Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 472 - 478: Balance

Some might say that they could ask for help from the Taixu Devil Race of the Great Snow Mountain.

But itʼs important to understand that the Devil Race itself is divided into factions!

Take the Devil Race from the Great Void Province for example, though they too are a branch of the Great Snow Mountain Devil Race and revere the Demon King, they have their own ulterior motives.

Originally, they had a complete fallout with other factions of the Devil Race in order to monopolize the Taixu Secret Realm. Perhaps when facing encirclement by the human race, they might extend help without hesitation out of a sense of shared fate or a fear of mutual destruction.

But under the current circumstances, they would definitely choose to sit on the fence unless the Taixu Devil Race was willing to pay a price, and even then, they would have to endure being exploited in their moment of weakness.

”Now there are two solutions,” one said, ”The first is to let those human cultivators into the Secret Realm, and the second is to seek help from the Great Snow Mountain, but that may involve giving up partial ownership of the Secret Realm.”

All the Devil Race members present understood the pros and cons of these two methods. Although no one could guarantee that the human race would only come this once, it still seemed better than permanently losing partial ownership.

Especially with the many conflicts between the Li family and Shen Leishan, who could say they wouldnʼt turn on each other next time?

”Gentlemen, itʼs time to make a decision.” After all, with the speed of Li Zhirui and the others, it wouldnʼt be long before they reached the Secret Realm.

After some hesitation, the Devils gave their answer.

As expected, the majority agreed to make this concession and chose to let the human cultivators enter the Secret Realm rather than seek help from the Great Snow Mountain.

”Since thatʼs the case, then Iʼll trouble Hu Yong and Ying Xuan to guide those cultivators.” Otherwise, if they fought all the way here, it would be they who would lose face in the end.

Although the two third-order Devil Beasts were reluctant, the command had been given and could not be taken back, so they could only leave, visibly disgruntled.

Meanwhile, the fleet led by Li Zhirui and the others was advancing at breakneck speed.

Of course, to avoid trouble, the cultivators would not kill the Devil Beasts. Even with those who were blind to danger and courting death, they would only drive them away or knock them out.

After all, their goal this time was to enter the Secret Realm, and there was no need to provoke animosity between them and the Devil Race.

To do so would be nothing but trouble for themselves.

”Fellow Taoist, each of these clan members possesses astonishing power, truly admirable! Your family is indeed formidable,” Cloud Thunder True Lord commented with a glint in his eyes and a smile on his face.

”You flatter us, the truly exceptional ones are those few young friends,” Li Zhirui shook his head and praised.

Throughout the journey, the low-level Devil Beasts naturally could not engage Li Zhirui and Cloud Thunder True Lord, two Nascent Souls, in battle. Since there were still several days until the opening of the Secret Realm, even if Li Zhixuan and the others used too much mana, there would be enough time to recover.

However, both parties were concealing their full strength, not revealing all their capabilities. After all, though they appeared very close at the moment, once they entered the Secret Realm, they would be enemies wishing to kill each other! Naturally, they had to keep something in reserve.

Suddenly, Cloud Thunder True Lord looked up towards the front and said with a smile, ”It seems that the Devil Race already has an answer.”

Li Zhiruiʼs brow furrowed slightly, but it was only a moment before he returned to his usual expression. It was only after the other party finished this sentence that he noticed two third-order Devil Beasts flying towards them from afar.

This was actually quite normal. Although Cloud Thunder True Lord hadnʼt made a breakthrough in recent years, he had immersed himself in the early stages of the Nascent Soul for many years. Whether in terms of Spiritual Soul strength or mana, he was much more powerful than Li Zhirui.

Soon, a tiger with striking patterns and a black-feathered eagle with a menacing look in their eyes appeared before everyone.

”Fellow cultivators, follow us!” Hu Yong spoke rigidly, clearly discontent with the situation.

Ying Xuan, the hawk to the side, didnʼt bother to explain either. Though their strength was indeed inferior to the combined forces of the Li family and Shen Leishan, that didnʼt mean they were afraid. If they truly had to fight to the death, they would take their enemies down with them, even if it meant mutual destruction.

After giving notice, the two Devil Beasts turned and flew away.

The group followed in silence while also carefully staying on guard, ready to react swiftly in case this was a trap set by the Devil Race.

About half an hour later, everyone arrived at the location where the Secret Realm was materializing.

Seeing the multitude of Devil Beasts looking at them with hatred in their eyes, yet noticing no fourth-order Devil Beasts had shown up, Li Zhirui and Cloud Thunder True Lord breathed a sigh of relief.

At least on the surface, the Devil Beasts didnʼt seem to be planning an all-out confrontation to the death.

Of course, it might also be a ploy to lower their guard before delivering a fatal blow!

Therefore, although Li Zhirui appeared to have let his guard down significantly, he was secretly communicating with Li Zhixuan and the others, instructing them to be extra careful and to return to their cabins to conserve energy before the Secret Realm opened.

The same went for the cultivators of Shen Leishan.

This approach had the benefit of allowing them to steer the Spirit Boat to escape immediately should any danger arise, without the slightest delay.

Thankfully, no such situation was discovered.

On the Devil Raceʼs side, seeing Li Zhirui and Cloud Thunder True Lord followed by the twenty-some Golden Core cultivators, a fierce light grew in their eyes, and many among the Devil Race were already scheming about how they would deal with these cultivators once inside the Secret Realm.

In this state of affairs, the cultivators and the Devil Race fell into a strange equilibrium, both sides quietly waiting for the day the Secret Realm would open.

However, the situation in Great Void Province was quickly relayed to the Devil Race of Great Snow Mountain.

After all, they were all part of the Devil Race, and since Great Snow Mountain was more powerful, there were definitely some within the Taixu Devil Race who aspired to their ranks or were perhaps covert spies they had dispatched.

Not to mention, the submission to the human race this time had infuriated many in the Devil Race, prompting them to send signals across, hoping that Great Snow Mountain could dispatch forces to expel Li Zhirui and the other cultivators from the Great Void Province.

”This is a disgrace to our Devil Race, to actually submit to the tyranny of the human race!” a third-order Devil Beast roared in anger upon receiving the news.

Naturally, what angered it most was that the Taixu Devil Race would rather submit to the human race than seek their help!

”Those guys simply want to monopolize the Secret Realm and are worried that weʼll loot them amidst the chaos,” it said.

Especially after they had obtained half of a Six Yang Flower from it the previous time, they considered the Secret Realm their exclusive domain, unwilling to share it.

”So now, what are your thoughts on this matter?”

”Of course, we should respond to the calls for help from our kin and inform the Great Generals, leading the Devil Race to drive these cultivators out of the Great Void Province. At the same time, we can use this as leverage to demand that the Great Void Province cedes a portion of the ownership of the Secret Realm,” the enraged Devil Beast declared without hesitation.

The other Devil Beasts were also quite enticed by this idea. Although they had several Secret Realms under the control of Great Snow Mountain, having one more would naturally be better since it meant access to more Spiritual Objects.

Whatʼs more, this Secret Realm had once yielded treasures like the Six Yang Flower; who knows what other precious Spiritual Objects might there be?