Immortal of the Nine Realms

The old Daoist glanced at Wang Zhenlong and said lightly, ”Three Thousand Dao Sects? In this world, there is the Great Thousand Dao Sect, but not the Three Thousand Dao Sect. You need to differentiate this very clearly. As for imprisonment, that’s truly laughable. He hails from the Great Thousand Dao Sect; is inviting him over to a cup of tea and a discussion of the Dao considered imprisonment?”

”What a wonderful discussion over tea,” Wang Zhenlong mocked. ”But I’ve heard that over the years, many cultivators who accidentally gained the favor of the Heavenly Cloud Emperor have been quietly captured and interrogated by your Great Expansion Dao Gate, with countless dying without anyone knowing.”

He paused, then continued to ridicule, ”It’s a pity that aside from the true ancient techniques that will be granted after these two finish their chess match, what you usually receive are just some worthless Daoist arts. It seems that despite your efforts over the years, you haven’t gained much.”

After a moment’s pause, he added, ”If we were to get serious, the Great Expansion Dao Gate is merely one lineage among those of the Three Thousand Dao Sect. You only rose to prominence because the Three Thousand Dao Sect faced a calamity. Now you deny their existence. If the Heavenly Cloud Emperor were to come back to his senses, how do you think he would deal with you traitors?”

A flash of anger crossed the old Daoist’s eyes, and he nearly lost his composure after years of tempering his mind in front of Wang Zhenlong.

Wang Zhenlong continued, ”By the way, your Daoist sects have countless techniques, and some Dao arts require specific cultivation methods to practice and activate. However, it’s rumored that the true legacy technique of the Three Thousand Dao Sects is called the Three Thousand Dao Art. Once cultivated, all Dao arts, whether ancient or contemporary, can be easily practiced.

”Thus, this technique is hailed as the sole orthodoxy of the Daoist school. After all you’ve done over the years, are you perhaps coveting this technique?”

He laughed. ”I advise you not to harbor such delusions. If you had been a bit more united back then, you might have retained some of the legacies of the Three Thousand Dao Sects, and perhaps even had a slight chance of obtaining the Three Thousand Dao Art. But now, I’m afraid that legacy has long since vanished from the world and will not reappear.”

The old Daoist suddenly narrowed his eyes, coldly staring at Wang Zhenlong. ”You just wish to destroy my Dao heart.”

From the very moment they had met, Wang Zhenlong had been aggressive, continually mocking him.

The old Daoist had chalked it all up to him Wang Zhenlong being a sword cultivator. After all, they had had their fair share of differences in the past, and sword cultivators were hot-tempered, wearing their hearts on their sleeves. However, now he realized that every word from Wang Zhenlong carried a deeper intention!

He was a newly ascended Immortal King; if his Dao heart became unstable at this stage, he might not fall during tribulation, but it would affect his future path as a Loose Immortal and his potential to become a First Rate Sect Leader.

Wang Zhenlong smiled wickedly. ”Old man, don’t falsely accuse me. Just wish to destroy your Dao heart? When has that ever been my only wish? I want to annihilate both you and your Dao heart together.”

At that moment, the old Daoist felt he could no longer hold back, but before he could act, he sensed a gaze falling upon him from an unknown source.

This feeling sent shivers down his spine and raised goosebumps all over his body. It was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over a raging fire, instantly calming him down as he scanned his surroundings.

Heavenly King Zhen and the other two noticed the change and exchanged glances.

Heavenly King Zhen smiled faintly. ”It seems your old Sword Immortal has arrived.”

He looked into the void. ”Old Sword Immortal, why not come down and chat?”

No response came from the empty void.

Heavenly King Zhen sighed softly and fell silent. Although this old Sword Immortal was not a First Rate Sect Leader, his sword could threaten one. Even Immortal Kings might not withstand a single strike from him. If it weren’t for this, the Void Immortal Sword Sect wouldn’t hold such a transcendent status in the Central Continent Empire.

The old Daoist observed quietly, no longer engaging with Wang Zhenlong. Both Qing Xiang and the old woman showed evident signs of deep apprehension on their faces.

Heavenly King Zhen suddenly raised his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. ”Old Jiu has also arrived.”

A luxurious Immortal Boat approached in the void, stopping at a distance. The faint auras emanating from it were not weaker than those of the old Daoist and the others.

The master of this immortal boat was the Nine Generation King of the Western Continent.

Wang Zhenlong chuckled. ”Looks like almost half of the Immortal Kings in the Central Continent Empire are here this time. Lord Gai, do you think a First Rate Sect Leader will personally attend this event?”

Heavenly King Zhen replied indifferently, ”First Rate Sect Leaders... they’ve lived for too long; this kind of event probably doesn’t pique their interest anymore.”

***

As days passed, more and more cultivators arrived at this location, ranging from hundreds to thousands each day. Among these cultivators, rogue cultivators made up only a small portion; they were out of the loop and didn’t even know what was happening. Most of the arrivals were from powerful forces at the level of Immortal Courts and Manors.

Fang Chen had a somewhat superficial understanding of the various forces in the Central Continent Empire. However, with the help of Jing Xu and Cheng Yuhan, he was gradually deepening his knowledge.

In the Central Continent Empire, there were only three Daoist sects that could be considered at the Immortal Court level: the Innate Dao Sect, the Morning Star Dao Sect, and the Great Expansion Dao Gate. Each of those sects was presided over by an Immortal King and is rumored to master over a thousand cultivation systems and countless Dao techniques. They were also the leaders of various Dao sects, with the Nine Yang Dao Sect under the Azure Dao Manor being a vassal of the Great Expansion Dao Gate.

The conditions for being a vassal were quite simple: they had to surrender their own cultivation systems. If they are unwilling, it becomes nearly impossible to continue using the Daoist sect’s name, and they will instead become clans like the Immortal Qin Clan or Langya Clan. While they still practiced Daoist techniques, they no longer belonged to the ranks of Daoist disciples in name.

Currently, all three Daoist sects sent cultivators, and those who arrived were quite powerful, with several being at the Dao Union Realm. Besides the Daoist sects, there were also prominent sects from the disciplines of Weapon Refining, Alchemy, and Talisman Crafting that had come to participate. Even Jing Xu pointed out a few sword sects.

Those sword cultivator sects were far weaker in heritage compared to the Void Immortal Sword Sect, but due to the common trait of their explosive tempers, they had only established some level of communication with the Void Immortal Sword Sect and had not formed a vassal relationship.

”It’s going to be difficult for us to gain any benefits this time...” Jing Xu sighed softly while scanning the surroundings. ”I’ve already seen hundreds of Immortal Seedlings. Some specialize in Alchemy, others in Talisman Crafting, and some in swordsmanship. Each of their talents is no weaker than Brother Qin’s. If these two intend to bestow their inheritance, they will likely choose from among them.”

”Why should that be? Our talents aren’t any worse! The Immortal Seedlings already have so many privileges... do all the benefits have to go to them?” Cheng Yuhan replied, feeling discontent.

Fang Chen glanced at Cheng Yuhan. ”Immortal Seedlings’ privileges?”

”Exactly! Those places that are suspected to be remnants of the immortals can only be entered by Immortal Seedlings. We can only stand outside and stare blankly. Who knows how many benefits they’ve gained over the years?” Cheng Yuhan said indignantly.

Jing Xu looked at him and smiled faintly. ”Even if you are an Immortal Seedling, how many immortal ruins can you actually enter? Not to mention, just getting there can be fatal. You should know that the Central Continent Empire doesn’t house any immortal ruins; the nearest ones are in the Immortal Demonic Sea.

”Brother Qin has only been there twice.... Do you know why he doesn’t go for a third? Because it is way too dangerous. The privileges of being an Immortal Seedling may seem like benefits to you, but they may not be. Some Immortal Seedlings are reluctant to take such risks, but once they become Immortal Candidate... they have no choice. It’s not like in our sect, where our elders wouldn’t force you to do anything against your will.”

This was the first time Fang Chen had heard of this. He couldn’t help but ask Mirror of the Universe, ”Little Mirror, what’s this about immortal ruins?”