A Terrified Zhu Tian

The moment the words slipped out, Zhu Tian felt his life hanging by a thread, swaying at the whims of fate. Jiang Lianyi gave Zhu Tian a cold look, but did not strike. There was nothing to be done about it. Worried that Zhu Tian might lie, she had secretly used the power of her rudimentary Dao fruit to command him not to conceal anything and to blurt out whatever crossed his mind. Mending the fold before it was too late, Zhu Tian hurriedly said, "What I meant was, I assumed Immortal Kirin had died long ago." The moment he said that, Zhu Tian wished he could slap himself across the face twice. In the past, he had always weighed every word with great care. Why was he acting like this today, letting everything spill out without thinking? Jiang Lianyi: "..." It seemed forcing someone to tell the truth had its drawbacks as well. Never mind. From the looks of it, let alone possessing clues about her husband, Zhu Tian didn't even know whether her husband was dead or alive. Once Zhu Tian calmed down, cold sweat soaked his back, and his hands and feet turned icy. Jiang Lianyi's question meant Immortal Kirin was definitely still alive. The fact that he hadn't felt the suppression of a superior Dao fruit was simply because his own cultivation was lacking. Immortal Kirin was still alive, and he had actually attacked Jiang Lianyi! This... Zhu Tian dared not imagine the consequences. If he ran into Immortal Kirin, even having nine lives wouldn't save him! "Do you know Elder Sister Immortal?" "Who?" Zhu Tian looked completely bewildered. He had never heard the name before. "Me." Immortal Fairy showed her face openly, emerging from Lu Yang's body. In any case, Zhu Tian was branded with a master-servant imprint and couldn't leak her identity. The moment Zhu Tian saw Immortal Fairy, his hair stood on end. Thinking he was hallucinating, he shot to his feet, his voice completely out of control. "An immortal!!" He had lived through the reign of the Four Ancient Celestials and frequently attended lectures given by immortals, so he was more than familiar with them. This bottomless, unfathomable strength—she was an immortal beyond any doubt! There was actually an immortal hiding inside this Young Cult Master Lu! Recalling the matter of the ancient Heavenly Court, could this immortal be none other than Dou Tianzun, Master of the Heavenly Court and the fifth celestial of ancient times? No wonder Young Cult Master Lu hadn't been controlled by the Dijiang Order! Earlier, he had thought Jiang Lianyi intercepted it, but looking back now, it was probably this immortal who intervened. Zhu Tian suddenly realized that although he was an ancient grand demon, he knew far too little about ancient affairs, much like a frog at the bottom of a well. Everything he knew merely scratched the surface. "Well, looks like another one who doesn't know who I am." Immortal Fairy curled her lip, not particularly surprised. Jiang Lianyi had been closest to her and was exceptionally powerful among half-immortals, yet even she couldn't remember her. Someone like Zhu Tian had even less chance of remembering. Showing quick wits, Zhu Tian brought out a fourth imperial throne for Immortal Fairy to sit on. The four of them sat in a circle and continued chatting, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of country folk gossiping. "Tell us, why did you think to enter deep slumber in the first place, and why choose this era to revive?" "This matter starts with the world-destroying battle fought by the Four Ancient Celestials. Though to this day, no one knows who their opponent was..." As Zhu Tian spoke, the look in his eyes when he glanced at Immortal Fairy turned strange, growing even more panic-stricken than before. Master of the Heavenly Court, the hidden fifth immortal, enemy of the Four Ancient Celestials... Could the opponent the Four Ancient Celestials fought back then be this very mighty figure? Immortal Fairy glared at him. "Don't look at me! Keep talking." "Oh, right, right." Zhu Tian hurriedly calmed his trembling heart, feeling as if he had just skirted the edge between life and death. Immortal Kirin could kill him as easily as lifting a finger, yet this Master of the Heavenly Court had fought fiercely against all four ancient celestials, meaning her strength was likely above Immortal Kirin's. If it had been this figure who took action on the Altar of Heaven earlier... Zhu Tian shuddered. Seeing that Young Cult Master Lu had an excellent relationship with the Master of the Heavenly Court, if he couldn't curry favor with the Master of the Heavenly Court, getting on Young Cult Master Lu's good side would be the next best way to save his own neck. Zhu Tian continued, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, you witnessed that battle as well, right? That was a realm we half-immortals could never hope to reach. The gulf between us was insurmountable, utterly despair-inducing..." Jiang Lianyi corrected him, "I did not despair." "...Utterly despair-inducing for me. "I thought to myself back then: nothing in this world is eternal, and the Four Ancient Celestials could not rule forever. Since I couldn't shine in the era of the Four Ancient Celestials, why shouldn't I enter deep slumber and reawaken when there are no immortals left in the world—ideally, no half-immortals either? "The more I thought about it, the better the plan seemed. Soon, I gathered a hoard of natural treasures suited for slumber, sealed myself in a coffin, and buried myself beneath the earth. "I left instructions for my descendants to revive me in an immortal-less era. "This became an absolute secret that only successive patriarchs of the Dijiang Clan had the right to know, handed down generation after generation. "A little over two hundred years ago, my descendants awakened me. "I looked around and thought, hey, what a wonderful era this is! Half-immortals are invincible! "So I spent two hundred years recovering my strength while laying the groundwork to establish the Demon Empire. And then, the very morning the empire was founded, you two came storming in." Seeing that Zhu Tian truly knew nothing of value, Jiang Lianyi stopped wasting time and prepared to leave. "As I said before, the Phoenix Clan will join the Demon Empire. With the Demon Domain united, focus your efforts on governing the Demon Empire. I will be watching you at all times." In ancient times, immortals had ruled over thousands or tens of thousands of stars bearing life, while half-immortals were somewhat lesser, ruling over a few hundred. Immortal Fairy had been an exception, having ruled only one. Zhu Tian possessed experience in governance. Leaving the Demon City Imperial Palace, Immortal Fairy slipped back into Lu Yang's body. "Where are we going next?" "To the Phoenix Clan." ... The Qiongqi Clan. A petite figure studied the shadow-recording sphere that Clan Head Jin had bought at great expense, her expression grave. A battle between two half-immortals was well worth studying repeatedly. "It really is Jiang Lianyi, and at the peak of her power, no less." The petite figure clicked her tongue. She had assumed Jiang Lianyi had only just awakened and was far from her peak, but watching the recording, her movements were bold and sweeping without the slightest restraint, dealing with Zhu Tian without even revealing her trump cards. "Could A-Shi have given her something good?" "Little Ancestor, what is our next step...?" Clan Head Jin asked tremblingly from the side. "We join the Demon Empire first. Even if the shadow-recording sphere doesn't show it, knowing Jiang Lianyi's character, she definitely branded Zhu Tian with a master-servant imprint. In name, the Demon Empire belongs to Zhu Tian, but in reality, it's Jiang Lianyi's. "With Jiang Lianyi around, the unification of the Demon Domain is a foregone conclusion. For our Qiongqi Clan to keep refusing to join makes no sense. We might as well take the initiative to join the Demon Empire now while we can still retain some leverage." The petite figure had clashed endlessly with Jiang Lianyi in the ancient era; she knew Jiang Lianyi's temperament better than anyone. Taking advantage of the billowing smoke to conceal the branding of a master-servant imprint might fool outsiders, but it could never fool her. "This 'Heavenly Court'... I never heard A-Shi mention it." Seeing that there was nothing more to glean from the half-immortal battle, the petite figure tossed the shadow-recording sphere behind her to Clan Head Jin. "Keep this shadow-recording sphere or destroy it, it makes no difference to me. Just make sure no outsiders see it." Clan Head Jin was puzzled. "Is it because a battle between half-immortals is of monumental significance and cannot be spread lightly?" "No, it's because the Baxia Clan jacked up the price, and the embarrassing scene of you buying the shadow-recording sphere anyway was recorded on it." "Oh."