Chapter 342

Shi Hongyu murmured softly, "I've heard that the Drunken Immortal Hermit is a direct descendant of the Demon Emperor and one of the most promising candidates to succeed the Demon Lord of the Joyful Union Dao Path after the Supreme Joyful Union. It's rumored that her cultivation has already reached the peak of the Quasi-Emperor realm, and she's only half a step away from stepping into the Supreme realm!"

Although Shi Hongyu knew of the Drunken Immortal Hermit, her understanding of her was not deep, limited to hearsay.

After all, the Drunken Immortal Hermit is very low-key and rarely makes public appearances.

A short while later.

The Drunken Immortal Hermit concealed his aura, his gaze falling on Xiao Minghuang. He parted his cherry lips slightly and said in a soft, charming tone, "Distinguished guest from afar, please follow me."

Her voice was like a gentle spring breeze, soft and clear, making people feel comfortable and relaxed all over, which was very enjoyable.

Following the gaze of the Drunken Immortal Hermit, almost instantly, everyone's eyes turned and focused on Xiao Minghuang.

Xiao Minghuang himself was quite frank, meeting the gaze of the Drunken Immortal Hermit with an honest look, though a hint of doubt lingered in his eyes.

She didn't understand why the Drunken Immortal Hermit had noticed her.

She wasn't involved in the conflict at all.

However, she was not afraid. Now that she was in the central Devil Palace, if the Demon Emperor wanted to attack her, she would have to face him sooner or later. If the Demon Emperor did not want to touch her, then she was not afraid of any other supreme beings!

Immediately, Xiao Minghuang took a step and went up to the second floor.

In the hotel lobby, Li Jie, Shi Hongyu, and the others looked at each other with different expressions.

"Brother Li, do you recognize that woman? I feel her aura is somewhat similar to that of a cultivator from the Eastern Pole..."

Standing beside Li Jie, someone who appeared to be from the Peace Negotiation Envoy Group asked.

"I don't know either." Li Jie shook his head, then looked at Shi Hongyu and asked, "Second Miss, what is the background of the woman who came with you?"

"Hmph!" Shi Hongyu sneered coldly, ignoring her.

The person who came here with Li Jie was one of the members of the Peace Negotiation Envoy Group. He came from the Kun Yuan Sacred Land in the East and was a Longevity Saint Realm expert.

After arriving at the Central Devil Palace, he met Li Jie by chance. He naturally knew that the person truly in charge of this peace negotiation was not the Quanyuan Supreme who came with him, but the peerless prodigy who had killed a Supreme before the age of thirty and whose name was known Five Directions One Realm. Now, she possessed the ultimate strength of a Supreme and was a terrifying existence that seemed to be comparable to an Earth Immortal. She was an unprecedented prodigy— Princess Xiao!

Although he had never met Princess Xiao, he quickly made the connection between Princess Xiao and the woman he had just seen.

The only person who would appear at this time and place, seemingly an Eastern Pole cultivator, and who is a complete stranger to him, is probably Princess Xiao.

"No, I must go see the Quanyuan Supreme immediately and report this to him."

He then greeted Li Jie and quickly left the hall, heading towards the courtyard where the delegation was located.

"Sigh, Fellow Daoist Liu, I just booked a private room, how can you just leave like that...?"

Li Jie paused for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile.

"Heh, you treat them like royalty, but they don't seem to care about you at all!"

Shi Hongyu said in a sarcastic tone.

Li Jie glared at her and snorted, "Shi Hongyu, what are you barking about? The woman you brought didn't even acknowledge you. Let's not argue about who's who!"

The two were locked in a fierce battle of wits, neither willing to concede.

However, this time, with no one else around, the two exchanged a few words but found it boring and went their separate ways.

The highest floor of Drunken Immortal Residence.

This is a place reserved for the owner of Drunken Immortal Residence and his most distinguished guests.

The place is lavishly decorated, with pavilions, towers, artificial hills and strange rocks, making it resemble an Imperial Palace.

Inside the deepest part of the palace, beautiful and graceful maids stood at the four corners.

"Owner!"

"Um."

The Drunken Immortal Hermit nodded, then sat down and ordered, "Bring the Tuo Beast Milk."

"Yes!"

A maid acknowledged the order and withdrew.

Her beautiful eyes met Xiao Minghuang's, and she smiled slightly, "Please sit down, let's talk slowly."

Xiao Minghuang remained calm and composed, and took her seat as instructed. With nothing else to do, she decided to see what the Drunken Immortal Hermit was up to.

A moment later, the Tuo Beast Milk was brought up.

These milk-like substances are crystal clear, with a rich and sweet fragrance that is refreshing and delightful. Even from several meters away, one can still feel the immense and pure spiritual power contained within them.

"This is the Tuo Beast Milk?"

Xiao Minghuang asked in surprise. Although she hadn't drunk it yet, she could tell from the aura emanating from the Tuo Beast Milk that this thing must be priceless!

"The Purple Gold Tuo Beast rarely reproduces, so its Tuo Beast Milk is extremely rare, usually only a small potful is produced every few hundred years."

The Drunken Immortal Hermit smiled slightly, then took out two jade bowls and filled them with two cups of goat milk.

"Oh?"

Xiao Minghuang raised an eyebrow, picked up a cup, took a small sip, and nodded approvingly, "It truly is a treasure!"

As the warm, sweet animal milk entered his stomach, a surge of heat coursed through his limbs and bones, carrying a strange warmth, as if he were soaking in warm water.

"The nourishing and warming effects of this beast milk are comparable to those of a saint, and it is of great benefit to cultivation," said the Drunken Immortal Hermit with a smile.

"To be honest, it's true." Xiao Minghuang nodded, then drank the remaining beast milk in the cup in one gulp.

457. The odds are in your favor.

As Xiao Minghuang swallowed a whole cup of animal milk, she suddenly felt weak in the knees, as if her whole body was going to go numb.

She steadied herself, her brows furrowing slightly. For someone with her current strength to have any effect on her, it was clear that the Tuo Beast Milk was no ordinary beast milk.

"The Southern Wilderness is poor and desolate, while the princess comes from the beautiful and fertile Eastern Land. She must look down on these common and uncouth creatures, right?"

Xiao Minghuang stared at the empty cup in silence.

She never expected that her identity would be exposed so easily.

"How did you know my identity, fellow Daoist?"

After a long while, Xiao Minghuang finally raised her head and asked calmly, her tone as if it were no secret at all.

Almost instantly, the Drunken Immortal Hermit's expression turned solemn, all his alluring charm vanished, and he became dignified and awe-inspiring.

The Drunken Immortal Hermit spoke slowly, his voice melodious and pleasant. "Although I am in the Southern Wilderness, I am not entirely oblivious to the movements of the Eastern Pole. Now, the Eastern Pole Emperor is blinded by greed and is attempting to usurp the throne. Although we cultivators of the Southern Wilderness are trapped in the desert, we still have a heart that yearns for the Dao. We will never allow such a greedy and petty person Eastern Pole Emperor to seize the Dao for himself. If the princess is willing, why not join forces with us in the Southern Wilderness to resist the Eastern Pole Emperor?"

After hearing her words, Xiao Minghuang raised an eyebrow. They had just met, yet she had dropped such a bombshell right away. This meant that if it wasn't a trap, then the other party must be eager to reach an agreement with her.

With great interest, he said, "The Eastern Pole Emperor is incredibly powerful, ruling over the Eastern Pole of the Central Heaven. All living beings bow before him, and Heaven and Earth are his supreme authority. What makes you think that the mere Southern Wilderness can rival the Eastern Emperor?"

"Besides, the war between the Southern Wilderness and the Eastern Pole has lasted for so many years without a clear victor, and now they are about to negotiate peace. Yet you are here talking about 'jointly resisting the Eastern Pole Emperor.' What you Southern Wilderness say and do are completely contradictory. It's really laughable!"

"What the princess said is absolutely correct."

The Drunken Immortal Hermit remained calm and said, "But we are not without a chance of victory."

"What are the odds of winning?"

"We have you."

With a confident smile, the Drunken Immortal Hermit said with certainty, "As long as the princess stands on our side, we can naturally end the Eastern Pole Emperor's hegemony and lead the Five Realms to a peaceful and prosperous future!"

"Hehe, does the layman perhaps regard me as a three-year-old child? The Epochal Annihilation will begin after the death of the Eastern Pole Emperor. At that time, whether it is you and me, or all beings in the Five Realms and Heavenly Dao, we will all perish. Who can remain unscathed?"

Xiao Minghuang's lips curled slightly upward as she said calmly, "When the Way of Heaven decays and the Way of Humanity declines, everything will cease to exist. What is there to argue about in this world?"

Upon hearing this, the Drunken Immortal Hermit sighed softly, offering no explanation for Xiao Minghuang's words, and said in a low voice, "Does the princess feel that we haven't shown sincerity?"

Xiao Minghuang remained silent, neither confirming nor denying.

After pondering for a moment, the Drunken Immortal Hermit suddenly said, "In that case... please wait a moment, Princess."

"Um?"

Xiao Minghuang frowned slightly, glancing at the half-full cup of goat milk still on the table, and vaguely sensed something.

A moment later.

The Drunken Immortal Hermit returned, carrying a jade box in his hand.

A flash of silver light appeared, and the jade box floated up, instantly enlarging into a crystal coffin that floated in the void, with dense and intricate runes on the bottom of the coffin.

"Princess, please look," said the Drunken Immortal Hermit, pointing to the coffin.

Xiao Minghuang stared at the scene inside the transparent coffin, her beautiful eyes widening in surprise.

Inside the coffin lay a young girl dressed in white, with snow-white skin, closed eyes, long, smooth, black hair cascading over her shoulders, and a beautiful, flawless face. Her delicate nose was straight and her cherry-red lips were alluring, and her figure was curvaceous with full, round breasts and a slender, smooth waist. She was like a ripe apple, making one want to take a bite, giving off an extremely enchanting and seductive feeling.

"Princess, this is the sincerity we can show," said the Drunken Immortal Hermit with a smile.

At this moment, even though Xiao Minghuang had no trust in the Drunken Immortal Hermit, he couldn't help but hesitate.

It wasn't because of the girl's unparalleled beauty, but because this girl in the coffin was one of the most important purposes of her journey to the Southern Wilderness.

Luo Qianrui's original body!

Heavenly Desire Sacred Body!

Xiao Minghuang remained silent, pondering how to respond.

"Princess, please consider carefully. There's still plenty of time, no rush..."

The Drunken Immortal Hermit spoke casually, as if he wasn't worried at all about Xiao Minghuang's refusal.

With the Heavenly Desire Sacred Body right before her eyes, if Xiao Minghuang didn't want to negotiate with the Drunken Immortal Hermit, she could simply seize this body. With her strength, the other party would surely find it difficult to stop her.

Even if the Demon Emperor were to personally intervene, she still possesses the three tokens given to her by A Yue, which allow her to unleash three full-force attacks from a Celestial Immortal, ensuring her escape from the Southern Wilderness.

But if they did that, it would mean they would never be able to return to the Southern Wilderness in their lifetime.

Or, one day in the future, she may ascend to the realm of immortals, break through the boundary, and return from the universe to the Five Directions One Realm...

But that's in the distant future; right now, she hasn't even reached the Supreme Realm.

"Tell me your plans!"

After a short while, Xiao Minghuang raised her eyes and slowly spoke.

She knew this was the best option at the moment.

"Your Highness is wise!" The Drunken Immortal Hermit smiled and nodded, then with a flick of his sleeve, a figure in a gray robe appeared from the void.

Seeing this, Xiao Minghuang, not understanding the meaning, silently observed.

"Princess, what I am about to say is of such great importance that it cannot be spoken lightly. Therefore, I cannot speak it in person, but will do so in your stead. You need not respond; simply consider it as hearsay."

Before Xiao Minghuang could react, the figure of the Drunken Immortal Hermit vanished from the void.

Seeing this, Xiao Minghuang poured herself a cup of Tuo Beast Milk and savored it, pretending that there was no one else around.

Inside the main hall, the gray-robed figure slowly spoke, his voice hoarse and stiff, like two stones rubbing together, but every word clearly reached Xiao Minghuang's ears.

"Of the six paths in the Southern Wilderness, apart from the Burial King Path which exists in name only, only the Netherworld Path is loyal to the Devil Master. The Blood Demon Path and the Asura Path have been infiltrated by the Eastern Celestial Realm and have submitted to the Eastern Pole Emperor. The Joyful Union Dao is fickle and cannot be trusted."

"In order to face the Epochal Annihilation, the Devil Master wishes to unify the Six Paths and restore order to the Southern Wilderness. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate the traitors of the Blood Demon Path and the Asura Path. If the Joyful Union Dao does not submit, it will also be eliminated."

After saying this, the gray-robed man's body shattered with a crash, disappearing into nothingness in the void like a handful of sand being poured into water.

Xiao Minghuang frowned, the words the gray-robed man had just spoken echoing in her mind.

These words are astonishing; if they were to reach the outside world, they would be utterly shocking.

458. Why need a reason to slay demons?

The Demon Emperor, as the Great Emperor of the Southern Wilderness and the ruler of this realm, who acts on behalf of Heaven, actually commissioned outsiders to murder the beings of his own realm...

This is even worse than the actions of the Eastern Pole Emperor!

Xiao Minghuang frowned slightly. She could guess that, faced with the Epochal Annihilation, the Eastern Pole Emperor chose to indirectly extend the lifespan of the world by expanding the influence of the Heavenly Dao.

Although he himself also gained a great deal of benefit from it, overall it was more beneficial than harmful to the beings of the Central Heaven Eastern Extreme Realm. Moreover, the Emperor did not do anything detrimental to the beings of the Central Heaven Eastern Extreme Realm.

Although Xiao Minghuang did not agree with the actions of the Eastern Pole Emperor, it was because the Emperor was trying to use her to achieve his goals. Whether the Emperor's actions were right or wrong was not actually within her consideration.