“Since Senior has no objections, this junior will surely meet Senior in the city on time. Additionally, my real name is Xu Qianyu. Senior may address me directly by my true name from now on. In Senior’s presence, this junior would never dare to refer to myself as a ‘Fairy.'” Xu Qianyu bowed her head slightly and spoke respectfully.
“Haha, Fellow Daoist Qianyu, there’s no need to be so reserved.” Han Li was momentarily taken aback but immediately chuckled and shook his head.
After that, the woman did not linger any longer in Han Li’s presence and soon took her leave.
Although the cave residence was near Tianyuan City, the round trip would still consume a considerable amount of time. Fairy Qianyu dared not delay excessively.
Han Li, on the other hand, made another trip to the residence of the Confucian scholar and the others. After removing the materials he had already acquired, he handed a new list to the four of them.
Subsequently, he obediently returned to the Gathering Immortals Pavilion and did not step out of the building again.
Almost simultaneously, in a mysterious hall within Tianyuan City, five or six cultivators had gathered to discuss an extremely confidential matter.
“So, there’s absolutely no possibility of this person joining Tianyuan City?” A white-robed elder with silver hair and a youthful face frowned as he spoke.
“Elder Gu, this old monk has done his best. However, Fellow Daoist Han is a devoted ascetic solely focused on pursuing the Heavenly Dao, with no intention of joining any other faction.” Another elderly monk draped in golden kasaya sighed in response.
This was none other than the Golden Zen Master!
Both the white-robed elder and the others exuded extraordinary auras, clearly all being at the same Body Integration stage as the Golden Zen Master.
These individuals were naturally several members of Tianyuan City’s Elder Council.
“If that’s the case, doesn’t this mean our city’s strength is significantly diminished? The Elder Council has never been able to replenish its full complement of ten members. During the war against the foreign races, our council not only had all ten members but also had Fellow Daoist Yinguang, a reserve elder unknown to outsiders. With Tianyuan City in its current state, if the demonic calamity truly arrives and the demonic races target our city as a focal point of attack, wouldn’t that be disastrous? Such events have happened before.” A large man with a pale golden complexion, clad in a black leather robe, spoke coldly.
“It’s futile. Neither the Tyrant Emperor, the Sacred Emperor, nor the seven great demon kings of your demon race will release their Body Integration cultivators to join Tianyuan City. Everyone knows the descent of the Demon Realm is inevitable—perhaps within the next millennium. They are all consolidating their forces to ensure their own survival. After all, during the last demonic calamity, though it lasted only a little over a hundred years, nearly half of the previous generation’s Three Emperors and Seven Demon Kings perished. Naturally, they don’t wish to meet the same fate.” The Golden Zen Master replied helplessly.
“Fellow Daoist Golden Zen, can you confirm that the Demon Realm will truly merge with the Spirit Realm again within a thousand years?” A woman with raven-black hair and a silver mask suddenly spoke, her voice exceptionally melodious.
“Absolutely certain. Not only has the Sacred Island issued a warning, but Senior Mo Jianli also personally ventured into the Demon Realm using the Star Plate. There, he found the ancient demons making large-scale preparations for war, seemingly readying to invade our Spirit Realm. Unfortunately, before Senior Mo could investigate further, he was discovered by a Demon Ancestor and forced to return to the Spirit Realm. Given these circumstances, the Demon Realm’s descent may occur within a few hundred years, not even requiring a full millennium. The entire region inhabited by our human and demon races, along with several nearby races, is one of the areas where the Demon Realm will merge. A great calamity is unavoidable.” The Golden Zen Master’s eyes flickered with a cold light as he spoke grimly.
“If the Sacred Island and Senior Mo say so, then it must be true. In that case, the Three Emperors, Seven Demon Kings, and other major factions must have also received this news. That’s why they refuse to replenish our Elder Council.” The white-robed elder stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes as he asked.
“That must be the case. Since the wood and yaksha races will also be within the affected area during the demonic calamity, they will likewise conserve their strength and certainly won’t attack our two races. Under such circumstances, they naturally don’t wish to weaken their own forces needlessly, preferring to preserve them for self-defense. After all, the protective barriers of our two races are ineffective against the Demon Realm’s descent. The establishment of the Three Emperors and Seven Regions was originally intended to cope with the demonic calamity that occurs every tens of thousands of years. In truth, since the last foreign race siege, not only has our city failed to recruit any new Body Integration elders, but even Void Refinement and Spirit Transformation guards have not been replenished in significant numbers. The current personnel are those we elders have personally recruited.” The masked woman spoke calmly.
“Our Tianyuan City already suffered considerable losses during the previous foreign race siege. Without reinforcements, in the impending demonic calamity, we will only be able to defend ourselves, unable to take the initiative to hunt down the demons as we did during the last calamity.” A young woman with hair like purple flames suddenly frowned and spoke.
“There’s nothing to be done. The terror of the demonic calamity is, for us cultivators, a true catastrophe. Fortunately, these demons have no interest in ordinary humans without spiritual power, only plundering the Spirit Realm’s resources and slaughtering us cultivators. They rarely massacre ordinary mortals or beasts. Otherwise, with such a calamity occurring every few tens of thousands of years, our human and demon races might have long been erased from the Spirit Realm.” The white-robed elder said with a grim expression.
“Hmph, it’s not out of the demons’ kindness. They likely leave ordinary humans and beasts like livestock, allowing new cultivators to emerge among them, so they can slaughter them again during the next calamity. After all, accomplished cultivators like us—whether our demon cores or our souls and Nascent Souls—are the finest nourishment for the demons.” The Golden Zen Master spoke slowly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
“Moreover, there are resources our two races cannot abandon. Otherwise, we could simply fortify a single location and endure until the Demon Realm separates from the Spirit Realm, preserving much of our strength.” The purple-haired young woman said helplessly.
“Since other factions have their own plans for this demonic calamity, Tianyuan City cannot force anything. We can only focus on self-preservation. From today onward, lift the restrictions on the city’s subsidiary towns. Begin large-scale relocation of nearby ordinary humans into these towns. Additionally, dispatch a group of cultivators proficient in earth-attribute techniques to construct several empty towns. The most we can do is shelter ordinary humans in nearby regions.” The white-robed elder lightly tapped the armrest of his chair, his eyes gleaming as he spoke.
“Though the demonic calamity is still some time away, preparing early is prudent. While we have our arrays and restrictions to rely on, it would be best to recruit more high-level guards. After all, the hardest part of this calamity will be surviving the initial waves of fierce attacks. If we can withstand those, the demons likely won’t fight to the death, and a stalemate may ensue. Fellow Daoist Bao, it’s unlikely our human race will produce any new Body Integration cultivators in the next few centuries. However, I’ve heard that someone among your demon race is attempting to break through to the Body Integration stage. I’ll trouble you to keep an eye on this matter.” The white-robed elder suddenly turned to the pale-golden-complexioned man.
“No problem. Among the demon race’s royal clans, there are indeed a few exceptionally talented juniors with a good chance of advancing to Body Integration.” The golden-faced man nodded solemnly.
“Speaking of our demon race counterparts, Fellow Daoist Yinguang, there’s something I’m unsure whether to ask.” The white-robed elder hesitated before addressing the masked woman.
“Brother Gu and I have known each other for so many years. What couldn’t you ask?” The masked woman seemed puzzled.
“Since you say so, I’ll speak plainly. May I ask if Senior Ao Xiao of your race is still well?” The white-robed elder gazed at the woman and asked slowly.
“Oh, is that all? So Brother Gu is concerned about Patriarch Ao Xiao. However, I’m not the only demon elder here. Why ask me specifically?” The masked woman was momentarily surprised but then glanced at the black-robed man and chuckled.
“Fairy Yinguang, why feign ignorance? Though you are not of the Silvermoon Wolf Clan, you possess part of their bloodline and once studied under Patriarch Ao Xiao for a thousand years. If anyone knows about his current condition, it would naturally be you.” The black-robed man raised his brows slightly and spoke indifferently.
“Fellow Daoist Yan speaks true. To be frank, Fellow Daoist Yinguang, since Patriarch Ao Xiao was last seen at Giant Cloud Mountain over three thousand years ago, there have been no further traces of him. With the demonic calamity approaching, as one of the two Great Ascension beings of our human and demon races, it’s only natural we feel some anxiety.” The white-robed elder asked gravely.
Hearing his words, the others also fixed their gazes on the masked woman, clearly equally concerned.
The masked woman’s beautiful eyes flickered with hesitation before she finally replied helplessly after a long pause.
“I understand your concerns. Indeed, since our human and demon races established themselves in the Spirit Realm, few have survived more than twenty Heavenly Tribulations. When Patriarch Ao Xiao faced his twenty-first tribulation years ago, many were deeply worried. After all, it is only with Patriarch Ao Xiao and Senior Mo as our pillars that our two races have enjoyed true stability these years. Rest assured, Patriarch Ao Xiao did not perish in the last Heavenly Tribulation. However, the tribulation did drain some of his vitality, which is why he has remained in seclusion.”
“Is this true?!” The black-robed man’s face lit up with joy.
As a fellow demon elder, he was naturally more concerned about the well-being of their Great Ascension patriarch than the white-robed elder and the others.
The white-robed elder and the old monk also visibly relaxed.
“Several hundred years ago, I met Fairy Linglong, who has been by the patriarch’s side all these years. She said the patriarch is recovering smoothly and should soon emerge from seclusion with his full power restored.” The masked woman affirmed.
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