Fifty kilometers away, the ink-black clouds had grown so thick they seemed tangible, pressing heavily upon the churning waters of Cloud Lake.
Within the cloud layer, serpents of lightning danced wildly.
The muffled thunder gradually intensified, transforming into an endless, rolling roar.
The heavenly might caused the spectators fifty kilometers away to feel their hearts pound and their breath catch.
"It is coming!"
On the city wall, a white-bearded old man exclaimed in a trembling voice.
Before his words could fade—
Crack!
A blindingly bright, searing white bolt of lightning tore through the pitch-black sky.
"Roar—!"
An agonized dragon roar instantly echoed throughout heaven and earth, overpowering the thunder.
The lightning erupted, scattering countless deep blue scales mixed with faint golden dragon blood, raining down in a violent shower.
Moyue's massive body convulsed and thrashed violently, churning the sea of clouds into total chaos.
The blood, containing pure demonic power and life essence, dripped into Cloud Lake.
The lake water surprisingly shimmered with spiritual light, blooming into a bizarre expanse of gold and blue.
Who knew what kind of monsters it would nourish in the future.
The tribulation lightning did not cease.
Before the first bolt dissipated, a second and third crashed down in rapid succession!
Each flash of lightning was thicker and more brutal than the last.
Moyue's scales were charred black and peeled back, his flesh mangled as pale gold blood flowed like a waterfall.
He roared, using his formidable demonic body to forcibly withstand the heavenly might. He tore with his claws and swept with his tail, stirring up curtains of water and shattering the lightning, yet he was still struck until his bones groaned, his aura withering at a visible rate.
After forcefully enduring seven bolts of tribulation lightning in this manner, Moyue was covered in wounds. His dragon eyes dimmed, and even his hovering form appeared unsteady.
When the eighth terrifying heavenly thunderbolt, resembling a lightning dragon with doubly multiplied power, crashed down, he finally reached his limit.
Hanging by a hair, Moyue forcefully opened his jaws, spitting out a streak of black light!
It was an ancient buckler that rapidly expanded in the wind the moment it appeared, transforming to over ten meters in diameter. Nine profound patterns emerged on the shield's surface, interconnecting to emit a bizarre force field capable of neutralizing the five elements.
This was none other than the Origin Magnetism Shield lent to him by Xu Chuan!
Boom—!
The eighth tribulation lightning struck viciously against the Origin Magnetism Shield!
Blinding lightning exploded, but the nine patterns on the shield circulated rapidly, forcefully twisting, dispersing, and absorbing the majority of that incomparably violent electrical power.
The residual power transmitted through the shield into Moyue's body. Although it still caused him to shudder violently and vomit fresh blood, it was no longer a fatal blow.
The ninth bolt was also the final tribulation lightning.
After the tribulation clouds brewed to their absolute peak, it transformed into a nearly pure purple beam of lightning. Although only as thick as a child's arm, it was condensed to the extreme and descended silently.
Its might was restrained, its speed unmatched, striking directly at the crown of Moyue's head!
Moyue gathered his remaining demonic power and roared at the sky as the Origin Magnetism Shield burst with brilliance, rushing up to meet it head-on!
A silent sphere of annihilating light expanded over Cloud Lake, instantly stripping away all sound and color.
Every spectator fifty kilometers away felt a stinging pain in their eyes, their souls trembling.
As that destructive halo slowly dissipated, the ink-black tribulation clouds rapidly retreated as well.
In the next moment, a sudden celestial phenomenon occurred in the world!
The spiritual qi within a radius of hundreds of kilometers gathered madly above Cloud Lake, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea, forming a massive, visible spiritual qi vortex.
Five-colored rays of light danced across the sky, accompanied by faint, ethereal music and wafting, exotic fragrances.
At the center of the vortex, Moyue's battered and broken dragon body was regenerating and expanding at an astonishing rate!
The scorched black flesh flaked away, revealing newly grown scales that were a deeper, darker blue, nearly black, with a metallic luster flowing along their edges.
His torso lengthened section by section—two hundred meters, two hundred and sixty meters, three hundred and thirty meters... finally settling at over four hundred meters!
A towering dragon body, majestic as a mountain, coiled in the sky.
Although scars remained, he emanated a boundless demonic power far more vast, pure, and dignified than before.
His soul and essence, having been cleansed by the heavenly thunder, underwent a qualitative transformation, faintly circulating with profound Dao Rhyme.
"It... it succeeded!"
North of Cloudstream City, countless cultivators stared dumbfounded before erupting into a tidal wave of shocked gasps and horror.
"What a terrifying pressure! Is that the pressure of a Tier 4 Great Demon? It feels even more terrifying than a Nascent Soul Ancestor!"
Ordinary pressure would naturally not be like this.
However, Moyue's True Dragon bloodline had reached a certain level, allowing him to unleash True Dragon Pressure.
Before their awe could subside, fear drenched them like a bucket of ice water.
Many cultivators' expressions changed drastically. "Wait, it just transcended its tribulation! It won't look for blood food to replenish itself, will it?!"
"The City Protection Great Formation absolutely cannot withstand a single strike from a Tier 4 Shapeshifting Great Demon!"
"Hurry, go report to the City Lord's Mansion!"
Just as panic set in, no one noticed a faint, barely visible green light streaking across the fifty-kilometer expanse of the sky in an instant.
It quietly appeared in Moyue's vicinity.
This person was none other than Xu Chuan.
Heavenly tribulation represented destruction, but after destruction came rebirth.
Xu Chuan had created the Origin Life and Death Seal and comprehended the Intent of Life and Death. His Seal of Death was already fully formed and solidified; he was only missing the Seal of Life.
Now was the perfect opportunity to condense the Seal of Life.
Sitting cross-legged in the void, Xu Chuan emitted not a shred of mana fluctuation, yet he seemed to merge completely with the heaven and earth that had just been baptized by the tribulation.
His hands formed profound seals. Wisps of strange life force left behind by the tribulation—containing both destruction and rebirth—were drawn from the void, from the lake water, and from the edges of Moyue's newborn shell by an invisible force.
Thread by thread, they converged into the profound, white Seal of Life hovering before him.
Life force permeated the surroundings.
The Seal of Life was visibly transforming from an illusion into reality.
With the dragon's pressure acting as a deterrent, no cultivator dared to approach. And from fifty kilometers away, unless one was at the Golden Core stage, it was impossible to observe Xu Chuan's situation.
Two hours later.
Above Cloud Lake.
Xu Chuan slowly opened his eyes.
The Seal of Life, formed from countless strands of life force, had thoroughly solidified before him.
A moment later, it trembled slightly, and the Seal of Death flew out from his dantian.
Life and death, the two Dao seals met mid-air.
The pristine white and the abyssal dark light blended together perfectly, intertwining, permeating, and restructuring one another.
The energies of life and death did not simply stack; instead, guided by a certain Dao Rhyme, they evolved into a more fundamental form.
As the light gradually faded, a quaint seal roughly three inches square, made of neither metal nor jade, floated quietly above Xu Chuan's palm.
The seal was distinctly black and white, yet not sharply divided.
Profound Dao patterns naturally surfaced on the body of the seal as if formed by nature, exuding an indescribable and wondrous Intent of Life and Death that diffused in all directions.
This seal was condensed from Xu Chuan's Divine Ability. By absorbing endless life force and death aura, it had been transformed into a Magic Treasure.
The intents of life and death could both strike the physical body and cut down the soul, all depending on a single thought.
"Good for you, Xu Chuan, stealing my life force!"
Moyue spoke in a deep voice, his massive, dark gold vertical pupils standing as tall as a human.
A single breath of cold air from him could instantly form a freezing current.
Xu Chuan brushed his hand over his Storage Ring. A high-grade Pole Star Pill and a high-grade Bone Generation Pill flew out. With a flick of his finger, they accurately shot into the dragon's jaws.
He then stated, "These two pills will restore your physical body and soul to their peak condition."
"That's more like it."
Moyue's body rapidly shrank until he was roughly fifteen to twenty meters in size.
Seven and a half minutes later.
"Xu Chuan, I have fully recovered. Right now, within Heavenly Azure Prefecture, I reign supreme! Mwahaha!" The smug arrogance in Moyue's eyes was impossible to hide.
"If any blind fool dares to provoke our Xu Family, I'll go pay them a visit!"
Hearing this, Xu Chuan simply chuckled.
His expression remained as calm as ever.
It was as if the entity before him wasn't a newly ascended, overwhelmingly ferocious Shapeshifting Great Demon, but still the same flood dragon that used to coil up in his courtyard.
He glanced up at the sky and said, "Alright, since you're itching for a fight, then go cross blows with cultivators of the same realm.
With matters here settled, we should head to Grand Harmony Lake and take a look at that Connate Secret Realm."
"Exactly my thoughts! I'll give you a ride!"
With that said, he raised his head and let out a short, joyous dragon roar. His figure exploded in size against the wind!
In an instant, he morphed back into a massive dragon stretching over three hundred meters. His scales were a deep, dark blue, edges gleaming with dark gold. The four claws beneath his belly flashed with chilling light. Just coiling there, he resembled a floating mountain, his demonic pressure peerless.
Xu Chuan lightly flicked his sleeve. His figure rose like a drifting leaf, landing steadily atop the massive dragon's head. His feet were planted perfectly between the two coral-like jade horns, surrounded by the energies of water and thunder.
He stood with his hands behind his back, his azure robes entirely unruffled by the howling winds.
"Let's go."
"Roar—!!!"
A heaven-shaking dragon roar rang out once more. This time, it was unrestrained, its sound echoing for fifty kilometers, rolling like thunder straight into the clouds!
Moyue swung his colossal body, churning the winds and clouds as he transformed into a streak of deep blue light, tearing across the horizon toward Grand Harmony Lake at blistering speed!
Wherever they passed, the clouds parted, and the mountains and rivers below rapidly blurred backwards.
Cloudstream City, North Gate.
The sky-shattering roar echoed yet again before the previous shock had fully subsided. Though distant, the supreme demonic might and jubilation contained within it still made the countless cultivators upon the city walls freeze.
Many instinctively shrank their necks, their faces turning pale.
"It... it left?!"
An Early Foundation Establishment middle-aged cultivator wiped cold sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh, his voice still trembling. "It finally left! That dragon roar just now made my very soul quake..."
"You're not the only one!"
An old cultivator at the peak of Foundation Establishment nearby had lingering fear in his eyes as he gazed at the swiftly vanishing streak of blue light on the horizon. "I've lived for nearly two centuries, and I've never seen such a sight!"
"However, that Great Demon left immediately after transcending its tribulation without showing the slightest intent to attack Cloudstream City. Could it be friendly toward humans?"
"Friendly toward humans? Highly unlikely." The first middle-aged cultivator smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Which immortal cultivator wouldn't instantly start a fight upon seeing a demonic beast?
Even if we didn't strike, a demonic beast would definitely want to devour us.
After all, our flesh and souls are supreme delicacies to the demonic beast race!"
Hearing this, the crowd fell silent. Amidst their lingering fear, an indescribable, complex emotion welled up inside them.
The skies over Cloudstream City returned to their usual tranquility.
The crowd gradually dispersed, making their way back into the city.
Though they missed out on the Connate Secret Realm, witnessing a Shapeshifting Great Demon transcend its tribulation today was likely enough material to boast about to their descendants.
The deep blue streak tore across tall mountains and wide rivers.
In less than four hours, the misty, vast expanse of Grand Harmony Lake came into view in the distance.
Above the center of Grand Harmony Lake, Qi Tianxiong, Xi Daoyun, and Mo Wentian, who were sitting cross-legged in a triangle mid-air, sensed this terrifying demonic pressure approaching. They immediately stood up, frowning as they turned toward the horizon.
A moment later.
The streak of blue light tore through the clouds, descending above Grand Harmony Lake while carrying a monstrous demonic pressure.
The massive dragon body coiled high in the sky, casting a hellish shadow. The chilling demonic qi stirred the spiritual qi at the lake's center, causing the waves to surge backward.
Qi Tianxiong stood tall, narrowing his eyes with flashes of black light in his pupils. Gazing at the gigantic monster above, he said in a deep voice, "A Tier 4 Shapeshifting Great Demon... May I know your name? You've come uninvited. What is your business here?"
Just as the three of them were on high alert, a calm voice leisurely echoed from atop the giant dragon's head, right where the demonic qi was thickest. "Sect Master Qi, it has been a while.
The Connate Secret Realm has appeared. For such a grand event, my Xu Family naturally has to partake."
Upon hearing this voice, all three men froze.
The blood-red glint in Qi Tianxiong's eyes flickered as he tried to recall the source of that familiar voice.
Xi Daoyun raised his white eyebrows, shock and suspicion flashing in his eyes—
This voice... It was clearly...
Without waiting to think further, the three figures instinctively levitated higher. Their Nascent Soul divine senses forcibly pierced through the dense demonic qi barrier, finally catching sight of the scene atop the giant dragon's head—
Robes fluttering, hands resting casually behind his back. If it wasn't Xu Chuan, who else could it be?
"Xu Chuan?!"
Mo Wentian blurted out, his white beard trembling, his face full of disbelief.
'He actually tamed a Shapeshifting Great Demon?! How is that possible?!' He was terrified. He had guessed the Xu Family had a trump card, but he assumed it was Xu Chuan's own transcendent combat strength allowing him to barely fight a Nascent Soul cultivator.
'If the Xu Family had such a trump card, why didn't they reveal it earlier?!'
Doubts bubbled up once more in Mo Wentian's mind.
Given the Xu Family's constant production of prodigies, if they had Nascent Soul combat strength, Mo Wentian would absolutely never have participated in the competition to rule Heavenly Azure Prefecture.
It was precisely because Heavenly Azure Sect was severely weakened, Xi Daoyun's soul injuries were difficult to heal, and no other factions had a Nascent Soul expert holding the fort, that he felt this was a once-in-a-century opportunity for the Mo Family.
'The Xu Family...'
Xi Daoyun remained silent, his heart heavy. He couldn't help but feel that Heavenly Azure Sect had reached the end of the line.
Qi Tianxiong's gaze was like lightning, darting back and forth between Xu Chuan and the unusually quiet colossal dragon. A trace of deep dread flickered across his sinister face.
After a short pause, he demanded, "Xu Chuan, what is your relationship with this Shapeshifting Great Demon?"
Moyue's booming voice spoke up, kicking up fierce winds and massive waves. "My name is Moyue. I am the Grand Elder of the Xu Family! Do you have a problem with that?
Why don't we exchange blows and see?!"
Looking down from above, Xu Chuan's gaze calmly swept across the three men with their varying expressions. He paused slightly on Xi Daoyun's pale face, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepening.
"Senior Xi, your injuries have yet to heal. Why didn't you rest more instead of traveling thousands of miles to Grand Harmony Lake?"
"Hmph, am I not allowed to come?"
"Naturally you are, but I was afraid that if you accidentally fell in battle out here, the Heavenly Azure Sect would instantly collapse."
"Are you threatening me?"
"How would this junior dare?" Xu Chuan chuckled faintly.
"Senior Mo, I hope you have been well." Xu Chuan then turned to Mo Wentian.
A bitter smile touched Mo Wentian's lips as he nodded. "I trust Daoist Friend Xu has been well too."
"Moyue, cease your arrogance! Let this Sect Master witness the strength of a Shapeshifting Great Demon!"
Xu Chuan bringing a Tier 4 Shapeshifting Great Demon here was clearly to grab a share of the pie. Naturally, whichever side had greater strength would obtain a larger say in matters.
Qi Tianxiong and Moyue flew high into the sky to battle. Xu Chuan did not intervene, allowing Moyue to fight without restraint.
After all, the dragon had been stifled for far, far too long!
He had been sealed away for thousands of years until he was nearing the limit of his lifespan.
Only by forming a Spiritual Contract with a minor Early Foundation Establishment cultivator was he able to escape, but his strength had plummeted, dropping him all the way down to Tier 2.
Although, with Xu Chuan's help, he had climbed step by step back to his peak.
But the limit of his lifespan was always like a sharp sword hanging over his head. Unless absolutely necessary, Xu Chuan strictly forbade him from fighting at full strength.
For the naturally belligerent flood dragon race, this was incredibly frustrating.
Now that he had stepped into the Tier 4 Shapeshifting Stage, his lifespan had skyrocketed. He could finally roam freely through heaven and earth. Naturally, Xu Chuan would let him vent properly.
"Daoist Friend Xu, you hid this trump card incredibly well!"
Mo Wentian sighed endlessly, his gaze extremely complicated. "With Daoist Friend Moyue making his appearance, the entire situation in Heavenly Azure Prefecture will change."
"Among the eight prefectures, Heavenly Azure Prefecture has sat at the bottom for far too long. A change is natural.
Without a new sense of vigor, the next time the Greedy Wolf Sect comes knocking... Senior Mo, Senior Xi, do you think Heavenly Azure Prefecture will be able to hold them off?"
Thinking of something, Xu Chuan chuckled. "However, the one who will have a headache by then will be you, Senior Mo."
Mo Wentian understood his underlying meaning and smiled lightly. "Is there not still your Xu Family?"
"If Heavenly Azure Prefecture truly lacks a future, whether the Xu Family stays here is still debatable. Perhaps we will move to develop in the more suitable Profound Moon Prefecture.
After all, my son took the Ancestor of Profound Moon as his master, and it seems he is highly valued."
Mo Wentian and Xi Daoyun both knitted their brows, carefully pondering the profound meaning behind Xu Chuan's words.
'Is this a warning not to stand in the Xu Family's way?'
'Otherwise, they'll just pull up stakes and abandon Heavenly Azure Prefecture altogether?!'
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several muffled explosions, sounding like heavy leather being struck, erupted from high above.
The few men looked up, only to see the cloudy sky seemingly torn in half by an invisible, mighty force.
Qi Tianxiong transformed into a startling streak of bloody light. His high-grade demonic saber pierced the heavens with killing intent. With a single slash, a blood-red saber beam hundreds of meters long ripped through the sky, accompanied by the shrieks of ten thousand vicious souls.
Before the blade even arrived, that tragic and domineering saber intent parted the lake surface below silently, kicking up muddy waves a hundred meters high.
Moyue coiled mid-air. Facing the immense blood-red saber beam, he neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, a blazing war intent ignited in his dark gold vertical pupils.
The dragon scales across his body suddenly burst with profound, ink-black light, completely unleashing the True Dragon Pressure rooted in his bloodline!
"Roar——!!"
A heaven-shaking dragon roar rang out. It wasn't purely a sound wave, but an ancient majesty that struck directly at the soul, towering over all living beings.
Xi Daoyun and Mo Wentian, watching the battle from afar, felt their seas of consciousness quake violently. It felt as if an invisible mountain was pressing down on them, slowing their mana circulation by a fraction.
Bearing the brunt of the attack, Qi Tianxiong felt as though his soul had suffered a heavy blow. Even that ferocious, peerless blood-red saber beam trembled slightly, its light dimming a little.
"It's actually a flood dragon that has awakened True Dragon Pressure. His inner True Dragon bloodline must have reached a significant level, right?"
Mo Wentian looked toward Xu Chuan and continued, "It seems Daoist Friend Qi will find it hard to secure a victory. Such dragon beasts with powerful bloodlines often possess the strength to fight above their level."
Xi Daoyun's gaze was solemn as well.
Even during his peak, facing such a Shapeshifting Great Demon—even if it was only at the early Shapeshifting Stage—he wouldn't dare provoke it lightly.
In that split second, Moyue suddenly thrust out a dragon claw!
Its toes were like sky-supporting pillars, entirely covered in incredibly dense, ink-blue scales. Metallic glints and freezing aura flowed along the edges. Without dodging or evading, he boldly grabbed at the blood-red saber beam!
Clang—!!!
A deafening clash of metal rang out across the world. An explosive, visible shockwave erupted from the point of impact, sweeping away all surrounding clouds.
The blood-red killing intent frantically corroded, attempting to rot the dragon claw. But blue light flowed over the surface of the scales, filling the air with extreme cold that actually froze and dispersed the filthy aura!
Qi Tianxiong's overbearing strike slashed into the palm of the dragon's claw, only to explode in a shower of blinding sparks. It left a rather deep white mark, but didn't completely break through the scales!
On the flip side, the extreme cold transmitting from the dragon claw instantly formed a thick layer of frost over his demonic qi shield.
"What?!"
Qi Tianxiong's heart violently convulsed. His aura clearly indicates he only recently achieved Shapeshifting?!
Before he could switch moves, Moyue's other dragon claw tore through the air, bringing with it a biting cold and colossal force as it smashed down from above!
Even before the claw's wind arrived, that extreme chill caused the blood in Qi Tianxiong's body to begin solidifying.
Qi Tianxiong roared in fury, his figure shifting like a phantom, leaving behind several solid afterimages.
His true body flickered to the side, and the demonic saber slashed again, turning into a sky-filling web of blood-red blades that enveloped all of Moyue's vital points.
At the same time, his left hand formed a seal. Boundless demonic qi surged forth, transforming into three ferocious, roaring pitch-black demonic wolves. This was his demonic qi shapeshifting divine ability, lunging and biting from tricky angles.
Moyue's massive body nimbly twisted amidst the siege of the blade web and demonic wolves. His deep blue scales served as his most sturdy fortress.
The bloody saber lights chopped down, ringing endlessly with clinking sounds. Sparks flew in all directions off the scales, leaving trail after trail of white marks, yet they still couldn't truly cut in.
The demonic wolves tore and bit, their fangs and claws scraping against the scales with a teeth-aching noise. The killing intent invaded, but failed to shake the root of his robust demonic power.
"Extreme Cold Dragon Breath!"
Seizing an opening, Moyue opened his giant mouth and spat out an ultra-condensed stream of deep blue freezing current. It instantly crossed the space, freezing even the spiritual qi in its path into crystal-like solids.
Qi Tianxiong hastily summoned his high-grade magic treasure, the Ghost Head Shield, to block in front of him.
Crackle!
The surface of the shield was instantly coated in thick, profound ice, its spiritual light rapidly dimming.
"Wicked beast!"
Unable to breach the defenses after so long, Qi Tianxiong was filled with shock and rage.
The blood light in his eyes exploded. Finally stopping holding back, his turbulent demonic qi poured into his demonic saber, unleashing an even more overbearing saber beam.
Moyue's giant vertical pupils shrank sharply. The scales across his body stood on end, and the blue light became unprecedentedly incandescent.
He surprisingly pushed his True Dragon bloodline to its current absolute limit. Faint, black dragon pattern phantoms surfaced around him, condensing into a shield of light to block the front.
The dark red saber light arrived!
The black dragon soul shield held out for a moment before finally shattering with a mournful wail.
The remnant blade light slashed onto Moyue's dragon body, but was ultimately stopped by his thick scales. Only a few of the dragon scales cracked open.
'Worthy of a Shapeshifting Great Demon rich in True Dragon bloodline!'
A wave of powerlessness arose in Qi Tianxiong's heart. He wished so badly that Demon Lord Tianluo was still around. With his divine abilities and methods, he could have definitely captured this Shapeshifting Stage dragon directly.
He fixed his gaze on Moyue and stopped attacking.
Moyue's rumbling voice boomed, "Brat, keep going! I haven't had enough fun yet! At least let me see some blood!"
"Don't get too arrogant!" Qi Tianxiong barked sharply.
"Moyue, that's enough."
Xu Chuan's voice suddenly echoed.
A flash of disdain passed through Moyue's dark gold vertical pupils, as if to say, 'A Mid-Stage Nascent Soul demonic cultivator is only so-so after all.'
Immediately, deep blue light flared violently around his body!
In the radiant blue light, his enormous dragon body rapidly blurred and shrank.
The boundless demonic power collapsed inward, condensing. That horrifying dragon's pressure was similarly retracted, but it didn't disappear; it just grew more condensed and profound.
In merely a few breaths, the deep blue light blanketing the world suddenly converged!
On the spot, the towering colossal flood dragon had vanished.
In its place stood an extremely burly, robust man standing roughly two meters tall.
Moyue's current appearance wasn't entirely human; instead, he took on a half-man, half-dragon form.
His head was still a majestic dragon skull, covered in fine, tough, dark blue scales. The two coral-like, branching jade horns upon his forehead pointed proudly toward the heavens.
His narrow, cold, dark gold vertical pupils gleamed with an intimidating light whenever they opened and closed. His every glance perfectly revealed the ferocity and pride of an apex predator.
His thick neck connected to a magnificent, heavily muscled torso that looked as if it were forged from copper and cast from iron.
He was bare-chested. His skin possessed a healthy bronze hue, yet around his shoulders, arms, and vital areas on his chest, natural, ink-blue dragon scale patterns faintly surfaced, flickering in and out of sight.
For his lower body, he wore deep blue trousers manifested from his own demonic power, and he had dark-patterned combat boots on his feet.
He cracked his neck, producing a soft popping sound. His dark gold dragon eyes swept over Qi Tianxiong, Xi Daoyun, and Mo Wentian, all of whom wore different expressions.
Lastly, his gaze landed on Qi Tianxiong, the corner of his mouth turning up in an incredibly faint, highly provocative smirk.
"Since my Xu Family has now demonstrated our strength, we should be qualified to partake in this grand feast, right?"
Qi Tianxiong asked, "What do you propose?"
"Let's take a mutual oath," Xu Chuan smiled faintly. "Unless they provoke us first, no one is allowed to attack any members of our four major factions who emerge from the Connate Secret Realm for a period of six months."
Mo Wentian and Xi Daoyun pondered for a few seconds before nodding and saying in unison, "I agree."
"Very well."
Qi Tianxiong was alone and isolated. Despite being a Mid-Stage Nascent Soul demonic cultivator, Heavenly Azure Prefecture's side held two full Nascent Soul combatants, one half-crippled Nascent Soul, and one who temporarily had Nascent Soul strength.
If they joined forces to target the Greedy Wolf Sect, his sect would undoubtedly suffer catastrophic losses. It was hard to say how many would even make it back.
No matter what, as long as they could bring their harvests from the Connate Secret Realm back home, every faction would experience booming development over the next decade or two.
"Secondly, we shouldn't act too ruthlessly. As for the members of other factions or rogue cultivators, we will only take fifty percent of their harvest, and our families will split it evenly.
Based on our strength, my Xu Family will pick first, then the Greedy Wolf Sect, then the Mo Family, and lastly, the Heavenly Azure Sect.
Are there any objections?"
Qi Tianxiong glanced at Moyue, then looked at Xu Chuan.
If the two of them combined forces, they were indeed slightly superior to him alone.
As for Xi Daoyun, his severe injuries hadn't healed, so he could only grit his teeth and swallow this silent loss.
"And what if they are unwilling?"
"Then we kill them and split everything evenly," Xu Chuan stated calmly.
"Fine, I agree."
This time, Qi Tianxiong spoke up first. Mo Wentian and Xi Daoyun exchanged a glance and quickly nodded as well.
"There is nothing else left," Xu Chuan said.
"Good, but I have a condition as well. Out of the five of us, you are the only one who can enter the secret realm. If you go in, spread the word, and extensively recruit the remaining factions, what sort of harvest would the rest of us get?
Therefore, before the secret realm closes, you, Xu Chuan, are forbidden from entering."
Xu Chuan furrowed his brow, yet internally, he breathed a sigh of relief. 'I thought you were going to forbid me from leaking the information to the outside.'
"I have never entered a Connate Secret Realm before. Such a secret realm appearing is incredibly rare, holding immense opportunities and fortune. I was planning to go in and have a look around."
Xi Daoyun voiced his support, "I agree. Xu Chuan is forbidden from entering the secret realm."
"Although he's at the Golden Core Stage, at full strength, he possesses Nascent Soul combat power. No matter who runs into him inside, it would mean certain death."
"Senior Mo." Xu Chuan looked over.
Mo Wentian stroked his beard and smiled faintly, "Daoist Friend Xu, it isn't that I'm against you, but Daoist Friend Xi and Daoist Friend Qi both speak reasonably. Therefore, I also disagree with allowing you to enter."
"Hey, you old bastards! Are you all looking for a beating?!"
Seeing the group of them gang up on Xu Chuan, Moyue flew into a sudden rage.
"If Xu Chuan doesn't agree to this condition, we won't take the oath for the previous two terms either," Qi Tianxiong firmly stated, unwilling to yield an inch.
Xu Chuan pondered for a moment before finally making his decision with a difficult expression. "Then I will agree!"
"Is there anything else to add? If not, let us all swear the oath. This way, we can also prevent an outbreak of hostilities!"
After a moment's thought, Qi Tianxiong and the other two felt everything was in order, so they all began taking the oath.
Xu Chuan and Moyue did the same.
"There should still be a few days until the secret realm closes. I will go wander around elsewhere first."
With that said, Xu Chuan left on his own, flying toward the banks of Grand Harmony Lake.
He naturally left to send his divine sense into the Xu Clan's Grotto-heaven and contact Xu Deling and the others.
If he stayed here, the spatial fluctuations generated by opening the Xu Clan's Grotto-heaven would definitely be discovered.
The others didn't understand why, but they didn't follow him either.
Moyue remained to keep an eye on them. If they tried to spy on Xu Chuan, he would immediately contact him via their mental link.
This range was far superior to that of divine sense probing.
Even at the Nascent Soul stage, an early-stage divine sense spanned barely over a hundred kilometers, a mid-stage around a hundred and fifty kilometers, and a late-stage slightly more than two hundred kilometers.
At Nascent Soul perfection, it could reach two hundred and fifty kilometers.
However, the mental link between those bound by a Spiritual Contract, given Moyue's current strength, allowed them to communicate freely within a range of fifteen hundred kilometers.
Xu Chuan pretended to wander aimlessly, but a thread of his divine sense had already slipped into the Xu Clan's Grotto-heaven, beckoning Xu Deling.
Inside the Connate Secret Realm.
Xu Deling suddenly felt a familiar fluctuation. She instantly concealed it with her mana and sent a thread of divine sense into the Xu Clan's Grotto-heaven.
"Grandfather, were you looking for me?"
Xu Deling's divine sense took physical form as she looked at Xu Chuan.
"To make a long story short, Moyue has become a Shapeshifting Great Demon. He and I are currently waiting outside the secret realm, and we've reached an agreement with the other three major factions.
No one is allowed to target anyone belonging to the four major factions upon their exit, nor are we allowed to attack them for six months.
Secondly, anyone who is not part of the four major factions must voluntarily hand over half their harvest in exchange for safely leaving. If they don't comply, they will surely die.
And your grandfather here has also been restricted from entering the secret realm by them."
Xu Deling smiled faintly. "They are afraid you will leak the news, Grandfather, but little do they know you have another way of informing us.
Our Xu Family is destined to be the biggest winner this time."
Xu Chuan nodded with a faint smile. "Go forge some ordinary iron tokens right now and engrave them with the character 'Xu'. Use the tokens in exchange for thirty percent of their harvest. For those who refuse, let them be."
"If they don't appreciate your goodwill, Grandfather, then they will deserve to die. Without your intervention, they would likely have to hand over seventy or eighty percent just to satisfy the major Nascent Soul factions upon exiting."
"Perhaps. Hurry and get to it. The more spirit grass and such, the better."
"Yes, Grandfather." Recalling something, Xu Deling added, "Right, I have good news for you. Inside the secret realm, our Xu Family managed to obtain a Tier 4 Mid-Grade wood-element spirit vein.
Also three Tier 3 High-Grade spirit veins, respectively water, wood, and metal-element, as well as a Tier 3 Low-Grade earth-element spirit vein."
"That's not bad at all," Xu Chuan felt an instant surge of delight. "Now we just have to wait for Mingxian to return to make good use of these spirit veins."
Afterward, Xu Deling left the Xu Clan's Grotto-heaven.
She ordered a short rest. Since she couldn't find ordinary iron ore and it would be a waste to use high-grade Spirit Iron, she simply crafted the Xu Family's tokens out of Spirit Wood instead.