At the exit of the Ancient Realm of Good Fortune, two opposing factions stood locked in a tense standoff.
"Clan Head Jiang, a word of advice: surrendering now is your only sensible choice. Your Phoenix Clan has gone too far," the Jiuying Clan Head said coldly, his gaze as venomous as a viper's.
"Leaving aside the fact that your Phoenix Clan sent three people in this time, two of them obtained rewards on the third floor, and one of them hasn't even shown up yet!"
The demon elders present had all entered the Ancient Realm of Good Fortune in their youth and knew it was divided into three floors; only by passing the first could one obtain the baseline reward.
The chosen prodigies of the Demon Clan Alliance had failed to clear even the first floor and were promptly eliminated.
Ao Yue and the others fell short on the second floor, claiming only the basic reward.
Meng Jingzhou, Jiang Shishi, and Su Lian'er had secured the rewards of the third floor.
If it were just that, it would still be acceptable, as prodigies among the demon races had managed to reach and claim third-floor rewards in past generations.
The real issue was that someone had actually failed to leave the mystic realm—an unprecedented anomaly!
The Ancient Realm of Good Fortune was profoundly enigmatic. The rewards of the third floor were already lavish enough to turn experts of the Body Integration stage green with envy. If someone continued lingering inside, what manner of reward could they possibly receive?!
The Jiuying Clan was suspected of being the Demonic Sound Heavenly Maiden's backer, and their young master had already sabotaged the Demon Clan Alliance's prodigies inside the realm. Deeply resented by the various demon clans, the Jiuying Clan desperately needed to divert everyone's attention.
And the Phoenix Clan was the perfect target!
To that end, the Jiuying Clan had even summoned their clan head to ramp up the pressure.
"If your Phoenix Clan is willing to pledge allegiance to the Demon Empire, all past grievances can be forgiven!"
The Jiuying Clan Head's gaze turned dark and sullen, laying bare his true objective.
The Phoenix Clan was already slated for suppression and subjugation by the Demon Clan Alliance. However, their foundations ran so deep that even Ancient Dijiang dared not act rashly against them.
This provided the ideal opportunity to leverage the Alliance's collective might and bring the Phoenix Clan into the fold!
It would be a monumental achievement!
"Forgive all past grievances? What staggering arrogance!" The Phoenix Clan Head sneered repeatedly, seeing through his scheme in an instant.
The Phoenix Clan Head was named Jiang Xi, a stunning, graceful woman draped in a noble phoenix robe. Regal and extraordinary, she bore a thirty-percent resemblance to Jiang Shishi.
The Phoenix Clan was a matriarchal race where female powerhouses predominated; by tradition, the clan head was always a woman.
"Your clan's prodigies were simply inferior in skill, yet you blame our Phoenix Clan instead?"
Without Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou's aid in the first trial and the inspiration drawn from their methods, how could Jiang Shishi have cleared the second floor and obtained the Phoenix Visualization Diagram?
That was a supreme visualization treasure left behind by their ancient ancestor. Jiang Shishi was exceptionally gifted to begin with; with this treasure to assist her, reaching the Tribulation Transcendence stage was practically guaranteed.
For this reason alone, the Phoenix Clan was determined to protect both of them!
The dispute had originally begun when elders of the Jiuying Clan rallied the Demon Clan Alliance to pressure the Phoenix Clan.
On the Phoenix Clan's side stood their Dragon Clan allies alongside several clans whose members had received Lu Yang's help within the realm, leaving them completely unintimidated by the Alliance.
Seeing this, the Jiuying Clan summoned their clan head, and refusing to back down, the Phoenix Clan called theirs as well.
Things had escalated to the point where the clan heads of every major race had arrived in person to back up their own kin.
"What's the situation with Little Junior Brother? Three days have passed, and he still hasn't come out?" Third Senior Sister whispered to Meng Jingzhou.
If anything happened to her little junior brother inside the mystic realm, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life.
Meng Jingzhou showed a helpless smile. "Senior Sister, leaving aside the realm's rule forbidding us from disclosing what goes on inside—meaning I couldn't tell you even if I wanted to—the honest truth is, I haven't the foggiest idea what that bastard Lu Yang is doing in there.
"You don't need to worry about him either, Senior Sister. Knowing him, he's probably perfectly safe inside—maybe living more comfortably than we are out here."
Meng Jingzhou knew that bastard's hidden cards better than anyone. Internally, he had an ancient immortal shielding him; externally, he had the Imitation Fist to summon Eldest Senior Sister. Cultivating both internal and external safeguards, what could possibly go wrong?
"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!"
A sinister look crossed the Jiuying Clan Head's face. Over half of the demon races had already joined the Demon Empire, making Ancient Dijiang's unification of the Demon Domain a foregone conclusion. The Dragon and Phoenix Clans failed to see the writing on the wall and dared to put up stubborn resistance. He had kindly advised them to throw in their lot with the Demon Empire early, only to be met with such insolence.
They truly had no idea how to spell the word 'death'!
"Haha, quite lively here, isn't it?"
A hearty laugh drifted down from the heavens as forces from outside the Demon Domain arrived on the scene!
"Well, if it isn't the nine-headed serpent! Remember when I locked you in a mystic realm for five whole years? Ring any bells? It's been over a thousand years since we last met, hasn't it?
"And that fellow from the Taowu Clan—what was your name again? Remember me? I beat you up once!"
Meng Jingzhou found the voice strikingly familiar. He looked up—Master.
The Third Elder sat atop a cloud, cheerfully reciting the embarrassing pasts of the Jiuying Clan Head and the other demons.
Alongside the Third Elder were the Grand Elder, Fourth Elder, Fifth Elder, and Seventh Elder.
More than half of the Dao Seeking Sect's elders had arrived at the Ancient Realm of Good Fortune.
"They're finally here." Third Senior Sister breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that the confrontation threatened to boil over, she had contacted Eldest Senior Sister to ask what to do.
Eldest Senior Sister's reply had been brief: *I will send people over to draw their attention.*
As it happened, the Demon Empire's founding ceremony was fast approaching, and major factions across the cultivation world were sending delegations. The Dao Seeking Sect was no exception, so Eldest Senior Sister instructed the elders attending the founding ceremony to help Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.
"The Dao Seeking Sect!"
Recognizing those familiar faces, the Jiuying Clan Head turned purple with rage. His features contorted, and with a thunderous boom, he shifted into his true Jiuying form—a colossal entity composed of nine Heaven-Swallowing serpents.
The events of a thousand years ago were still burned into his memory. If not for these bastards, how could he have ended up trapped inside a mystic realm for five long years?!
It had nearly derailed his cultivation entirely!
The Taowu Clan Head was equally beside himself with fury. A millennium ago, he had been riding high, a prodigy idolized by everyone in his clan. Right when his fame was at its peak, this bunch from the Dao Seeking Sect had privately challenged him to a duel.
If they had used dirty tricks to beat him, that would have been one thing. But it had been a completely fair fight, and simply outmatched, he had lost to the Dao Seeking Sect's Third Elder in sheer physical might and resilience!
He had considered the matter a humiliating disgrace and kept it hidden from everyone, wallowing in despair for years afterward.
Now that the Third Elder had dredged it up and aired it in broad daylight, how could he possibly bear it?!
And not just those two clans—even the usually gentle Jade Rabbit Clan bared their teeth with hostility the moment they laid eyes on the Dao Seeking Sect elders.
"It's the Dao Seeking Sect! Get them, all together!"
Seeing the Dao Seeking Sect shamelessly airing their dirty laundry one incident after another, the demons cast aside all poise and decorum. No one cared about the Demon Clan Alliance anymore; all they wanted was to swarm forward and tear them apart!
Great demons revealed their true forms one after another. Demonic silhouettes surged wildly across the sky as boundless demonic qi soared into the clouds.
Seeing that their objective had been accomplished, the Grand Elder quickly grabbed the others and bolted.
"Stop right there if you have the guts!" the Jiuying Clan Head bellowed, giving chase with all his might. Why would the Grand Elder listen to his bluster? Riding the clouds and mist, the elders fled at top speed!
The once-bustling entrance of the Ancient Realm of Good Fortune instantly turned completely deserted, leaving only Third Senior Sister and Meng Jingzhou staring blankly at each other.
Even the Phoenix Clan had chased after them.
Although the Phoenix Clan harbored no deep grudge against the Dao Seeking Sect, failing to join the pursuit right now would have made them look terribly out of place.
Meng Jingzhou's mouth twitched. *Thank goodness I kept a low profile in the Demon Domain and never exposed my identity as a Dao Seeking Sect disciple. What would have happened if I'd been found out?*
"Haha, I'm out!"
The exit of the Ancient Realm of Good Fortune swung open, and Lu Yang hopped out, eagerly expecting a warm welcome.
"Where is everybody?"
Chapter 600