Chapter 905: Lord of Luofu Mountain, Yan Xuanxuan

Under True Lord Nightmare Eye’s reception, True Lord Yunmei arrived at the Tianmu Sect’s highest council hall.

“Greetings, True Lord Pomwang, True Lord Star Pupils.”

Seeing the two figures seated in the main hall, True Lord Yunmei cupped his hands in salute.

“Please, my friend Yunmei.” The two nodded to him with a friendly air.

Though Beast God Mountain had fallen, True Lord Nine Spirits’ life or death was uncertain, and the powers of the Yuan Kingdom were split on letting the Barebody Sect settle in, Tianmu Sect remained quite willing.

First, the Barebody Sect’s techniques and inheritances could benefit Tianmu Sect.

Second, True Lord Yunmei had fled into the Yuan Kingdom with many rare resources, even inheritances from Beast God Mountain.

Third, though Tianmu Sect had just secured its hegemonic position in the Yuan Kingdom, that footing was not yet firm.

If they could take in the Barebody Sect and True Lord Yunmei, their standing would solidify further.

Besides, the cultivation world was in turmoil. Aside from the newly risen Yangming True Lord, Tianmu Sect had many enemies, such as Tianluo Sect, who had split Qiyun Kingdom with the Yuan Kingdom.

Not long after True Lord Yunmei arrived, space rippled and a tall, spare figure in silver-white robes appeared in the hall. His face was stern, his aura as deep and still as an abyss.

“Senior Brother Heavenly Eye!”

“Ancestor!”

“We pay respects to True Lord Heavenly Eye!”

True Lord Nightmare Eye and the others rose at once to salute alongside True Lord Yunmei.

The newcomer was Tianmu Sect’s Supreme Elder, a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator known as True Lord Heavenly Eye.

He took the main seat. When his eyes opened and closed, faint silver light flowed in his pupils like two deep stellar abysses.

Most striking of all was the inch-long vertical mark at his brow, a pale silver line like a closed eyelid.

Though that vertical eyelid remained shut,

thin strands of golden light leaked from the seam, weaving dense, arcane runes in the air and giving off a chilling sense that pierced illusion and laid bare essence.

True Lord Heavenly Eye nodded to the others, then looked at True Lord Yunmei. “I already know why you’ve come.”

“Since we agreed earlier to let your sect settle here, to add conditions now would be kicking you when you’re down. Tianmu Sect will not do such a thing.”

“However, regarding Beast God Mountain and our friend Nine Spirits, I want to understand the details.”

Earlier, Tianmu Sect agreed to relocate the Barebody Sect here and even grant a fourth-rank spirit land free of charge mainly because of True Lord Nine Spirits.

With the Gold Mane Lion King, if Nine Spirits commanded Dao soldiers his combat power could rival some newly advanced mid-Nascent Soul cultivators.

Especially since he had abandoned Beast God Mountain and planned to head for the Central Region of the Southern Desolation.

If Nine Spirits entered the Central Domain and the Wan Shou Mo Sect pushed someone into mid-Nascent Soul, that relationship would be even more valuable.

But now that Beast God Mountain had fallen and Nine Spirits’ life or death was unknown, just True Lord Yunmei alone did not warrant giving away a fourth-rank spirit land for free.

“I imagine you already know Beast God Mountain was breached. As for our friend Nine Spirits…”

True Lord Yunmei said, “The news spread by Jiang-Yue is a rumor. Nine Spirits was ambushed by Yangming True Lord together with True Lord Xuanjian and True Lord Juejian, but he did not fall. He’s seriously wounded.”

When he finished, he took out a portrait from his storage ring, the likeness of True Lord Nine Spirits.

The glow and spirit charm of the portrait’s subject were dim, showing its owner was in poor condition.

True Lord Heavenly Eye looked at the soul-image portrait in Yunmei’s hand. The vertical eyelid at his brow opened a slit. Runes interlaced and divine light blazed.

True Lord Yunmei’s heart tightened. He forced down his unease, unsure if he could fool the other side.

The truth was, this portrait was not Nine Spirits’ true soul-image, but a fake.

How could True Lord Nine Spirits hand his true soul-image over to True Lord Yunmei?

But he had long foreseen that if he went to the Central Domain and the Wan Shou Mo Sect and something happened, if he was gone too long, his bloodline descendants and the Barebody Sect’s elites would draw covetous eyes and be suppressed.

So he and True Lord Yunmei forged this lifelike counterfeit portrait together.

If word came that he was in danger in the Central Domain, True Lord Yunmei could use this portrait to intimidate others.

Neither Nine Spirits nor Yunmei expected it would be needed so soon.

Though fake, the portrait was convincing.

True Lord Heavenly Eye could not probe it deeply and could not judge its authenticity for the moment.

“Do you know where our friend Nine Spirits is now? Does he need aid from Tianmu Sect?”

He spoke up, finding Yunmei’s words somewhat credible.

With Nine Spirits’ power combined with the Gold Mane Lion King, he could escape even from some mid-Nascent Soul cultivators.

Moreover, Beast God Mountain was his base, with arrays, Dao soldiers, and other trump cards.

Under those conditions, an ordinary mid-Nascent Soul cultivator could hardly do anything to him.

So being ambushed by Yangming True Lord, True Lord Juejian, and True Lord Xuanjian, then fleeing heavily wounded, made sense.

If those three had captured and killed him, that would be the unbelievable part.

“True Lord Nine Spirits is gravely injured and cannot show himself. As for where he is, I don’t know.”

True Lord Yunmei’s voice was low.

“As long as our friend Nine Spirits is not in dire straits. You can send him word. If he needs anything, he can ask Tianmu Sect.”

True Lord Heavenly Eye nodded. He valued Nine Spirits and hoped to win him over for close cooperation.

“Many thanks, True Lord Heavenly Eye.” True Lord Yunmei cupped his hands.

He did have Nine Spirits’ communication talisman, but earlier attempts to activate it were like sinking stones.

If he did not trust the strength of Nine Spirits and Mo Luo, he would suspect the two had already met disaster.

“You’ve crossed paths with Yangming True Lord. Any guesses about his origin and methods?”

True Lord Heavenly Eye pressed on. “As for True Lord Qianren’s death, do you know anything behind the scenes?”

After leaving seclusion, he had been shocked to hear Qianren had fallen, Beast God Mountain had been breached, and Nine Spirits was missing and possibly dead.

He knew little of True Lord Nine Spirits.

But True Lord Qianren, who was also from the Yuan Kingdom, he knew very well.

Qianren excelled in stealth and the art of assassination and was formidable.

Though he had advanced to mid-Nascent Soul and was confident he could slay Qianren,

according to the Seven Killings Sect, not only was Qianren’s body and Qi cut down, but his Nascent Soul spirit body was likely captured.

That was terrifying.

Killing a Nascent Soul cultivator’s body and Qi, completely annihilating their Nascent Soul spirit, and capturing their spirit were three very different feats.

Especially when that Nascent Soul cultivator was Qianren, so skilled in stealth and assassination.

Without a heaven-spanning net and every hidden card revealed, True Lord Heavenly Eye did not believe he could capture Qianren.

Even utterly killing him would come at a price.

Yet that Yangming True Lord slew Qianren in a short time, then went on to strike Beast God Mountain and severely wound Nine Spirits. It was unbelievable.

Even as a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, he held deep fear toward Yangming True Lord and wanted to learn more of his background.

True Lord Yunmei gave a bitter smile.

He had indeed hunted Yangming True Lord, but back then the man was only at the Core Formation stage.

And even then it took three of them at Nascent Soul to chase one of him. One on one, neither he nor his spirit pet was a match.

As for during this war…

any Nascent Soul cultivator who saw Yangming True Lord either died or was captured.

“I only crossed blades with Yangming True Lord in the Mirage Domain of Vast Sands once.”

True Lord Yunmei answered honestly.

Tianmu Sect would have intelligence on these matters anyway. He had nothing to hide.

“Most likely Yangming True Lord is a Nascent Soul old monster reborn or someone who seized a body and started over. Though Core Formation at the time, he already had Nascent Soul means and combat power.”

“That’s why he advanced to Nascent Soul so quickly and reached such strength.”

True Lord Yunmei sighed.

Back then, Yangming when facing him, True Lord Mingsha, and True Lord Tiancang had only fled in disgrace, not daring a head-on clash.

Now just over thirty years later, Yangming True Lord alone captured many Nascent Soul True Lords, ended the Liang-Yue War, and shook the Southern Desolation and the Northern Region. Yunmei could only look up to him.

Every time he thought of it, Yunmei felt dazed, as if waking from a dream.

After all, a few decades to a Nascent Soul cultivator was just enough time to cultivate a few divine abilities in seclusion.

The four present naturally knew of that old battle in the Mirage Domain of Vast Sands where Yangming and Qingluan True Lord fought many Nascent Soul foes.

They just didn’t know how Yunmei and the others had hunted Yangming back then.

“All right. My friend Yunmei, go rest first. As for your relocation, I’ll speak with the Qisha Sect and the Tianzhu Sect.”

True Lord Heavenly Eye asked no more and sent Yunmei off.

Aside from the Seven Killings Sect and the Tianzhu Sect, the Yuan Kingdom had another Nascent Soul power, the Fire Qiqi Family.

But that force had surrendered after Qiyun Kingdom’s defeat and held no say.

“Thank you, True Lord Heavenly Eye. I, Yunmei, will remember this favor and will certainly pass it on to our friend Nine Spirits.”

True Lord Yunmei bowed and took his leave.

After he left, True Lord Heavenly Eye looked to True Lord Nightmare Eye and the others for their thoughts.

“Senior Brother, with Nine Spirits’ situation unknown, if we agree to take in the Barebody Sect, will we provoke Yangming True Lord?”

True Lord Pomwang voiced his concern.

Tianmu Sect was rising fast. There was no need to clash with Yangming.

He also knew his senior brother’s strength well.

If it came to a fight, his senior brother likely wouldn’t be Yangming True Lord’s match.

“Uncle Pomwang, why boost others’ morale and crush our own?”

“Uncle Nightmare Eye and True Lord Qianren went to aid Liang Kingdom, which already put our Yuan Kingdom at odds with Yangming. Why be timid now? With our ancestor here, what do we have to fear?”

True Lord Star Pupils spoke up.

As True Lord Heavenly Eye’s descendant and a new Nascent Soul in Tianmu Sect, her seniority was a generation lower than Pomwang and Nightmare Eye.

Because of that, her view of her ancestor’s strength was filtered through deep admiration.

She did not believe her ancestor’s combat power would be any worse than Yangming’s.

Before he advanced to mid-Nascent Soul, her ancestor had already used the Shattering Heavenly Eye to severely wound or kill several Nascent Soul cultivators of Qiyun Kingdom.

Now that he had advanced, he must be a standout among his peers.

True Lord Pomwang didn’t argue with Star Pupils.

If he refuted her, wouldn’t that be saying his own senior brother was beneath Yangming?

“For now we need to find out what’s going on with Nine Spirits.”

Pomwang went on, “And with Beast God Mountain breached, why didn’t Mo Luo act?”

Back when they invaded Qiyun Kingdom, Mo Luo had made contact with Tianmu Sect.

But they knew one could not fully trust an envoy of the demonic path, so they kept the cooperation shallow.

“Mo Luo hails from the Seven Demonic Sects. If he acts too much and upsets the balance, the Mystic Gates of the Central Domain will intervene.”

True Lord Heavenly Eye said, “Besides, what good would his help do? He can help for a time. Could he garrison Beast God Mountain forever?”

“He urged Nine Spirits to go to the Central Domain earlier. Now that Beast God Mountain has fallen, Nine Spirits has likely gone with Mo Luo to the Wan Shou Mo Sect.”

He took Yunmei’s words at face value.

He judged that after being badly hurt, Nine Spirits most likely went with Mo Luo to the Central Domain and the Wan Shou Mo Sect.

“If Yangming True Lord wants to move against our Yuan Kingdom, it won’t matter whether the Barebody Sect is here or not. What worries me now is him continuing to grow.”

True Lord Nightmare Eye finally spoke.

He had never met Yangming.

But he had seen how the Liang-Yue War was reversed when he went to aid Liang Kingdom.

It was like one man slaughtering his way through both Liang and Yuan.

He feared Yangming not just for his current strength, but for his growth.

In just a few decades he had gone from Core Formation, already rivaling Nascent Soul, to the mid-Nascent Soul giant he was now.

Give him a few more decades. What then?

The first under late Nascent Soul?

Once Yangming grew stronger and sought resources, to upgrade spiritual veins and expand territory, the Yuan Kingdom would become his opponent as the pacifier of Liang.

After all, only the Endless Desert lay between Yuan and Liang.

“That’s my concern as well. His origin is a mystery. To grow so fast, he’s likely an old late-Nascent Soul monster.”

“He won’t recover to late Nascent Soul here. The Northern Region lacks that level of spiritual veins, but if given time to grow…”

True Lord Pomwang’s face was grave. He had not expected such a terrifying figure to appear out of nowhere.

If Nine Spirits or True Lord Xuanjian had broken through to mid-Nascent Soul during the Liang-Yue War, they could accept it.

But Yangming’s rise had exceeded all their expectations.

At those words, Star Pupils’ heart sank. She understood her two uncles’ worries.

“Send someone to make contact with the Immortal City of Damengze and Yangming True Lord. See where they stand.”

True Lord Heavenly Eye kept his tone even. “As for the rest, we watch and wait.”

“Watch and wait?” Star Pupils looked at him in surprise. That didn’t sound like her ancestor’s usual style.

“Remember, we’re not the only ones who fear Yangming True Lord.”

He said to his junior, “Back in the Mirage Domain of Vast Sands, when Zicang and Yin Lei and others moved against Qingluan True Lord, this Yangming burned his life and self-detonated his Dao body to aid her. Their bond runs deep.”

“Though they escaped and left the Mirage Domain, Qingluan’s gaining the core fortune there still drew many powers and Nascent Soul cultivators to try to seize it.”

Star Pupils frowned. “Ancestor, would any of them dare trouble Yangming True Lord?”

The Mirage Domain had been lively, but no mid-Nascent Soul cultivators had gone.

Those like True Lord Yin Lei and True Lord Zicang were all early Nascent Soul.

“Who says they wouldn’t dare? Someone witnessed the Lord of Luofu Mountain striking at Qingluan True Lord back then.” True Lord Heavenly Eye smiled faintly.

“The Lord of Luofu Mountain?!”

Star Pupils was stunned.

The Lord of Luofu Mountain’s name was like thunder.

He was one of the Nascent Soul giants of the Southern Desolation and the Northern Region. Though he had not acted in nearly a century,

when he last appeared, his combat power had been astonishing, no weaker than Yangming’s now.

“Ancestor, did Qingluan True Lord fall into his hands?”

She asked in a hushed voice.

She held great respect for the Lord of Luofu Mountain, yet admired Qingluan True Lord as well.

“I heard that in that fight, Qingluan’s Qingluan Dao soldiers were slaughtered by the half before she barely escaped.”

True Lord Heavenly Eye spoke softly, a touch of emotion in his voice.

In the Mirage Domain, Qingluan True Lord had shown strength surpassing many veteran Nascent Souls thanks to her Qingluan Dao soldiers and a fourth-rank spirit pet.

Given time, she might well become a mid-Nascent Soul giant.

But she ran into the Lord of Luofu Mountain and was badly injured, with most of her Dao soldiers dead or wounded.

“Qingluan True Lord escaped from the Lord of Luofu Mountain?” Star Pupils was shocked.

Qingluan’s strength was unusual, surpassing many early Nascent Souls.

But the Lord of Luofu Mountain was even more extraordinary, with a fearsome record of slaying many Nascent Soul cultivators and mid-fourth-rank demon kings.

“Though she escaped, there’s a rumor the Lord of Luofu Mountain invited the Great Awakening Abbot of the Great Awakening Temple to keep hunting her.”

“So whether or not Qingluan ended up in his hands, once Yangming True Lord learns this, he will not let it rest.”

“And the Lord of Luofu Mountain spent great effort to hunt Qingluan for resources to prepare for a late-Nascent Soul breakthrough.”

“Now that Yangming has displayed such power, and given the matter of Qingluan, the Lord of Luofu Mountain won’t sit idle.”

True Lord Heavenly Eye slowly explained why he chose to wait and see.

If the Lord of Luofu Mountain dealt with Yangming, Tianmu Sect wouldn’t need to lift a finger.

If Yangming was only badly hurt or barely held his own, Tianmu Sect could then decide which side to help.

“Ancestor, should we pass this news to Yangming True Lord or the Lord of Luofu Mountain?” Star Pupils asked.

“If they care to look, they’ll learn it on their own. No need for us to push it.”

He answered his junior patiently.

As time passed, the deeds and growing fame of the Lord of Dameng City, Yangming True Lord, spread far and wide.

From Liang and Yue to Jiang, Jin, Wu, and the Yuan Kingdom, then across the Endless Desert to powers throughout the Southern Desolation and the Northern Region.

At that moment, in the Kingdom of Yu, inside a certain fourth-rank Immortal City.

“The Lord of Dameng City is Yangming True Lord? He cut down True Lord Mingsha? He captured six Nascent Soul cultivators on his own?”

A woman in a colorful dress and a five-colored flowing mask that hid her face looked at the jade slip in her hand. She paused, surprise flickering in her bright eyes.

She had long known Wang Lin and Li Muwan, who inherited her parents’ Immortal City, were anything but ordinary.

But she never imagined the City Lord of Dameng would be the same Yangming who at Core Formation had fought Nascent Soul cultivators.

And in just a few decades, he had gone from Core Formation to a mid-Nascent Soul giant.

It was staggering.

Even though her parents had warned her over and over that Wang Lin and Li Muwan were remarkable and she should draw closer for her own future, this still exceeded her expectations.

“If he slew True Lord Mingsha and captured six Nascent Souls alone, then when I try to break through, I could go to him to rent a fourth-rank spirit land.”

Under the prismatic glow of her mask, Yan Xuanxuan’s eyes shimmered like scattered rainbows.

Her parents had prepared Nascent Soul resources and paved the road for her.

But one more connection meant one more path forward.

Once, Wang Lin and Li Muwan had been a couple who rivaled Nascent Souls.

Now one of them had leapt straight to become a mid-Nascent Soul giant. That made her three chances to call for help far more valuable.

Whether renting a spirit land to break through or facing danger in the future, she could ask him for aid.

“Father, Mother, are you well?”

Thinking of the favors and ties her parents had built for her, Yan Xuanxuan felt a weight in her chest and missed them on their journey to the Eastern Sea cultivation realm.

She had wanted to go with them.

But her usually doting father refused her outright.

He sternly warned that if they did not return on their own, she must never attempt to cross the Starry Sea.

“The Eastern Sea…”

Yan Xuanxuan sighed inwardly.

She had considered crossing the Starry Sea after reaching Nascent Soul to head for the Eastern Sea cultivation realm.

But she knew that would be suicide.

Even with an ancient teleportation array, her parents had prepared extensively before going to the Eastern Sea.

They hunted several top-tier third-rank sea beasts and a fourth-rank Deep Sea Demon Whale King to avoid danger on the way.