All Eyes on the Myriad Immortals Association

Amid the dim, murky night, countless streams of chaotic qi surged and roared. Those caught within were powerless to resist, their bodies seized and wrapped in the violent currents, swept outward toward the world beyond. Luo Chen's spiritual eyes shone with bright light as he surveyed his surroundings in the pitch black. Moon Hermit, who had been in hot pursuit, was forcibly swept away by the teleportation formation. She tried to seize Fairy Feileng along with her, but the younger woman broke free, pointing at her in fury before her gaze hardened into icy indifference. Perhaps noticing Luo Chen's stare, Moon Hermit abruptly snapped her head back toward him, her red lips moving. Reading her lips, Luo Chen could faintly make out five words: *You can't run away.* Luo Chen sneered. Making no reply, he shifted his attention to the others. Haijiao Tianmu, having escaped from the Seven Fiends Sword Formation, was fleeing in panic. Blood Hermit and Blood Nightmare Moluo were still locked in a chase even in the middle of being teleported. This came as a complete surprise to Luo Chen—he had never expected Blood Nightmare Moluo to possess enough strength to hold out so long against the illustrious Blood Hermit. Was Blood Hermit not living up to his reputation, or had Blood Nightmare Moluo been hiding his true depth all along? Yet what drew Luo Chen's deepest attention was undeniably the young man and woman who had appeared at the very end. If he remembered correctly, the pair were Feiyunzi's children, named Gu Shaoshang and Gu Xiaolian. *Those two are only at the Core Formation stage, yet they passed the inheritance trials to directly reach the Light and Dark Halls. Absolutely unbelievable!* The trials of Mingzhao Heaven were by no means something ordinary cultivators could overcome. Even figures as mighty as Feiyunzi, Haijiao Tianmu, and Han Zhan had met with utter defeat. Among the many formidable experts who explored the Land of the Fallen Demon this time, only Moon Hermit, a late Nascent Soul cultivator, had scraped through the trial of the Slave Hall by a stroke of fortune. Consequently, the Gu siblings' emergence at the end had truly shocked more than a few people. Still, considering that he himself had passed the trial of the Alchemy Hall, Luo Chen could grudgingly accept that the siblings might have passed the Light and Dark Hall trials through some bizarre, fortuitous encounter. The sole thing that unsettled Luo Chen was that final clash. He had slain their father, Feiyunzi, right before their eyes, yet had left behind these two scourges who had received the Heaven Refining Demon Lord's legacy. When he thought of their hatred toward him and the latent potential they possessed—especially the golden crown resting upon the young maiden Gu Xiaolian's head... A ruthless glint surfaced on Luo Chen's pale face. Just as he was calculating his options, a piercing cry rose from the square below. "Luo Chen—!" Luo Chen looked down to see a plump figure riding the clouds and chasing after the moonlight, his face twisted with murderous hatred toward him. Yet under the overwhelming spiritual energy of the teleportation array, the trajectory of that figure kept shifting, leaving him to do nothing but watch Luo Chen vanish into the night. "So it's Taisui..." Luo Chen murmured. A massive tearing sensation ripped through his body. *Buzz...* *** On this day. Above an unfamiliar sea adjacent to the Sunken Sea, several streaks of light manifested, scattering in all directions. In a single breath, Luo Chen halted his plummet. Hovering in midair, he circulated the Convergence of Myriad Paths through a full cycle, mobilizing primal force through his limbs and bones. A warm power washed over him, swiftly knitting together the small wounds across his body. *The residual vitality of Taisui's true form is still working!* Luo Chen realized, then turned to face his companion. "Senior, are you all right?" Han Zhan gave a weary reply. "Nothing serious. I merely need some rest." Remembering how Han Zhan had controlled eight puppets simultaneously—and especially how he had released a tiger puppet on par with the late Nascent Soul stage to forcefully intercept Moon Hermit's pursuit—Luo Chen felt deep gratitude. "Thank you." "Why speak of thanks between us?" Han Zhan smiled faintly. A wisp of dark light flew from the puppet, drifting lightly before Luo Chen. Raising a brow, Luo Chen took off his Soul Nourishing Wood pendant and fastened it back onto his chest. Then, he surveyed his surroundings. An unfamiliar expanse of sea, with clean, washed waters. Judging from the orientation, this had to be the Xilan Sea, situated west of the Sunken Sea. "We were thrown this far?" Luo Chen frowned and instinctively glanced toward the Sunken Sea. The phenomenon of the golden sky and black waters was gradually dispersing. Streaks of light were hurled out from within, flung into every direction. Among them, a colossal phantom resembling both an earthworm and a dragon thrust out from the void above the Sunken Sea, roaring again and again. Yet another power dragged it back down by sheer force! "This..." Luo Chen was startled. If his eyes did not deceive him, that phantom was likely Duoyuan Longzong, who had once coiled within Yue Canglan of the Five Elements Heaven! Han Zhan said softly, "That demon tried to merge into Yue Canglan to comprehend the laws of water, but the time was too short. Not only did he fail to grasp them, but he was assimilated by Yue Canglan instead. The Land of the Fallen Demon permits none of its native creatures to leave—including those who have been assimilated!" Luo Chen's face tightened, a lingering chill gripping his heart. Had he indulged in the Blazing Purgatory back then, endlessly devouring and absorbing the sourceless fire spirits, he might well have met the same fate as Duoyuan Longzong! "Let us leave! We cannot linger here long!" Han Zhan warned. Luo Chen hummed in agreement, his thoughts flitting to Moon Hermit. Taking a deep breath, Luo Chen scanned the area, picked a direction leading away from the Myriad Immortals Association, and sped off. After his departure, some cultivators who had been flung into the Xilan Sea groggily regained consciousness. A few noticed the streak of Luo Chen's flight, but none dared step forth to intercept him. The mere fact that Luo Chen was the first to awaken and could still fly at such high speed proved there was an insurmountable gulf between them. Looking for trouble with him was simply seeking death! Beyond the Xilan Sea, cultivators emerging from the Land of the Fallen Demon surfaced in various places one after another. Yet the most striking of all was a towering colossus striding out from the Sunken Sea. Its body resembled a crimson pavilion, with legs like an ancient mammoth's. As it lumbered forward, even the black, corrosive waters of the Sunken Sea boiled in its wake. Ahead of it stood a man handsome as a banished immortal. Had Luo Chen been here, he would have recognized him at once. Liu Jun, Sovereign of the Merfolk! *Roar...* A low rumble echoed. Liu Jun paused in his tracks and said patiently, "Lord Guixianlou, rest assured. Though Longzong is trapped in the Land of the Fallen Demon, I have already obtained the key to unsealing the Arctic Yama Heavens. With the aid of the other lords within the Yama Heavens, so long as you personally take action when the time comes, striking from within and without will surely break the seal of the Arctic Yama Heavens!" The mountain-sized beast, towering like a star-plucking pavilion, looked down upon the tiny man before it, rumbling low in its throat. Merfolk Emperor Liu Jun dared not display the slightest impatience, maintaining an attitude of utmost reverence. "Great Sage Beili and Lord Sea Emperor Whale promised with their own mouths that as long as you help our demon army break free, the two of them will personally assist you in taking that final step to become a fifth-tier desolate beast!" The desolate beast Guixianlou's agitation settled somewhat, and it resumed its heavy strides. Seeing this, Merfolk Emperor Liu Jun breathed a sigh of relief, though exasperation tugged at his heart. Had Duoyuan Longzong not botched things, and had Haijiao Tianmu not coveted the legacy of Mingzhao Heaven, why would he have had to personally negotiate with this dangerous brute? The desolate beast Guixianlou was not only infamous among humanity; it was equally steeped in atrocities within their North Sea demon race! Yet with the fifth-tier ancient demons nowhere to be found, no one could do anything to this desolate beast that had lived for ten thousand years. *Still, it is merely a savage wild beast with brute force and little wit.* *Once the mighty experts of our demon race break free and the ancient demon masters personally step in, enslaving it will take no more than a turn of the hand.* *When that happens, I can also ask Great Sage Beili to heal the injuries on my body... Hmph!* At the thought of the wounds that had accumulated across his body, a venomous look unconsciously crossed Merfolk Emperor Liu Jun's face. Were it not for that human Core Formation junior meddling, why would he be scurrying about while bearing such injuries? That Five Elements Lotus Platform! *Do not let me run into you, or I will ensure you wish you were dead!* *Roar...* Another low growl rumbled from behind. Liu Jun felt helpless. This desolate beast Guixianlou was truly far too suspicious. Despite having been promised so many benefits, it still hesitated at every step, reluctant to accompany him to the Arctic Yama Heavens. Merfolk Emperor Liu Jun put on a fawning smile once more, explaining in painstaking detail: "Wu Emperor has already perished in the war between demons and fiends. From now on, his sea territory belongs to you, Lord Guixianlou. Countless giant squid dwell within it..." "If you dislike that, there is an immortal mountain in the human heartland... Rest assured, humans and demons are irreconcilable enemies. Now that the Yuan Demon Sect is destroyed, the day our demon army breaks free will be the day we march into the North Sea, reclaim our lost lands, and restore a paradise where demon beasts and desolate beasts dwell together." *** Days and nights passed, stars wheeling across the sky. In the blink of an eye, several months had elapsed since the phenomenon of the golden sky and black waters vanished from the Sunken Sea. Bits of hearsay had begun circulating among the local cultivators. In past years, that secret realm in the Sunken Sea had been tightly controlled by the Yuan Demon Sect, leaving outsiders no say. Apart from a handful of lucky individuals, such as the mighty Li Canghai, few had ever possessed the chance to explore it. This time, however, cultivators from various factions had set foot within. Inevitably, strange tales and anecdotes from the journey slipped out uncontrollably. There were tales of heavenly treasures everywhere, and endless encounters with powerful beasts and terrifying spirits. There were stories of renowned figures from the Moluo Sect, the Penglai Immortal Sect, and the Myriad Immortals Association all taking part in the grand gathering. Even the names of many long-extinct spiritual herbs appeared on the lips of meddlesome gossips. Among all these rumors, true and false alike, one narrative spread with the fiercest momentum: The greatest victor of the Sunken Sea secret realm expedition was none other than the Myriad Immortals Association! Blood Hermit had gone on a slaughtering spree, suppressing three Nascent Soul powerhouses of the Moluo Sect on his own, his ferocity surpassing all prior tales. Moon Hermit had secured an inheritance and claimed a spirit treasure, even revealing her profound cultivation as a late Nascent Soul Great Cultivator. And then there was Demonic Lord Qingyang, that rising star of the demonic path, who had slain True Person Feiyunzi, a Nascent Soul expert of the Canghai Alliance, while merely at the Core Formation stage—achieving an unprecedented feat of leapfrogging realms across the entire history of the cultivation world! Upon first hearing these claims, busybodies found them utterly preposterous, refusing to believe a single word. Yet as details trickled out, people gradually came to accept them. The Myriad Immortals Association was closest to the Sunken Sea. If anyone in the entire North Sea—or even the Mountain and Sea Realm—understood that place best and had prepared the earliest, it had to be them. Their bountiful harvest seemed only natural. Because of this, however, the gossip of countless cultivators converged entirely upon this holy land for rogue cultivators. Blood Hermit was powerful, but word had it that he had lost a large number of Blood God Children in the battles, causing his strength to plummet severely and leaving him in a weakened state. As for Moon Hermit, she had obtained a spirit treasure! A spirit treasure! A supreme treasure standing far above magic treasures and True Artifacts, one that possessed an artifact spirit and could channel the world's origin qi. With such a treasure in hand, one could run rampant across an entire realm. It was said she had only acquired the treasure recently and had not yet refined it. If someone seized this opportunity to snatch it away... What if she was a Great Cultivator? Judging by her age, she had likely advanced only recently, and was not necessarily that much stronger than other Nascent Soul experts. Faced with these rampant rumors—particularly with their mixture of nine parts truth and one part falsehood—the grim-faced Moon Hermit, seated within a towering, crescent-shaped peak of the Myriad Immortals Association, interrupted Zihou's report below. "Enough. Someone is muddying the waters to cloud people's sight." Zihou was surprised. "Who?" Reclining on a soft couch, Moon Hermit showed a look of disgust. "Who else? To spread details with such vivid precision, it can only be someone who personally experienced the battle of Mingzhao Heaven." Someone who had personally taken part in the battle of Mingzhao Heaven? Zihou looked utterly baffled. Moon Hermit snorted coldly, several names surfacing in her mind. Demonic Lord Qingyang Luo Hai, the Yuan Demon Sect remnant Blood Nightmare Moluo, and her own rebellious younger sister! Not one of them wished peace upon the Myriad Immortals Association. Especially the first one! "Have you investigated what I asked you to?" Zihou's expression grew tense, and she quickly replied, "Almost everything has been found. Demonic Lord Qingyang has still not returned to Penghu Lake. During his decades in the Myriad Immortals Association, his closest acquaintances were Lord Lushan, Duan Li, Sect Master Sang Jiugong of the Tusang Sect, along with the Angler and the Zhang family of Cailian Island." "Lord Lushan has traveled far and has yet to return. Sang Jiugong reached the end of his lifespan and passed away ten years ago." "Duan Li and the cultivators of Cailian Island's Zhang family have both been detained by our people, awaiting your interrogation, True Person. However, the mistress of the Zhang family is a daughter of the Zhou family from the Coral Sea, and she has been raising a fierce fuss." Moon Hermit waved a dismissive hand. "Pay it no mind. The Zhou family is nothing to fear. They wouldn't dare provoke me over a mere Foundation Establishment woman. Keep Duan Li well contained; he might know where Qingyang is staying." "In addition, don't let a single disciple of the Tusang Sect slip away. For Demonic Lord Qingyang to pass the Alchemy Realm's trial and claim its legacy, he must be a formidable alchemist himself. The Tusang Sect specializes in nurturing spirit plants and herbs; they are almost certainly tangled up with him." Zihou nodded repeatedly, memorizing each command. Finally, she ventured cautiously, "Over at Mount Jialuo... it has remained sealed ever since Blood Hermit returned." "Oh?" Moon Hermit raised a brow, then said, "Step down for now and handle the matters I assigned." After Zihou left, Moon Hermit pondered for a moment before rising and exiting the palace. Before long, she appeared at the foot of Mount Jialuo. Gazing at the peak shrouded in crimson mist, her lovely eyes narrowed slightly. *Layman Fengling has lost his mind. In all the vast Myriad Immortals Association, only you and I remain. Yet can one mountain hold two tigers?* *Right now, countless people outside covet the spirit treasure Myriad Beasts Chart in my hands. Even with the cultivation of a Great Cultivator, I feel daggers at my back.* *If you are willing to submit to me...* Her thoughts racing, she sent out a voice-transmission talisman. After a long wait, there was no reply. Frowning, Moon Hermit flared her protective spiritual light and forced her way into the crimson mist. Once she disappeared into the mist, earth-shaking booms rang out from time to time. Hearing these sounds, the powerful rogue cultivators within the Dragon Taming Mountain Range trembled in fear. Even with curiosity burning, none dared go watch. A single thought crossed their minds: *The two Hermits are fighting!* Little did they know that inside Mount Jialuo, there was only Moon Hermit. The glamorous woman looked around the empty immortal abode, a sneer curling on her lips. "He fled quite fast!" Though she sneered, her respect for Blood Hermit remained intact deep down. Even after attaining the Nascent Soul stage, he had never abandoned the prudence and vigilance he maintained when his cultivation was low. When he needed to be domineering and arrogant, he was the Blood Hermit who ran rampant without restraint. When he needed to be cautious, he could abandon his home base just as easily, displaying the true demeanor of his youth as a bandit cultivator. Yet this way, the outside world remained ignorant of Blood Hermit's departure. If anyone truly targeted her Myriad Immortals Association, the lineup sent would be scaled to suppress both her and Blood Hermit together. Meanwhile, Blood Hermit, whose enemies spanned the world, had slipped away at his leisure, free from anyone's scrutiny. "Pang Bujue, this move of yours has truly put me in a bind." Pang Bujue was Blood Hermit's true name. Moon Hermit's expression turned somewhat grim. With a thousand tangled threads before her, she hardly knew where to begin. Digesting her gains from the Land of the Fallen Demon, tracking down Luo Chen, guarding against outside covetousness over her supreme treasure, managing the Myriad Immortals Association, and contacting the Coral Sea, Wuzhong Valley, and Tianqu... "Rogue cultivators can accomplish little on their own!" "To rely on the Myriad Immortals Association to rise within the North Sea and destroy the Penglai Immortal Sect—it is a heavy burden and a long road!" "Fortunately, with the Myriad Beasts Chart in hand, I finally have the capital to contend with the powerhouses of the North Sea." Murmuring to herself, Moon Hermit stepped out of Mount Jialuo. Everywhere she passed, the rogue cultivators of the Myriad Immortals Association bowed their heads in reverence. *** Inside a passenger cabin of a merchant vessel bound for the Canghai Alliance. Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes. Han Zhan's voice came right on cue. "How is the situation?" Luo Chen shook his head, his expression a tangled knot of surprise, joy, and a touch of melancholy. "Sigh... It's a long story."