The Shaman Clan had crossed the void to arrive here. Though only Yao Lan seemed to have taken action, all the immortals slowed their hands.
After all, the Shaman Clan possessed immense power. The number of Heavenly Shamans appeared modest, yet they were replenished as needed; even if a full generation were wiped out, there might still be twelve Heavenly Shamans soon after. But if the human race lost an immortal, there might be a vacuum lasting several decades.
Furthermore, the strength of the Heavenly Shamans fluctuated, rising with the tide. The First Heavenly Shaman slain back then by the founding Patriarch of the Palace of Grand Beginning had been exceptionally formidable, nearly countering every human immortal of that era. Later, another First Heavenly Shaman emerged who was absurdly powerful, confronting the Martial Ancestor for hundreds of years across countless skirmishes and battles, only ever at a slight disadvantage.
As for the current First Heavenly Shaman, Minglei, compared to his predecessors, he could only be called barely satisfactory.
Thus, though the number of human immortals far exceeded that of the Shaman Clan, it was widely acknowledged that the overall strength of their race still fell far short of the shamans'. What was more, the Ancestral Shaman stood before them like a towering pinnacle of the realm.
And the appearance of the Little State Preceptor of Northern Liao had likewise caught the immortals off guard.
Although the Little State Preceptor's personal strength could be called the disgrace of immortals, he possessed vast connections and numerous backers in the Liao domain. Moreover, it was common knowledge that all his might lay in his immortal pets. With just an immortal hound at his side, his combat prowess was up to par.
If he could wait until the immortal chicken matured, having both chicken and hound would make him an undeniably powerful True Immortal—a case of his chicken and dog carrying him into celestial ascension.
If fate aligned through sheer serendipity and he chanced upon a pair of enlightened immortal mice, then in a few hundred years, he might even be able to clash with the Ancestral Shaman himself.
So the Little State Preceptor himself was of little consequence; what worried the immortals was whether Northern Liao had truly sent only this single Little State Preceptor.
With both the Shaman and Liao clans abruptly stepping in, the situation had descended into total chaos. The Venerable Master staying his hand indicated to some extent that even he could not foresee the subsequent variables. With the situation unclear and other mighty beings holding back, if the Venerable Master didn't withdraw his hand, he would be placed at a disadvantage.
Another reason was that although Jiumu and Yao Lan represented the Shaman Clan, tearing open space and crossing realms in this manner was by no means something an ordinary Heavenly Shaman could achieve—even the current First Heavenly Shaman could not pull it off. Thus, regardless of what Jiumu said, the Venerable Master was convinced that the Ancestor of Steel was acting from the shadows.
Therefore, the Venerable Master took half a step back, waiting for any potential follow-up moves from the Ancestor of Steel—or at least to discern the Ancestor of Steel's stance.
Yet the Venerable Master retreating behind the scenes came at the cost of barring the Shaman and Liao clans from meddling at will; otherwise, they risked provoking a devastating strike from him at any moment.
At this point, the situation had finally clarified somewhat. Bai Kaishui and Old Madame Bao looked as though they could keep fighting for another few centuries; Cui Zhengxing and Immortal Zhao Li were locked in an impasse; the deadlock and wildcard seemed to be the match between Cui Wantong against the immortal chicken and the Little State Preceptor.
As for Cangwu's butterfly, it was shrouded once more in a cloud of black mist, surrounded by hazy, drifting light. Whenever the butterfly flew out of the mist and surged into the hazy light, it would inexplicably turn around and plunge back into the dark mist, continuing its struggle.
This process repeated continuously, while the pagoda in midair revolved faster and faster, faintly whistling. Inside, a butterfly was already faintly taking shape, ceaselessly fluttering its wings. Now that Bao Yun and Feng Tingyu had intervened in succession, it amounted to the combined strength of four genius dharma idols from the Palace of Grand Beginning, trapping Cangwu's killing move.
And so Wei Yuan knew the time had come!
With hands clasped behind his back, he slowly rose into the air, surveying the world. His lips parted slightly, about to—
At this point, there ought to have been a sigh.
Yet Wei Yuan suddenly realized that everyone who made an entrance did so with a sigh; there had already been far too many sighs.
A secondary choice was a heavy snort, combining majesty and gravity, though it lacked the compassionate heart of lamenting the world and pitying humanity, making it somewhat inferior.
But the Venerable Master had already snorted, not to mention that a heavy snort required a sufficiently exalted cultivation and a patronizing height to convey majesty. For Wei Yuan, a mere Scenery Command cultivator, snorting would carry an unsavory stench of petty triumph.
Laughing heartily three times? That was something only a boor would do. Besides, immortals struck with blinding speed; chances were that before he even finished his first laugh, several others would have successfully ambushed him, cutting his life tragically short.
Weighing his options back and forth, Wei Yuan closed his slightly parted lips, saying nothing at all. Directly above his head, a three-faced idol of human heads manifested, its six eyes all distinct.
At this moment, aside from the Central Wuji Thick Earth Grotto-Heaven, the spirit mansions of the remaining five grotto-heavens were already complete. Although the true spirit of the central spirit mansion remained unknown, its authority was exceedingly exalted. Consequently, the might of the Pupils of the Six Realms surged once more, and its analysis and suppression of the relevant Great Dao domains grew even more pronounced.
Upon the idol, the six eyes opened one by one, illuminating heaven and earth!
Cui Zhengxing had already held a massive advantage in his game. Just as his lethal stone was about to descend, the black stone between his fingers vanished into thin air!
Slightly taken aback, he looked down at the board; many stones on it had also vanished, leaving the match in shambles—even the Go table was missing a leg.
This game was in disarray.
The immortal light waved out by the Little State Preceptor turned dull and bizarre, its enhancement drastically diminished. The radiance upon the immortal chicken was missing several patches, and the stream of fire it spewed flickered between red and blue, its power sharply reduced.
Suddenly weakened, both the immortal chicken and the Little State Preceptor were alarmed. The chicken clucked frantically, looking to flee, while the Little State Preceptor forced himself to stay calm, barely maintaining his composure.
The invisible gazes of the Pupils of the Six Realms swept across the world. Cui Wantong's thousand-li night sky of starry rivers had originally been magnificent, yet every time a gaze brushed over it, it was as if an eraser had rubbed vigorously against it, exposing the original sky beneath—or at the very least, causing the night to fade and the morning light to dawn.
The night sky spanned too vast an area, making the scour of the Pupils of the Six Realms exceptionally pronounced. The starry river fractured and crumbled, degenerating even more severely than the immortal chicken's stream of fire.
Revitalized at once, the immortal chicken and the Little State Preceptor cheered and crowed loudly, fighting with newfound vigor.
Cui Wantong's expression shifted slightly, never imagining that Wei Yuan's divine ability would counter her so overtly. Casting a deep, lingering glance at Wei Yuan, she slowly withdrew her night sky.
The immortal chicken ceased spewing fire, adopting an air of letting her off the hook as it watched Cui Wantong depart with a haughty, disdainful stare.
After Cui Wantong vanished, the Little State Preceptor shook his head to himself, took a deep look at the immortal chicken, and only then departed.
As for Cangwu's butterfly, it was swept by the six gazes in succession. With each sweep, it lost a piece of itself, and in the blink of an eye, its abdomen and most of a wing vanished.
Cangwu's face changed slightly, and he turned and left immediately.
With this, the situation stabilized, difficult to break open any further. Though several immortals of the Seven Clans and Thirteen Prominent Families had yet to appear, they were likely tied down by various reasons just like Xu Wangu. Otherwise, at such a crucial juncture, how could they not fight with all their might to seize the upper hand?
At the very least, they would have vied for the two sets of immortal remains and true spirits.
Old Madame Bao and Bai Kaishui exchanged a glance and were just about to withdraw when, suddenly, the idol of human heads opened all six of its eyes and turned them toward their side!
Two of the faces were clearly facing away and gazing straight ahead, yet all their gazes converged here; all six eyes were staring intently at Bai Kaishui and Old Madame Bao.
The sword qi unleashed by Bai Kaishui suddenly sprouted specks of rust, and some even vanished out of thin air. Meanwhile, Old Madame Bao's three-foot azure dragon let out a cry of agony as though struck by an invisible force, writhing and thrashing in midair.
Six invisible threads reached out from the void, binding themselves completely around the three-foot azure dragon and slowly dragging it toward the void.
With their sharp perception, Bai Kaishui and Old Madame Bao recognized at once that the six threads were actually Wei Yuan's six realms' gaze. Neither had expected it could solidify into tangible substance, binding the azure dragon in an attempt to snatch it away!
The azure dragon was like a divine beast yet not quite one, lingering between life and death, but its status was extraordinarily exalted. Even so, beneath the gaze of the six realms, its power was whittled down to less than a tenth, and it was dragged bodily into the void.
Having fought the three-foot azure dragon for so long, Bai Kaishui naturally knew its strength. By rights, the power of the six realms' gaze should never have suppressed the dragon to such an extent; it seemed Wei Yuan harbored other secrets, and his suppression against dragon-kind was absurdly potent.
Old Madame Bao had initially reached out to recall the azure dragon, but after glancing toward the void, she changed her mind. She pulled back her staff, turned, and left on the spot—abandoning even the azure dragon.
At this moment, within Wei Yuan's Flourishing of the Many Realms, a slick, chubby old man suddenly appeared. Looking around, he cast his gaze in the direction of the Fourth Grotto-Heaven.
The old man seemed to sigh, then suddenly froze. Slowly turning around, he saw an ordinary-looking, easily forgotten young girl standing behind him.
The corners of the young girl's mouth twitched slightly—her version of a smile.
The old man's eyelids twitched violently, his lips quivered, and he looked entirely like someone caught red-handed doing something shameful. His weathered face flushed bright red in a flash.
He stammered, "Uh, I took a wrong turn by accident. Leaving now, leaving right away—"
Ignoring him, the young girl looked up toward the Fourth Grotto-Heaven and gave a little wave. The old man was scared out of his wits; abandoning all pretense, he vanished from the spot in an instant.
Only then did the girl turn slowly and step into the central spirit mansion.
Back in this realm, Bai Kaishui experienced a brief lapse of focus. When he came to, his face was flushed so red it seemed on the verge of dripping blood. But sword qi immediately surged over his face, forcibly suppressing all the redness.
He looked at the three-foot azure dragon on the verge of being hauled into the void. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly sent a grotto-heaven of sword qi flying across, stabbing into the dragon's back as if wedged firmly and unable to be pulled out, before being dragged into the void along with the dragon.
The void cleared for a split second, revealing a corner of the Flourishing of the Many Realms.
With a complicated expression, Bai Kaishui muttered to himself, "Strange. How could there be two true spirits at the same time? And even I cannot see through them? What... what should be done? Back then, her heart was too simple and pure, or she wouldn't have been schemed against. Now that she's turned into a true spirit, she can't be bullied again. I only hope that grotto-heaven can help her a bit... Alas!"
Bai Kaishui sighed, then suddenly felt prickles on his back. Turning his head, he saw Cui Zhengxing and Immortal Zhao Li both staring at him with strange expressions.
A sudden pang of guilt seized Bai Kaishui, feeling as though his innermost thoughts had been laid bare. For a moment, he wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Yet reason told him that was hardly possible. Even knowing this, his conscience still wavered, and his sword heart grew cloudy and opaque.
Just then, a shift in the Great Dao rippled from afar, and a beam of five-colored immortal light shot straight up toward the celestial heavens!
The authority of the Great Dao shifted accordingly, and a poignant sense of loss welled up in the hearts of every True Immortal. It was the hallmark of certain authorities of the Great Dao being claimed by someone, a phenomenon familiar to all immortals.
Zhu Yan, Dean of Haotian Abbey of the Palace of Grand Beginning, had finally crossed the immortal gate and ascended to the celestial heavens!
Seizing this once-in-a-millennium opportunity, he ascended to immortality in a single bound. Though there was a slight imperfection—a faint flaw on white jade—it was far better than Yanshi's ascension back then.
With this, the grand curtain slowly fell, and the broader situation was settled. In this game, Wei Yuan had slain two immortals in succession, and Zhu Yan had defied the odds to ascend; the Palace of Grand Beginning could be said to have won a complete victory. Such an outcome defied everyone's expectations. No one could explain why there were so many coincidences, many of which traced back to a distant past.
For instance, when the Little State Preceptor had fled in disarray back then, Yanshi reached down and, amidst numerous immortal treasures, happened to fish out the immortal chicken. Looking back upon it now, it was truly thought-provoking.
Chapter 1140