Phoenix Clan of the Southern Ming and Mystic Turtle of the Northern Abyss

The Star Clan in particular, upon hearing the news of Xing Zixu's fall, remained silent for a long time.

Xing Zixu was one of the progenitors of the Star Clan. He had guarded the clan for a million years, yet he had ultimately perished.

As for Gu Changyuan becoming the new progenitor of the Star Clan, after he displayed his profound mastery over the Great Dao of Stars and presented the token left by Xing Zixu, the Star Clan of the Upper Realm fully acknowledged his status.

They also met Gu Xing'er, who possessed the Primal Chaos Star Spirit Physique. Seeing her terrifying talent and comprehension of the Great Dao of Stars, everyone in the Upper Realm Star Clan was shocked and overjoyed, bluntly stating that the future of the Star Clan was bright.

During his interactions with the Four Great Immortal Clans of the Upper Realm, Gu Changyuan specifically instructed them to occasionally reveal themselves in various places. This was to attract the Imperial Court's attention and minimize their focus on the Lower Realm as much as possible.

This wasn't sending their clansmen to die; rather, he wanted those with high cultivation bases to show their faces in certain areas.

They were to bait the Imperial Court into sending forces to encircle them, and then quickly retreat, thereby tying down the Imperial Court's military strength.

The Four Great Immortal Clans of the Upper Realm immediately understood Gu Changyuan's intentions. Although they didn't ask for the reason, they guessed that he might be setting up an important scheme in the Lower Realm, so they executed the plan without hesitation.

A few hot-tempered Immortal Emperors personally took action, heading straight for the Imperial Court's strongholds in remote regions.

Every operation was clean and decisive. They employed hit-and-run tactics, never giving the Imperial Court a chance to surround them, constantly engaging in guerrilla warfare.

Some Immortal Kings also formed teams, heading to places unassociated with the Four Great Immortal Clans' hidden bases to act as bait. They would attract the Imperial Court's attention, show themselves, and rapidly withdraw, avoiding any entanglement with the main forces.

With the auxiliary restraint from the Four Great Immortal Clans of the Upper Realm, the gazes of those Immortal Emperors directed toward the Lower Realm were reduced as much as possible.

After concluding these matters with them, Gu Changyuan departed once more and arrived at the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

......

Little Yao, how is the situation with the Nanming Phoenix Clan right now?

Gu Changyuan appeared in a pavilion, looking at Tushan Youyao, who was sitting by a table not far away.

Seeing her master arrive, a smile bloomed on Tushan Youyao's face:

Rest assured, Master. Everything is on the right track there, and the clan's affairs have been properly arranged.

Some highly talented clansmen have also been sent to the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

The Nanming Phoenix Clan had officially joined the Celestial Holy Land ten years ago, becoming a subordinate of the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

Although they bore the title of Phoenix Clan and indeed possessed phoenix bloodlines within their bodies, their bloodline was extremely thin. They were not an orthodox Lower Realm branch of the Upper Realm's Phoenix Race.

Tracing back to their roots, they were merely low-cultivation members of a collateral branch of the Upper Realm's Phoenix Race from years ago, who had found themselves in an awkward predicament in the Upper Realm.

That group of people went to the Lower Realm.

They chose the Jiuxiao Realm, where they multiplied and thrived. Over thousands of years, they gradually formed today's Nanming Phoenix Clan.

They had no subordinate relationship with the Upper Realm's Phoenix Race, no obligation to pay regular tribute, and did not even maintain contact.

They were an independent Phoenix Clan, unconnected to the Upper Realm, having taken root in the Lower Realm.

The Phoenix Race had clan rules: for clan descendants to privately establish a faction in the Lower Realm was a grave sin.

Fortunately, for the past thousands of years, the Immortal Path of the Jiuxiao Realm had been completely severed, isolating the Upper Realm from the Lower Realm.

The orthodox Phoenix Clan of the Upper Realm would not waste much thought on the Jiuxiao Realm, a place with a severed Immortal Path, far less spiritual energy than the Upper Realm, and devoid of any orthodox branch.

Even less would they imagine that a collateral phoenix branch had multiplied here to this day. Thus, they managed to survive peacefully, without having to constantly live in fear of being purged.

When Gu Changyuan first visited the Nanming Phoenix Clan, he laid all these facts out on the table.

He didn't beat around the bush, straightforwardly proposing the idea of having the Nanming Phoenix Clan join the Heavenly Demon Pavilion.

He gave them time to consider, while also informing them of some crucial information they needed to know.

The Immortal Path was about to reopen.

It wasn't a possibility or a maybe; it was an absolute certainty.

He bluntly stated that he had deep-seated grievances with the Imperial Court, and once the Immortal Path reopened, he would inevitably go to war with them.

When that time came, the eyes of all factions would be focused on the Jiuxiao Realm, and the existence of the Nanming Phoenix Clan would very likely be discovered by the orthodox Phoenix Clan of the Upper Realm.

After explaining the hidden dangers, Gu Changyuan demonstrated his formidable strength on the spot, letting the members of the Nanming Phoenix Clan know that he had enough power to protect them and fend off the threats from the Upper Realm's Phoenix Clan and the Imperial Court.

Gu Changyuan did not force them, giving them ample time to weigh the pros and cons.

In the end, after much deliberation, the Nanming Phoenix Clan agreed to join the Celestial Holy Land, attaching themselves to the Heavenly Demon Pavilion to seek asylum.

The Nanming Phoenix Clan and the Southern Wasteland Giant Ape Clan had always been mortal enemies. The two clans had been at odds for generations, frequently clashing over territory and resources, resulting in casualties on both sides and long-standing mutual resentment.

Shortly after they accepted Gu Changyuan's invitation and officially joined the Heavenly Demon Pavilion, the Southern Wasteland Giant Ape Clan came to provoke the Nanming Phoenix Clan, just as they always did.

Seizing this opportunity, Gu Changyuan personally took action. With a flick of his finger, he suppressed the core combat strength of the Southern Wasteland Giant Ape Clan, completely routing their main forces, and effortlessly removed this thorn that had plagued the Nanming Phoenix Clan for nearly a millennium.

This move not only highlighted Gu Changyuan's formidable strength but also completely set the minds of the Nanming Phoenix Clan at ease, further solidifying their resolve to rely on the Celestial Holy Land and follow Gu Changyuan.

What about the North Sea Black Turtle Clan?

Gu Changyuan asked again.

There is no news from them yet. However, given the cultivation method you provided, Little Yao feels they shouldn't refuse.

The North Sea Black Turtle Clan was entirely different from the Nanming Phoenix Clan.

They were not a collateral branch that had reproduced privately, but a Lower Realm branch deliberately established by the Upper Realm's North Sea Immortal Turtle Clan. They had an orderly inheritance and profound foundations; not only did the clan possess a complete cultivation system, but they also enjoyed the indirect protection of their Upper Realm counterparts.

Whether in the Immortal Realm or the Jiuxiao Realm, the Black Turtle Clan suffered from an innate flaw: a slow cultivation speed.

This wasn't due to poor cultivation methods or a lack of talent, but rather a characteristic of their race.

Black Turtles had incredibly long lifespans, living several times or even dozens of times longer than other demon cultivators of the same rank.

This extended longevity came at a price, their rate of spiritual energy accumulation was correspondingly much slower.

The accumulation a human cultivator could achieve in one year of cultivation might take a Black Turtle three, five, or even ten years.

For cultivators to reach the same level, a human might achieve it by the age of five hundred, while a Black Turtle would need fifteen hundred years or even longer.