hua Hongyi, dipped it in the ink, and swept it across the scroll like a dragon dancing through clouds.
Before long, he had filled the scroll.
After inspecting it, Jiang Youlong issued a command: "Above, reach the heavens; below, descend to the Netherworld!"
"Go!"
With a whoosh, the scroll burst into roaring flames and turned into wisps of green smoke.
One wisp shot straight into the clouds.
Another sank into the earth, vanishing into the Netherworld.
Jade Pool Holy Land.
At that moment, Yuan Ruoyu's face was as cold as frost, and glints of icy light flashed in her eyes.
She murmured, "Someone used the contents revealed in the Diary and Causality Divination to find out where Lin Feng is through me?"
Yuan Ruoyu stood up, barefoot, and paced across the Lotus Platform as she gazed at the rippling surface of the lake.
A huge creature swam through the clear water, its scales as big as winnowing baskets and gleaming with golden light.
When it saw Yuan Ruoyu approach, it swished its tail and swam over.
It was a golden carp with horns growing from its head. It opened its enormous mouth, waiting to be fed.
Yuan Ruoyu glanced at it and scolded, "Go on. I fed you just yesterday."
A look of reluctance flickered in the big carp's eyes. The next moment, the water rippled, and its enormous body darted back into the lake.
Yuan Ruoyu's thoughts churned like tangled hemp. Her voice turned colder. "So they've finally appeared?"
"But..."
Yuan Ruoyu shook her head again. "These people can't be the ones Lin Feng mentioned. They're far too weak."
"Since they've come looking for me, the real masterminds will surely show up soon."
The moment that thought crossed her mind, she made a decision.
A moment later,
inside a grand hall, Yuan Ruoyu gave her orders in a grave voice. "I'm going into seclusion to cultivate for a while. The Great Elder will temporarily oversee all Holy Land affairs."
"Also, during this time, the other elders and the peak masters must all take their posts at the Defense Array. There must be no slackening until I come out of seclusion!"
Cang Yuan, the Great Elder, looked stern. He had just been about to ask something, but Yuan Ruoyu silenced him with a glance.
The Holy Land's defensive elders hadn't all been mobilized for thousands of years.
Why were all the elders and peak masters being called into action now?
Yuan Ruoyu offered no explanation. "Just do as I say."
With that,
she flashed away and arrived at a secluded place deep within the Holy Land. She undid layer after layer of seals and entered.
This was a cultivation ground that only the Holy Venerable was qualified to enter.
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