The First Immortal of Destiny

”Well! As you wish.”

As a purple-robed Elder responsible for certain affairs, there was indeed less pressure than for Peak Masters or Hall Masters who oversaw everything. This choice suited Zhao Lingyin’s temperament. Shen Mo leaned over, kissed her crimson lips, then put on his robes and walked out of the bedchamber. Zhao Lingyin obediently remained on the bed, calming her heart and mind, and began to seriously comprehend the benefits brought by ”The Sutra of Cloudy and Rainy from Wushan”.

Outside the bedchamber, above the Spirit Garden filled with exotic flowers and herbs, the Soul Refining Flag floated silently in mid-air, flashing with an eerie blood-red light. Presently, the dozens of Class IV Demon Soul Generals within the blood flag had all been dispatched by Shen Mo to aid the pioneering teams. These pioneering cultivators were all elite disciples of the Red Flame Sect, tasked with exploring dangerous lands, slaying savage Demons, and other incredibly difficult and hazardous missions. Therefore, each team was protected by a Class IV Demon Soul General!

As for the Sect Disciples who would later leave the Fairyland to search for cultivation resources in the Five Dragon Mountain, they would not receive such favorable treatment. At most, Class III Demon Soul Generals would accompany them to facilitate real-time communication with the sect until new communication methods were developed in the Hundred Arts Hall. In the future, more inner and outer disciples would continually leave Green Cloud Cave, heading to safe areas to carry out sect tasks such as slaying demonic beasts, mining ore veins, and collecting spiritual plants and medicinal materials.

Shen Mo observed each of the pioneering teams through the perspective of the Class IV Demon Soul Generals. Seeing that progress was relatively smooth, he withdrew most of his focus. He then used his five senses to inspect the formation under construction outside the Fairyland. Tens of thousands of disciples were laboring there. Under the joint supervision of the Deacon Hall and the Hundred Arts Hall, more than half of the Mountain Protection Array was already complete! The cultivators from the former Lifeless Sect were quite skilled; with a large investment of manpower and resources, they were fully capable of creating a formation that surpassed Chong’a Mountain’s Mountain Protection Array. Once fully completed, it could thoroughly conceal Green Cloud Cave. Furthermore, depending on the formation’s transformations, it could exhibit various powers, integrating illusion, defense, enemy-trapping, offense, and spirit-gathering into one. At that time, even Shen Mo himself would have to expend considerable effort to break this great array.

While Shen Mo was appraising this peerless great array, his eyes flickered slightly, and he suddenly looked towards the east. Green Cloud Cave has been in Five Dragon Mountain for three months now, and today I finally see people from the Immortal Realm. It seems... they are flying towards my Fairyland!

Green Cloud Cave was located on the mountainside of the southern slope of Five Dragon Mountain. According to Shen Mo’s perception, the male and female ”natives of the Immortal Realm” were coming from the direction of the eastern foothills. A small patch of mist there obstructed Shen Mo’s sense. The pioneering teams had not yet reached this area and were extremely far from it; at their current pace, it would likely take several years to explore this place. Moreover, Shen Mo had never seen any Human Cultivators entering or exiting this mist until today, when two individuals flew out from it, heading straight for Green Cloud Cave.

This man and woman possess middle-stage and late-stage Golden Core Realm cultivation respectively. Neither is concealing their aura, nor are they showing any hostility... Such an open approach must be a display of sincerity in paying a formal visit!

With these thoughts in mind, Shen Mo activated the ”True Immortal Magic”, transforming into a Three-headed Six-armed figure, then used the ”Gecko Divine Skill” to create a Gecko False Body. He planned to use this False Body to leave Green Cloud Cave and welcome these two ”natives of the Immortal Realm”. Before establishing the Divine Bridge, the ”Gecko Divine Skill” was still quite formidable. By using this technique to sever half his body, leaving most of his Mana, Vitality, and soul power in the detached part, he could catalyze a False Body virtually identical to his real body, perhaps even stronger! After Shen Mo became a Heavenly Monarch, the power of this Sacrificial Magic somewhat lagged, only able to generate a peak Golden Core Realm False Body. Shen Mo planned to use [Martial Performance] to deduce it further in the future, attempting to make this technique break through its limits so that the created False Body could perfectly exhibit the strength of a Divine Bridge Realm Heavenly Monarch.

However, the current situation was perfect! His real body could not leave and could remain in Green Cloud Cave to resist the assimilation power of heaven and earth in the Immortal Realm. The False Body, possessing only Golden Core Realm cultivation like a Class IV Demon Soul General, could freely enter and exit the Fairyland without being harmed by the power of heaven and earth from the Outer Realm. Moreover, as long as it maintained a middle-stage Golden Core Realm level and did not engage in intense battles, it could exist for one or two months without dissipating, making it very suitable for Shen Mo’s excursions during these two years! Subsequently, Shen Mo informed the sect’s upper echelons about this matter via Divine Sense Messaging.

「An hour later.」

Three hundred li away from Green Cloud Cave, numerous pavilions constructed from grass, trees, and vines had emerged. Inside the pavilions, a dazzling array of fruits, spiritual tea, and delicious delicacies were laid out for guests. These plant-based pavilions were precisely what Flower Fairy Ami had constructed using Wood-type Spells. Once Zhao Lingyin formed her Golden Core, with her Green Wood Spirit Body Talent, she too could conjure a palace of plants in an instant with a single thought and spell!

Waiting in the pavilions, aside from Shen Mo’s Gecko False Body, were Flower Fairy Ami, Chen Mengze, Yuan Heming, Situ Huo, Yuan Jing, Xu Liang, Feng Wushuang, Thunder Corpse Master, Li Chouniu, Prince Yongzuo, and others—nearly half of the sect’s high-ranking members were present. However, Ming Cang, Ming Yu and her daughter, as well as Gui Wannian, Shen Jun, Jing Fuhai, Zhang Jiujiu, and other Marine Race Elders in purple robes, were all absent. They had received orders from Shen Mo and were currently focusing on cultivating into human form, thus unable to spare the time!

After Shen Mo and the others had waited for a short while, the escaping lights of the male and female natives of the Immortal Realm descended outside the plant pavilions.

”Lin Yuansong (and Li Yun), eighth-generation disciples of the Azure Heaven Cave, under the order of our Grand Master, Daoxuan Immortal Master, the Cave Master of the Azure Heaven Cave, have come to pay respects to your sect. Boundless fortune and longevity to all fellow daoists!”

As soon as they manifested, the two performed a Daoist salute towards Shen Mo and the others with meticulous, ancient etiquette, exuding an air of antiquity. Their speech, apart from a slightly peculiar accent, was no different from the language of the Human Race in the Primordial Realm, and their meaning could be fully understood without needing Divine Sense.

「Inside Green Cloud Cave.」

Shen Mo’s real body’s five senses enveloped the two cultivators who claimed to be ”eighth-generation disciples of the Azure Heaven Cave”. Immediately, he quickly sacrificed two batches of Lower Grade Spirit Stones and used the ”Insight into All Beings” Destiny to probe their identities and backgrounds! As they had stated, the two indeed hailed from the Azure Heaven Cave, and their true names, ”Lin Yuansong” and ”Li Yun,” as well as the Daoist title ”Daoxuan Immortal Master,” were all correct without any discrepancies. Shen Mo then performed a divination using the ”Divination Treasure Mirror”; the trigram indicated good fortune, not ill!

It was no wonder he was so cautious; this was the Red Flame Sect’s first encounter with ”natives of the Immortal Realm” since their arrival, so no amount of caution was excessive! After confirming that the two harbored no ”hidden ill intentions,” the members of the Red Flame Sect, led by Shen Mo’s False Body, returned the salutations and introduced themselves.

”To think it is the Immortal Master’s Separation himself gracing us with his presence! We disciples are deeply humbled...” Lin Yuansong and Li Yun bowed deeply to Shen Mo once more, their tone becoming much more respectful, and even their Daoist salute grew more elaborate.

Shen Mo’s False Body observed the two’s ancient-like demeanor with a keen glint in his eyes, mulling over something.

Suddenly, he smiled and said, ”There’s no need for such formalities, you two. Please, take a seat so we may talk in detail!”