Trap

"So fast?!" "Word has it that the native cultivators dispatched a formidable figure who led an elite force, taking advantage of the poor communication among the major conglomerates to uproot their forces in the lower realm one after another. Both the Star Sun Group and Changsheng Group suffered heavily," Chairman Xuanqing replied. "Oh? Who is it?" "Supposedly it's Zhuanlun, disciple of the native cultivators' leader, Immortal King Tianming. He's an Immortal Venerable with profound research into the Grand Dao of Reincarnation." Chairman Xuanqing continued, "Although this Zhuanlun hasn't become an Immortal King, that's only because our Nine Great Groups have used various methods to occupy shares of the Grand Dao of Reincarnation, leaving him without enough shares to ascend. In terms of comprehension and realm, he should already be an Immortal King-level figure." He added, "In the lower realm, we immortal spirits cannot receive computational support from the Lord of Yuanxi. We rely purely on our realm to cultivate into Dao Sovereigns and dominate unopposed. If a native cultivator were to become a Reincarnation Immortal King, they could probably use 'reincarnation' to send certain Immortal Venerables—or even Immortal Kings on the brink of death—into the lower realm to become Dao Sovereign-level figures as well. If that happens, our operations in the lower realm will be severely crippled." Hearing this, Yaoguang could not help but think of how factions like the Xingri Sect and Changsheng Sect had established inheritances for the Grand Dao of Reincarnation. It was precisely to hoard shares and prevent native cultivators from reincarnating. "It seems this Immortal King 'Zhuanlun' is quite formidable. Both the Changsheng Group and the Star Sun Group had Immortal Kings descend to the lower realm, didn't they? Yet they were still uprooted by him?" Yaoguang asked probingly. "They are, after all, the native cultivators' final resistance force. In terms of overall strength, they're actually not inferior to any single one of our Nine Great Groups. Leaving the power of the Lord of Yuanxi aside, if any of the Nine Great Groups fought alone, they might not surpass this so-called Ancient Immortal Alliance formed by the resistance." Xuanqing remarked with some emotion, "They enjoy the full protection of Fate and Karma, and could even be said to carry the favor of the Ancient Immortal Realm's final remnants of providence. In their possession are three powerful sacred artifacts! It was precisely thanks to these three sacred artifacts that several Immortal Kings from the Nine Great Groups struck out multiple times without ever capturing their core leaders." "Were they truly unable to capture them, or did conflicting agendas ruin the plans?" Yaoguang asked with a smile. Hearing this, Chairman Xuanqing also gave a wry smile, quickly adding, "Don't say things harmful to unity. That's not called conflicting agendas; it's the tug of karma and the workings of fate that caused unforeseen accidents in the plans." He pointed a finger upward. "After all, the Gate of Fate and Gate of Karma hang suspended above the Immortal Realm. Those are powers we have yet to fathom." Yaoguang looked where he was pointing. For a moment, he couldn't tell whether Xuanqing was pointing at the Gate of Fate and Gate of Karma, or at the omnipresent Lord of Yuanxi. Human hearts, Yaoguang thought inwardly. "All right. When the Lord of Yuanxi steps out of the Immortal Realm and diffuses his power into the cosmic starry skies beyond, that process will inevitably divide a tremendous amount of his computing power. That will be our chance to strike against Immortal King Tianyu. And to ensure that nothing goes wrong... it would be best for you, our newly ascended Void Immortal King, to act as bait and lure Immortal King Tianyu out." Xuanqing continued, "Tianyu might guess that your sudden appearance could be a trap. But no matter how shrewd and calculating he is, he will never imagine that the top brass of our Creation Group has already reached a unanimous agreement to help you take him down!" The chairman of the Creation Group smiled faintly. "Before absolute strength, nothing else matters." Hearing this, Yaoguang nodded. Unless the Tianyuan Group mobilized in full force as well, no matter how prepared Immortal King Tianyu was, he could never withstand all the experts of the Creation Group descending on him together. During this period, the directors of the Creation Group had already used various methods to ensure that Immortal King Yuankun would turn a blind eye to Immortal King Tianyu. The whole plan was virtually foolproof. "If I am to act as bait and leave the Creation Group, I'll need a reason," Yaoguang said. "Naturally. The reason is that you caught wind of a solo Void Immortal Venerable! Codename: Black Leaf. He holds over three hundred shares of the Grand Dao of the Void—well worth a gamble!" Xuanqing explained and added, "This Immortal Venerable Black Leaf truly exists and is fairly well known in immortal spirit circles. However, under the watchful gaze of the Lord of Yuanxi, immortal spirits are forbidden from killing one another. Furthermore, this immortal spirit acts with extreme caution, so very few people know his whereabouts. We set our sights on him a millennium ago, so using him as part of the plan to lure Immortal King Tianyu into taking the bait couldn't be more fitting." "It seems you have planned everything thoroughly." Yaoguang nodded slightly. "Of course. Since the agreement has been signed, all of us directors will naturally do our utmost. Prepare yourself. When the time draws near, you must leave the Creation Group in secret, adopting the posture of waiting for the Lord of Yuanxi to descend to the lower realm—ready to strike against Immortal Venerable Black Leaf the moment surveillance over the Immortal Realm weakens." Smiling, Xuanqing continued, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. When Immortal King Tianyu learns of this through his secret channels, he will certainly want to play the oriole. He would never dream that the true oriole is someone else." "Fine." Yaoguang nodded slightly. Sure enough, impersonating Immortal King Yuxiao to join the Creation Group had been the right move. By staying in the Creation Group each day, the entire board of directors provided him with shares and cultivation resources, assisting in his rapid growth. He had effortlessly become both a Time Immortal King and a Void Immortal King. Now, when he wanted to deal with Immortal King Tianyu, seize nearly four thousand shares of the Grand Dao of the Void in one fell swoop, and become the foremost figure of the Void Dao, everyone in the Creation Group pooled their efforts to arrange it. Immortal Kings like Xuanqing, Alpha, Nizhuan, and Huitian—which of them hadn't diligently fulfilled his requests and labored without complaint? For two thousand years, the Creation Group had practically revolved around him alone. This was treatment that Xuanqing, despite being chairman for so many years, had never enjoyed. Where else could one find such an extraordinary bargain? *** Three years. To ordinary mortals, especially students, that would span their entire middle school or high school years, representing memories from most of their youth. Yet to cultivators who had achieved the status of Immortal King, it slipped by quietly in the space of a fleeting trance. As the time for the Lord of Yuanxi's descent drew near, the Immortal Kings on the Creation Group's board of directors gathered once more. Everyone clustered around Yaoguang, smiles spread across their faces. "Seeing Immortal King Yuxiao looking so radiant puts my mind at ease." "Hahaha! Wielding the powers of both the Dao of Time and the Dao of the Void, the Immortal King will surely hold his own even in a direct confrontation against Immortal King Tianyu." "Once Immortal King Tianyu dies and Director Yuxiao obtains his nearly four thousand shares of the Grand Dao of the Void, he will likely vault to becoming the number one powerhouse in our Creation Group. What a joyous event to celebrate!" The directors voiced their goodwill one after another. Their words and demeanors already laid bare who the true protagonist was. At this moment, even Xuanqing, the chairman, could not match Yaoguang's standing. Yaoguang also understood the reason behind their enthusiasm, so he cupped his hands in return. "My thanks to you all. Without everyone's assistance, I, Yuxiao, could never have reached this stage so quickly. Please rest assured, once Immortal King Tianyu falls, our agreement will officially take effect. At that time, no matter how many points I receive from the Lord of Yuanxi, each of you will have a share. If all goes smoothly, every one of us can elevate our authority to level nineteen." "Level-nineteen authority..." Director Huitian couldn't help sighing with emotion. "I have lingered at level-eighteen authority for thirteen million years. Over those thirteen million years, my progress bar barely budged. Only when the war with the Ancient Immortal Realm erupted did progress begin to advance again. And relying on this war, the number of level-eighteen authority holders more than doubled, and quite a few level-nineteen holders were added as well. Now, seeing that the great war of the Ancient Immortal Realm is drawing to a close, if I still can't advance to level-nineteen authority... there really won't be any hope left. I can't wait another thirteen million years." The other directors nodded in deep agreement. To them, every achievement within the Ancient Immortal Realm was illusory. Even if they became peerless Immortal Kings in the Ancient Immortal Realm, once the Hunyuan Realm completely devoured it and the three thousand Grand Daos merged into the Hunyuan Realm, the so-called peerless Immortal Kings would vanish like smoke. Only increasing their authority level was real. "We all have a bright future ahead of us." Xuanqing said, looking at Yaoguang. "Go now and slay Immortal Venerable Black Leaf, and you can harvest another three hundred shares of the Grand Dao of the Void along the way. Alpha, as soon as Yaoguang departs, leak this information to Immortal King Tianyu." Director Alpha nodded. "Outsiders don't know that our Creation Group is now united as one with a single purpose. They still think we are engaged in covert clashes and power struggles just like before." He smiled at Yaoguang. "Long before Director Yuxiao became a Void Immortal King, Immortal King Tianyu approached me and offered numerous benefits, hoping I would provide information about you, Director. I turned his own trick against him and maintained contact. Not long ago, when you became a Void Immortal King, Director Yuxiao, Tianyu grew even more anxious. When I send this message out, he will surely be ecstatic, and he will undoubtedly offer me another generous reward." Beside him, Director Nizhuan laughed and said, "In my view, why don't you have Immortal King Tianyu fork over a few hundred shares of the Grand Dao of Time to buy this intel? Then you can pass those shares to Director Yuxiao. It'll be a win-win all around!" "That's exactly what I intended." Director Alpha gave a wave of his hand, openly displaying his correspondence with Immortal King Tianyu. "I quoted three hundred shares of the Grand Dao of Time. I wonder if Immortal King Tianyu can scrape that together." "Immortal King Tianyu inherited Immortal King Tianxu's legacy, so his foundation is exceptionally robust. Don't go easy on his pocketbook!" "Hahaha! If Immortal King Tianyu pays three hundred shares of the Grand Dao of Time only to buy himself a trap, I wonder if he'll die of anger!" "He won't even need to die of anger. Soon enough, his authority will be wiped clean to zero. This time, without Immortal King Tianxu to help him and with the war of the Ancient Immortal Realm nearly over, he can forget about climbing back to level-nineteen authority for ten or even tens of millions of years!" The other directors spoke up one after another, and the atmosphere in the hall was completely relaxed and cheerful. "All right, the Lord of Yuanxi will soon step out of the Immortal Realm." Xuanqing nodded to Yaoguang. "Time is of the essence. Let us make our move."