Immortal City.
Two simply disguised figures appeared in this region filled with powerful experts.
The entire Immortal City occupied almost a quarter of the Eastern Region's territory. It was a place where truly only the strong were worthy to stay.
On the bustling streets, cultivators bustled about; at a glance, not a single mortal could be seen.
Profound Comprehension and Deity Transformation realm experts walked everywhere, while Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators were as common as dogs.
And this was merely the outer periphery, basically a gathering place for mid-sized factions. Closer to the core region, even Void Refinement and Primordial Spirit realm experts could probably be seen everywhere.
However, even in the outer periphery of the Immortal City, the density of spiritual energy was at least ten times higher than in remote areas.
"Ling'er, where is the Huangfu family located?"
Mo Tianxiao surveyed the surroundings, remaining constantly vigilant, afraid that a passing pedestrian might suddenly turn into an assassin and attack him.
Half a month had passed since the last assassination attempt by the Blood God Palace. In that time, the Blood God Palace surely knew of the mission's failure. The fact that they hadn't struck again for so long only meant they were waiting for an opportunity.
Waiting for an opportunity when he let his guard down, a chance for a guaranteed kill.
The cultivation methods of the Blood God Palace were extremely peculiar. Unless there was a massive gap in cultivation realms, it was impossible to detect their auras. They were incredibly insidious.
"Senior, as a top-tier noble family, the Huangfu family is located in the core region of the Immortal City. Their main headquarters is built right on top of a top-grade spirit vein."
Zi Ling'er pulled at the black cloak on her head, concealing her face.
This was the Immortal City, which was also her hometown. Although the Zi family wasn't considered a major power here, they weren't exactly a minor one either. As the woman specifically demanded by Huangfu Yunteng, there were definitely many people who knew what she looked like.
If she were recognized here, they would truly be doomed. There were far too many factions eager to be lapdogs for the Huangfu family. Once her identity was exposed here, they would undoubtedly die.
"Senior, what do we do now?"
Zi Ling'er asked in a low voice, her eyes occasionally scanning the surroundings with great caution.
She didn't know the senior's plan, but she chose to trust him.
After all, apart from the senior, she had no one else to trust. No one was willing to provoke a monstrous beast like the Huangfu family just for her sake.
"We are going to the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace."
With that said, Mo Tianxiao headed straight toward the very core of the Immortal City.
Hearing his words, Zi Ling'er was visibly stunned, her face filled with deep confusion. "The Jade Pool Heavenly Palace?"
Voicing her doubt, she immediately caught up to him and explained, "Senior, are we trying to join the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace? They only recruit female disciples, and the Huangfu family has surely already given them a heads-up. They won't accept me."
Both the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace and the Huangfu family were top-tier powers in the Eastern Region. Although the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace had a slightly greater reputation than the Huangfu family, it didn't mean they would clash with the Huangfu family over an unfamiliar Nascent Soul cultivator.
"Who said we're going to join the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace? I'm just going to visit some friends and see if they can lend a hand."
Mo Tianxiao curled his lips, his expression unchanging.
Zi Ling'er would become at least a Saint Realm expert in the future. How could he possibly hand her over to the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace? Such a talent had to become his own loyal subordinate.
The system wanted him to be the destined grand villain, so he would gather all the geniuses under his command. Geniuses in distress like her were his primary targets.
Only by lending a helping hand when others were at their lowest could he reap the most loyal rewards.
"Senior actually knows people from the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace?"
Zi Ling'er's mouth parted slightly, her eyes filled with astonishment.
As a mere rogue cultivator, the senior's network was unbelievably vast. Not only did he have connections in the Demon State, but he also had them in the Eastern Region, and they were all with top-tier powers. This was simply too incredible!
"Just a tiny bit, nothing worth mentioning. Besides, I don't even know yet if they'll do me this favor."
Mo Tianxiao casually shook his head and waved his hand. The Young Palace Master of the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace was still freeloading off his Demon Sect's Time Tower. If he asked the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace for a favor, surely that woman Su Muyao wouldn't refuse him, right?
Probably...
The Immortal City was large enough, and there were enough cultivators, allowing Mo Tianxiao and his companion to reach the territory of the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace without any mishaps.
The Jade Pool Heavenly Palace was also located in the core region of the Immortal City. Along with the Huangfu family and the Heavenly Sound Pavilion, they faintly formed a triangle in the core region. However, the territory occupied by the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace was far more expansive than the other two factions.
As a top-tier sect, the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace naturally possessed the grandeur it deserved.
Arriving at the foot of the city and looking up, the jade-paved stairs seemed to lead straight into the clouds. At the end of the stairs, surrounded by white clouds, faintly visible golden palaces glowed with rosy clouds. Heavenly light poured down, and countless divine lights shimmered in radiant colors, making it look just like a fairyland.
On the endless flight of stairs, a sea of cultivators was making their way toward the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace.
"Not bad. Jade Pool Heavenly Palace, Jade Pool Heavenly Palace... they really built their sect up in the sky."
Mo Tianxiao sighed in admiration and was about to fly his sword straight up, but he was stopped by Zi Ling'er beside him.
"Senior, if I remember correctly, it is the time of the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace's five-year disciple recruitment."
Zi Ling'er looked at the countless cultivators on the stairs and secretly clicked her tongue. As expected of the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace; countless people, regardless of gender, racked their brains trying to get in.
Of course, the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace only accepted female cultivators, with no exceptions.
"If you want to join the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace, you have to walk up step by step. This is the most basic requirement. Senior, we should walk up."
Hearing this, Mo Tianxiao was startled. "What a coincidence?"
They just happened to run into the disciple recruitment of a top-tier power. No wonder there were so many cultivators.
"Then let's walk up."
With so many people watching, he didn't want to keep a high profile.
"Little friend, you must be from out of town, right? Are you also bringing your daughter to participate in the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace's assessment?"
Right at that moment, a smiling old brother beside them came over with a familiar attitude and asked.
He was holding the hand of a little girl who looked about six or seven years old. She had bright eyes, white teeth, and a chubby, rosy little face. With two little buns tied on her head, she looked incredibly cute.
"Something like that, but she's not my daughter. You could say she's my younger sister."
Mo Tianxiao replied politely, then asked in return, "Are you a local, old brother?"
"I am Lin Wuya from the Lin family of the Immortal City, and this is my little granddaughter, Lin Nannan."
Lin Wuya had a face full of smiles. When introducing his little granddaughter, his eyes were filled with doting love.
"Since the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace is recruiting disciples, I brought my little granddaughter to try our luck."
The Jade Pool Heavenly Palace recruited disciples not only based on talent and appearance but also on fate. While meeting these three conditions, one still had to pass the assessment.
Mo Tianxiao looked at Lin Nannan, his gaze pausing as he revealed a look of astonishment. He then replied, "Senior Lin, I can see that your granddaughter has extraordinary aptitude. She will definitely be able to successfully join the Jade Pool Heavenly Palace."
As expected of the surname Lin. He had traveled all the way from the Demon State to here, and the person with the most badass talent he had encountered was actually a six- or seven-year-old little girl.
He kind of wanted to abduct this little lass back to the Demon Sect. What kind of method should he think of to do that...
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
