Open Strife and Hidden Rivalries Within the Immortal Alliance

At that same moment, an entirely different scene unfolded in a grand hall wreathed in clouds and mist.

Spiritual light flowed through the hall, illuminating carved beams and painted rafters. Dozens of cultivators with unfathomably deep auras sat along either side of a long table carved from white jade.

Place cards stood on the table as well. A closer look would reveal that they bore the names of the seventeen supreme sects of the present age.

The table was laden with delicacies, yet hidden barbs lurked beneath the atmosphere.

A middle-aged man with thick brows and large eyes seated on the left set down his chopsticks. "Why have the Demon Race's envoys still not arrived? I've always heard that the Demon Race values trust and honor above all else. Could their discourtesy today be deliberate?"

An obese cultivator opposite him chuckled. "Why the hurry, Sect Master Xiao? When it comes to the Monster Uprising, Sect Master Xu should be the one with a headache. His Haiyanhui has been tormented for more than two hundred years."

At the mention of his name, Sect Master Xu set down his wine cup and glared to his right.

"Heh, Sect Master Xiao and Sect Master Bai, you are both mistaken. Over these past sixteen years, whenever the Snow-Blowing Region and the Extreme Cold Way suffered Monster Uprisings, I spared no effort to help. Hearing the two of you speak like this now truly chills my heart."

Sect Master Bai of the Extreme Cold Way hurriedly raised his cup with an apologetic smile. "You misunderstand, Sect Master Xu. That was merely a drunken jest. How could you take it seriously? I deserve a penalty drink, indeed I do!"

With that, Sect Master Bai tipped back his head and drained his cup.

Another cultivator at the table spoke up. "How strange. Not only has the Demon Race failed to arrive, but no one from the Demonic Path sects has come either. With the Monster Uprising upon us, how can they stand aside when they, too, are of the Human Race?"

His words had barely faded when a cultivator who had remained silent gave two soft coughs. "Ahem. Sect Master Li, you are mistaken. Our fellow demonic cultivators are already seated here. Could you be looking straight at them without seeing them?"

"Oh? According to Sect Master Yan, someone at this table practices demonic arts? Now that is interesting."

As they spoke, a crash rang out.

Zuo Qiu Hongji, the sect master of Emerging Cloud Peak, smashed his jade cup onto the floor, his face livid. "Hmph! Only Sword Sect, Misty Cliff! What the fuck are you two, one old and one young, trying to say?"

Zuo Qiu Hongji's beard and hair bristled. "As the saying goes, a distant relative is no match for a close neighbor. Our three sects live side by side and ought to support one another, yet you repeatedly smear Emerging Cloud Peak's reputation. Do you truly think I'm easy to bully?"

Li Mao, the young sect master of the Only Sword Sect, smiled contemptuously as he toyed with his wine cup. "Oh my, why get so angry at your age? This junior never named any names."

At that, the man who had just spoken slammed the table and rose, striking so hard that the place card bearing Misty Cliff's name toppled onto the floor.

"Sect Master Zuo Qiu, you certainly know how to turn the tables and strike your accuser! Three hundred years ago, your grandson was seduced by the Demonic Path and practiced demonic arts. The evidence was irrefutable. Outwardly, you put righteousness above family and handed him over, but behind the scenes, you sent men to intercept the prisoner escort. Do you really think I, Yan Xingxian, am too stupid to see through it?"

Zuo Qiu Hongji's expression changed. "You're talking fucking nonsense! The escorts were disciples of your two sects. You failed to guard him properly, and now you blame me? My grandson escaped through his own abilities. What did that have to do with me?"

Having snapped back at one, Zuo Qiu Hongji turned his fire on the other, directing his next attack at Li Mao.

"Speaking of which, why has the Only Sword Sect sent you, its young sect master, to today's Immortal Alliance assembly? Where has that old ghost Li Xintian gone? Could it be that during the Southward Fire Movement, the sudden loss of fire spiritual energy ruined his refinement of a demonic sword, leaving him dead and his cultivation extinguished?"

Everyone at the table was stunned.

Li Mao rose and roared, "Zuo Qiu Hongji! How dare you curse my father!"

Zuo Qiu Hongji sneered, the pressure of his Spirit Transformation cultivation flickering into being. "A mere Golden Core junior dares address me by name? If not for the Only Sword Sect, I would have taught you a lesson already!"

Seeing the two sects with swords drawn and bows bent, Sect Master Xu, who had been playing peacemaker all along, hurriedly stood to smooth things over. "Please, calm down. This is the Immortal Alliance assembly. Why let old grievances spoil our harmony? We are all prominent figures in the cultivation world. Wouldn't we become laughingstocks if word of this spread?"

Sect Master Xu sighed. "Just look at me. Haiyanhui has endured the Monster Uprising for more than two hundred years. Not only have we suffered devastating losses, but complaints fill our territory. Everyone says I govern poorly. I toil day and night, my head scorched and my brow singed by all these troubles, but have I uttered a single complaint?"

As he spoke, a cultivator descended into the hall on a flying sword. "Reporting to the sect masters! The sect masters of the Demonic Path have arrived outside the hall!"

"Show them in! Show them in! They are the only Human Race sects still missing." Sect Master Xu hurriedly waved his hand.

"As you command!"

In an instant, a sinister wind swept through the hall and demonic energy surged. More than ten figures emerged from the roiling black mist.

Every newcomer exuded a cold, profound aura. The three at their head radiated towering demonic might—they were none other than the sect masters of the three great Demonic Path sects.

"Ah, fellow Daoists, you've finally arrived! Please, take your seats. We can talk while we eat," Sect Master Xu said with a smile, as though the earlier confrontation had never happened.

Once the Demonic Path cultivators were seated, Sect Master Xu walked slowly to the center of the hall and addressed everyone solemnly.

"Fellow Daoists of the Immortal Alliance, I'm sure you all know that the Demon Race has repeatedly invaded the territory of our Human Race, growing more brazen by the day."

"Ever since the Southward Fire Movement phenomenon two hundred and forty years ago, the territories of Haiyanhui, the Sea-Viewing Corridor, Jiangnan Township, and Suchness Monastery have suffered attacks by avian Demon Beasts, leaving cultivators and mortals alike in constant fear."

"And the Northward Water Shift sixteen years ago brought successive large-scale attacks by ice- and water-element members of the Demon Race upon the four great sects—the Snow-Blowing Region, the Extreme Cold Way, the Fallen Spirit Abyss, and the Demon-Suppressing Temple. If this continues, the Human Race will be in peril!"

"Given our present circumstances, what insights do the sect masters and elders have to offer?"

A white-haired elder rose, leaning on his staff. "In my opinion, the Demon Race intends to launch an all-out assault on the Human Race! You have all seen it clearly: since sixteen years ago, each demonic calamity occurring every five years has been larger than the last. The Demon Race has openly violated the pact between our races and attacked deep within Human Race territory. Heavenly Stream City, Huai Xin City, and Flowing Cloud City have suffered one after another. Tens of thousands of cultivators have already died!"

"Those words are true!"

Several sect masters immediately voiced their agreement.

Another, visibly agitated, added, "More importantly, both the Northward Water Shift and the Southward Fire Movement were accompanied by earth-shaking cries from the Demon Race. The former was a dragon's roar, the latter a phoenix's cry, belonging to the ice and fire elements respectively. Yet these two peerless Demon Beasts never actually appeared. I suspect they were most likely sealed somewhere by an ancient mighty cultivator, and the Demon Race's successive offensives may well be intended to break the seals on this dragon and phoenix!"

"I concur!"

"I concur as well!"

"That makes sense!"

For a time, voices of agreement rang endlessly through the hall.

Though startling, this conjecture was currently the best explanation for the Demon Race's unusual actions.

Just as everyone was deep in discussion, the messenger cultivator arrived again on his flying sword and dropped to his knees in panic.

"Report! The Demon Race's envoys have arrived outside the hall!"

Before long, auspicious clouds billowed on the horizon, and eight figures floated gracefully toward them.