Seizing the Initiative

Boom! The jade torrent collided with the golden armor, churning up surging waves and a thousand frothing crests. From the violent impact, the golden armor rocked fiercely. Suddenly, a beam of golden light shot forth—swift as a sharp arrow and exceptionally keen—piercing straight into the jade torrent. Clad in war armor, Zhu Wudao strode forward with unyielding momentum. The vast mist stalled for a moment as the golden light plowed a furrow down its center, driving directly toward Daoist Hegao. Zhu Wudao was entirely unscathed, a testament to the armor's formidable might. Daoist Hegao’s eyes narrowed slightly, yet he did not panic. Facing Zhu Wudao, he had long deduced countless possibilities. The jade torrent appeared fragile, but that was partly intentional. Swish! The phantom silhouette of a crane materialized behind Daoist Hegao’s head. The immortal crane craned its neck and cried out long and clear, its posture graceful and unconstrained. The instant the crane phantom emerged, Daoist Hegao surged upward several tens of feet, rising almost flush with the roof of the ancient hall to evade the deadly golden beam. His hand incantations shifted. The jade torrent’s fierce momentum subsided abruptly, like a rushing river subsiding into an autumn moon mirrored on a tranquil lake. Wisps of light smoke arose as supreme hardness transformed into ultimate gentleness. The misty vapor filled the air, turning into countless silk ribbons that wove layer upon layer toward Zhu Wudao. At the same time, arcs of purple lightning illuminated the space around the teleportation array, reflecting in Zhu Wudao’s eyes and making him squint. Five bolts of purple lightning fired at once. Just looking at the purple lightning, Qin Sang felt a slight stinging pain in his eyes, even though the lightning pythons were not aimed at him. At the critical juncture, a white light suddenly arrived. Mo Xingdao had nurtured this breath of profound qi within his body for many years; it was by no means ordinary. Tearing through the void, it appeared right above the trajectory of the five incoming lightning pythons. Struck by the profound qi, the purple lightning showed signs of congealing. Unexpectedly, Daoist Zilei made no remedial move. The lightning pythons merely whipped their bodies violently, forcefully breaching the confinement of the profound qi with overwhelming lightning force. Mo Xingdao hesitated no longer. Turning his hand into a blade, he slashed down through the air, and the profound qi plummeted swiftly with the stroke! Swish! All five lightning pythons were decapitated in unison. The rear halves of the pythons stiffened and collapsed with a crack, yet the front sections retained their swift, devastating force, beyond Mo Xingdao's power to halt. Only then did Mo Xingdao realize that Daoist Zilei's goal was not to destroy the teleportation array, but to strike directly at Zhu Wudao simply to stop him. This did not match what they had anticipated. Mo Xingdao could not help feeling surprised. On the other side. Daoist Zilei flew in close to the teleportation array, only to be blocked by the red blossoms of the Master of Qiling Cave. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The flower phantoms fluttered like butterflies, breathtakingly magnificent. In an instant, an expanse of blossoming flowers formed in the void. Deadly intent lurked beneath the beautiful scenery. Daoist Zilei did not slow his escape technique in the slightest. Lightning flared brilliantly between his brows as a lightning seal suddenly surfaced. The seal was forged entirely from lightning power, radiating hazy arcs of thunder. Within it, lightning runes flowed, gathering and dispersing as bursts of lightning flared outward. Upon seeing the lightning seal, the Master of Qiling Cave's expression changed, as if the seal were an extraordinary divine ability. His mudras changed in rapid succession, but it was already too late to respond. Thunder shook the heavens. The lightning seal transformed into a lightning cocoon, and a bolt of lightning even more terrifying than the previous pythons tore through the air, destroying the flower phantoms with unstoppable force. The Master of Qiling Cave roared in anger, a flash of bloody light passing through his eyes. Within the crumbling flower phantoms, the light at the center of the petals twisted, revealing agonized human faces. They were clearly flowers of malevolent spirits. The malevolent spirits howled, stabilizing the flower phantoms. For a time, a hundred ghosts ran rampant, clawing and biting as they surged back toward Daoist Zilei. Qin Sang and Yue Lingtian had also traded several blows. The ability of the three-legged round cauldron was quite peculiar. Whenever the cauldron's mouth shone upon a sword thread from the sword formation, the thread became sluggish before being drawn directly into the vessel. Qin Sang discovered that his connection to that portion of the sword thread was severed. *Let's see how much you can absorb.* Qin Sang sneered inwardly, pushing the sword formation to its limits. At the same time, a fire lotus spun within his palm. Though he was clashing with Yue Lingtian, Qin Sang's focus was not here. Seeing that the Master of Qiling Cave could not hold off Daoist Zilei, he considered lending a hand. Right now, both Zhu Wudao and Daoist Zilei were acting strangely, clearly about to unleash great divine abilities to vie for the teleportation array. Then, the array's teleportation light extinguished right before their eyes. Everyone froze in their tracks the moment the light went out. The air seemed to solidify along with their gazes. Up to this point, every shift in the teleportation array had unfolded in plain sight. In full view of everyone, not even Daoist Zilei or Zhu Wudao—who were closest to the array—had possessed any opportunity to tamper with it, yet its glow had vanished nonetheless. The spatial fluctuations dissipated with it. What did this mean? The great hall fell deathly silent. Qin Sang clenched his fist, recalling the fire lotus that had been on the verge of erupting. He stopped in his tracks without a sound, staring at the teleportation array with a strange expression. Across the teleportation array, Daoist Zilei and Zhu Wudao stared at each other. Zhu Wudao’s expression froze, and Daoist Zilei looked hardly any better. The others looked between the two in bewilderment, urgently awaiting an explanation. Swish! Daoist Zilei flicked out fresh spirit stones. Zhu Wudao’s expression flickered, but he made no move to stop him. The others also stayed their hands and watched, all feeling a sense of absurdity. After a chaotic battle in which some had even prepared to play their trump cards, were they fighting over a broken spirit array? The old spirit stones were pried from the array's apertures. Their inner luster had not vanished, indicating their spiritual power was far from depleted. New spirit stones were inserted, activating the teleportation array once again. The ancient hall shook as more cracks appeared. Spatial fluctuations resurfaced, but the relief was short-lived. Following a violent flicker, the result remained the same! The teleportation light died out along with everyone's hopes, and their hearts sank to rock bottom! Yet the spirit array had operated smoothly, showing no sign of damage. Everyone present was a top-tier powerhouse rarely seen in the mortal world; it was impossible for all of them to be mistaken. "Fellow Daoist Zhu, what is the meaning of this?" The Master of Qiling Cave looked grim. One of the reasons he had agreed to wade into these murky waters was the Immortal Palace. To that end, he had run all over the place and even gotten dragged into trouble, suffering injuries at the hands of the Poison King. Was all of it to come to nothing? Mo Xingdao showed his feelings less openly. He had never known what treasures lay inside the Immortal Palace in the first place, treating entry as merely a matter of trying his luck, so his disappointment was as muted as his expectations had been. Zhu Wudao’s expression shifted erratically; clearly, this had caught him unprepared as well. The effigy inside his sleeve grew burning hot, scorching his mind. A bitter taste filled Zhu Wudao’s mouth, and he mocked himself inwardly. After plotting every detail so meticulously, he had failed to anticipate this development. For whom had all his painstaking efforts been? "You'll have to ask these esteemed Daoist masters," Zhu Wudao said, seemingly realizing something. He snapped his head up and questioned Daoist Zilei, "Just what did you do in Tiantong Hall to ruin the teleportation array?!" *Tiantong Hall.* Qin Sang’s heart stirred. The South Sea Immortal Palace truly was the destination he sought! Daoist Zilei said nothing. His worst fear had come to pass. By this point, how could Daoist Zilei not understand? He had suspected the wrong culprit—it was not the Buddhist sect plotting against True Monarch Danyu, but rather an unknown catastrophe that had befallen the Immortal Palace. The situation was even worse than his estimates: the path to the Immortal Palace was severed! The True Monarch and Saint Huiguang had met with disaster in the Immortal Palace, but the truth remained impossible to fathom. "Daoists are present, yet not a single Buddhist disciple is in sight. You intended to hide this from the Buddhist sect and enter the Immortal Palace alone!" Remembering Daoist Zilei's actions just now, Zhu Wudao gradually grasped the truth, speaking faster and faster. "Have the Daoists and Buddhists turned against each other? Or do you have an unavoidable reason to enter the Immortal Palace? The disappearance of the Deity Transformation cultivators—is it related to the Immortal Palace?!" Daoist Zilei could answer none of these questions. Daoist Hegao’s eyes held worry. With the teleportation array disabled, the path to the Sword Tomb was broken. Yue Lingtian stared coldly at Daoist Zilei without any pretense of politeness. Had Daoist Zilei anticipated this before coming here? Had an accident occurred in the Immortal Palace long ago, meaning his tolerance of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect remnants was only because the normal path was blocked? If they could not even enter the Immortal Palace, what of Daoist Zilei's prior promises, and what of the price the Grand Yue Sect had just paid? Yue Lingtian clenched his fists in secret. With his crane-white hair and youthful countenance, Daoist Zilei maintained an air of grandmasterly dignity. Even now, he managed to keep his composure, barking fiercely, "Tiantong Hall is a place where demons are sealed! The horror of that demon sovereign overflowed the very bamboo scrolls used to record it. Both of our sects possess ancestral injunctions permitting us only to explore Tianxiang Hall while forbidding any meddling with the immortal restrictions of Tiantong Hall. To this day, it remains just as it was when the Wuxiang Immortal Sect sealed its mountains! Of everyone present, only you, Branch Master Zhu, possess the ability to tamper with things in secret. Could it be that you wish to cast us aside and enter the Immortal Palace alone, yet dare to make false countercharges?!" There was some sense to these words. Zhu Wudao possessed deep ties to the Wuxiang Immortal Sect and knew it intimately. He had personally unsealed both the ancient hall and the teleportation array; only he possessed the ability to pull the wool over everyone's eyes. Under these circumstances, crafty and shrewd though every person in the ancient hall was, none could discern the truth. Though Yue Lingtian suspected Eight Views Abbey harbored ill intentions, he lacked evidence and did not voice his thoughts, maintaining an appearance of standing united with Daoist Zilei. Zhu Wudao’s lips moved slightly, transmitting a message to his companions. Both the Master of Qiling Cave and Mo Xingdao showed hesitant expressions. Right at that moment. A clear sword chime echoed through the ancient hall, startling everyone as Qin Sang abruptly recalled his sword formation. Drawing their gazes, the sword light darted into Qin Sang’s sleeve and vanished from sight. Then, without a single word, Qin Sang ignored every voice transmission, pulled out of the battle, dashed out of the hall, and fled down the mountain without looking back. The cultivators in the hall exchanged varied expressions, wracking their memories to identify this mysterious expert. Both sides had suspected he was brought in by the other, and when they saw the other side equally lost in thought, they grew even more bewildered. Qin Sang had lingered at the fringes from the start and held no deep grievances with either faction, so no one moved to stop him. He had arrived gracefully and departed just as swiftly without waiting for the outcome. The speed of his movements and the decisiveness of his actions caught everyone off guard; they did not even know his name. On the stone path. Qin Sang flew rapidly down the mountain. *Judging from Daoist Zilei’s tone, Tiantong Hall and Tianxiang Hall were once controlled by the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. Both are in Zhongzhou and formed a single whole, whereas the Ziwei Palace and the Hall of Seven Kills are independent...* Qin Sang mused inwardly. All these immortal palaces contained Killing Sword fragments, which was enough to prove a connection between them. Before descending into this world, they had very likely belonged to the same immortal palace. Tianxiang Hall and Tiantong Hall were clear proof! Just now, Qin Sang had secretly channeled the power of the Heavenly Eye to analyze the teleportation array, confirming that its restrictions were not damaged. It would have been difficult for Zhu Wudao to tamper with anything under the gaze of the Heavenly Eye, which meant the problem lay on the other side. The expressions and behavior of both Zhu Wudao and Daoist Zilei were enough to prove that an unknown catastrophe had occurred in the Immortal Palace! They did not know the truth, but Qin Sang alone understood the reason. He had seen an immortal palace ascend with his own eyes! When he first learned of the existence of Tianxiang Hall and Tiantong Hall, Qin Sang had wondered whether the other immortal palaces might have been drawn along when the Ziwei Palace ascended, leaving the realm together. His guess had actually been correct. In that case, the disappearance of the Deity Transformation cultivators had an explanation. Liuli’s master had been trapped in the Ziwei Palace and was able to ascend along with it. If those Deity Transformation cultivators had been drawn in by the phenomenon of the Immortal Palace's ascension and entered it without reacting in time, they had likely been carried off to an alien realm by the palace. He still remembered that the Nascent Soul cultivators who failed to evacuate the Ziwei Palace in time were crushed into mincemeat. Deity Transformation cultivators possessed immense divine abilities and far greater means to preserve their lives. Now that the Immortal Palace had ascended, the remaining cultivators could only contend for the opportunities within the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. No fewer than ten great cultivators had entered the board. Had the cloud dragon not blocked the way, even more Nascent Soul cultivators would have entered the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. The treasures here were limited and unlikely to suffice for everyone; it all depended on who could seize the initiative. The same applied to Qin Sang. His sole hope lay in the Wuxiang Immortal Sect’s scripture repository, in the hope that they had preserved the remnant technique. Seeing that a battle was imminent, Qin Sang knew staying longer was pointless and had acted decisively! Boom! The stone path shook and the restrictions grew unstable, sending loose stones tumbling down the sheer cliff. Qin Sang glanced back over his shoulder. Brilliant light flared atop the cliff as several great cultivators fought fiercely. The ancient hall finally could not withstand the strain and collapsed completely. He could also guess that Daoist Zilei’s insistence on capturing Zhu Wudao was only partly to interrogate him about the teleportation array. If they truly could not enter the Immortal Palace, Zhu Wudao was the person who knew the Wuxiang Immortal Sect best and possessed abundant intelligence. With their strength in numbers, Eight Views Abbey had the means to pull it off. Unless Zhu Wudao could convince the Master of Qiling Cave and Mo Xingdao to help him, his prospects looked dire. Pondering the situation, Qin Sang flew at top speed, bursting out from the cliff and plunging into the mountains, rushing in the direction his incarnation had taken. He wondered what the final outcome of that battle would be. His objective was clear: the core grounds of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. The incarnation blazed a trail ahead, leaving secret marks along the way. Qin Sang’s true body crossed the layers of restrictions effortlessly, traversing forests and mountains. In the distance, peaks emerged. Strange peaks thrust upward in the core grounds of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. Though dormant for many years, the area remained endowed with spiritual grace and myriad majestic sights. Every mountain held pavilions and temples shrouded in an immortal aura. One towering mountain in the deepest recesses stood out as the most grand. Though not as tall as the precipice and still veiled in distance, one could tell at a glance that it held immense importance in the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. Both his true body and incarnation were heading in this direction. Unbeknownst to them, this mountain was the sovereign of the Five Aspects, named Dishou Mountain! After traveling an unknown distance, Qin Sang’s expression shifted slightly. His escape light veered off course, heading toward the western side of Dishou Mountain. Before long, a figure flew toward him—his external incarnation. Having set off earlier, the incarnation’s primary task was to search for the scripture repository. "Found it!" The external incarnation looked pleased, pointing behind him toward a distant peak. "There is a Langhuan Jade Pavilion on that mountain!" He had just spotted the characters on the plaque atop the jade pavilion from afar and was hurrying over when he sensed the arrival of the true body. Their minds connected. Sharing their experiences, the true body and incarnation decided to join forces and explore the Langhuan Jade Pavilion first. They had flown only a short distance when Qin Sang suddenly let out a soft exclamation of surprise, coming to a halt to gaze toward the northwest of the Langhuan Jade Pavilion. Across several mountains and plains lay an immortal mountain. Above it, an aurora flared brilliantly, reflecting across all directions in breathtaking beauty. It was unmistakably a treasure land. Deep within the frigid light, the tip of an ice palace could be faintly discerned—identical to the ice palace manifested by the mysterious ice plate!