Chapter 905: Lord of Mount Luofu, Yan Xuanxuan!

True Lord Yunmei, escorted by True Lord Nightmare Eye, arrives at the main council hall of Tianmu Sect.

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

Seeing the two figures seated inside, Yunmei cupped his hands respectfully.

“Welcome, Daoist Yunmei.” They nodded and gestured him in warmly.

Despite Beast God Mountain’s fall, the unknown fate of True Lord Nine Spirits, and discord among Yuan Kingdom factions over the Barebody Sect’s relocation, Tianmu Sect welcomed them.

First, the Barebody Sect’s cultivation methods would benefit Tianmu Sect.

Second, Daoist Yunmei fled to Yuan Kingdom with many rare resources, including Beast God Mountain’s legacy.

Third, Tianmu Sect’s newly secured dominance in Yuan Kingdom wasn’t yet stable.

If they could win over the Barebody Sect and True Lord Yunmei, their position would solidify further.

Moreover, the cultivation world was turbulent. Aside from the rising Yangming True Lord, Tianmu Sect faced enemies like the Tianluo Sect, co-dividers of Qiyun Kingdom with Yuan Kingdom!

No sooner had Yunmei arrived than space rippled. A tall, lean figure in silver-white robes with a solemn air appeared.

“Senior Brother Heavenly Eye!”

“Ancestor!”

“We pay respects to True Lord Heavenly Eye!”

Nightmare Eye, Pomwang, Yunmei, and Star Pupils rose and bowed.

This newcomer was the Supreme Elder of Tianmu Sect, a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator: True Lord Heavenly Eye.

He took the main seat. As his eyes opened and closed, faint silver light swirled in his pupils like twin starry depths.

But most striking was the inch-long silver vertical mark at his brow, like a closed eyelid.

Though it never opened,

thin threads of golden light seeped through its slit, forming intricate runes that radiated an aura of piercing insight.

True Lord Heavenly Eye nodded at them, then turned to Yunmei: “Daoist, I know your purpose here.”

“Originally, we agreed to host your sect. Now demanding more would be piling on—Tianmu Sect won’t do that.”

“But I wish to know more about Beast God Mountain’s fall and True Lord Nine Spirits.”

Earlier, Tianmu Sect offered the Barebody Sect relocation and a free fourth-rank spirit land mainly because of Nine Spirits.

With the Gold Mane Lion King under his command, Nine Spirits could challenge some mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

Especially since Nine Spirits planned to leave Beast God Mountain for the Central Region of Southern Desolation.

If he reached the Central Region and Wan Shou Mo Sect broke through mid-stage Nascent Soul, that alliance mattered even more.

Now Beast God Mountain lay in ruins and Nine Spirits’ fate was unknown. Just Daoist Yunmei alone didn’t justify a free fourth-rank grant.

“You must have heard of Beast God Mountain’s fall. As for True Lord Nine Spirits…”

Yunmei replied, “The rumors from Jiang-Yue are false. Under the ambush by Yangming True Lord, True Lord Xuanjian, and True Lord Juejian, Nine Spirits survived but was grievously wounded.”

He then produced a scroll from his storage ring whose portrait resembled True Lord Nine Spirits.

The aura around the figure was dim—proof of serious injury.

True Lord Heavenly Eye examined the portrait. His brow mark widened, runes glowed brilliantly.

Yunmei’s heart tightened. Would this fake portrait fool him?

Indeed, it wasn’t Nine Spirits’ soul image but a forgery.

Why would Nine Spirits entrust his soul image to Yunmei?

He’d foreseen that if misfortune struck Wan Shou Mo Sect and he went missing, rivals would covet his lineage and Barebody Sect’s elite during their retreat.

So he and Daoist Yunmei forged this lifelike soul image.

If news of his peril reached the Central Region, Yunmei could use the image to intimidate others.

They hadn’t expected to deploy it so soon.

Although counterfeit, it looked astonishingly real.

True Lord Heavenly Eye couldn’t probe deeply, making it hard to judge its authenticity.

“Where is True Lord Nine Spirits now? Does he need Tianmu Sect’s aid?”

True Lord Heavenly Eye said, finding Yunmei’s account plausible.

Nine Spirits’ prowess with the Gold Mane Lion King could outmaneuver many mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

Besides, Beast God Mountain was his base, boasting arrays and spirit soldiers.

Under those odds, mid-stage cultivators wouldn’t easily subdue him.

So escaping gravely wounded after an ambush by Yangming, Xuanjian, and Juejian seemed believable.

It would be unbelievable if those three killed him outright.

“He’s too injured to show himself, and I don’t know his exact location,” Yunmei said.

“As long as he’s unharmed, that’s good. You may relay any requests to us,” True Lord Heavenly Eye nodded.

He valued Nine Spirits highly and hoped to win him over for close cooperation.

“Thank you, True Lord Heavenly Eye.” Yunmei bowed gratefully.

Though he held Nine Spirits’ communication talisman, his earlier activation attempt failed.

If not for his trust in Nine Spirits and Mo Luo, he’d suspect they’d perished.

“Daoist, you’ve met Yangming True Lord. Any guesses about his origin or methods?”

True Lord Heavenly Eye asked. “And about True Lord Qianren’s death—any inside scoop?”

After emerging from seclusion, he’d heard Qianren’s demise, Beast God Mountain’s ruin, and Nine Spirits’ presumed fall. He was shocked.

He knew little about Nine Spirits but was well acquainted with Qianren of Yuan Kingdom.

Qianren mastered stealth and assassination.

As a mid-stage Nascent Soul, he should have managed to kill Qianren.

Yet sect intelligence claimed Qianren’s physical dao body was severed and his Nascent Soul spirit captured.

That was terrifying.

Eliminating a Nascent Soul cultivator’s physical body, then destroying or capturing their spirit, were three distinct feats.

Especially for a cultivator like Qianren, famed for stealth and assassination!

Unless one laid an inescapable trap, even True Lord Heavenly Eye doubted capturing Qianren was possible.

To utterly destroy him would have cost dearly.

Yet within days, Yangming ambushed Qianren, then struck at Beast God Mountain and gravely wounded Nine Spirits. Preposterous.

Even he—a mid-stage Nascent Soul—feared Yangming True Lord.

He wanted to learn more about his origin and methods.

Yunmei smiled wryly.

He’d pursued Yangming when the latter was only at Core Formation stage.

Back then, though Core Formation, Yangming could match three Nascent Soul cultivators—otherwise, in one-on-one, he and his spirit pet would have won.

During this war, any Nascent Soul cultivators who faced Yangming were either slain or captured.

“I only faced him once in the Mirage Domain of Vast Sands,” Yunmei admitted.

Tianmu Sect likely had related intelligence, so he had nothing to hide.

“He’s probably a Nascent Soul veteran reborn or someone who seized flesh and reincarnated. Though Core Formation then, he wielded Nascent Soul power and tactics.”

“That’s why he broke through so fast and boasts such might.” Yunmei sighed.

Years ago, facing Yunmei, Ming Sha True Lord, and Tiancang True Lord, Yangming fled in disarray, never daring to fight openly.

Now, thirty years later, he alone slew multiple Nascent Soul True Lords, ended the Liang-Yue War, and shook the Southern Desolation and Northern Region—an idol to Yunmei.

Recalling it, Yunmei felt it all surreal.

After all, thirty years for a Nascent Soul cultivator was barely enough to master a few divine abilities.

They all knew of Yangming and Qingluan True Lord’s stand against many Nascent Souls in the Mirage Domain.

They were unaware Yunmei and the others had once hunted Yangming.

“Rest for now, Daoist. I’ll discuss your sect’s relocation with Qisha Sect and Tianzhu Sect.”

True Lord Heavenly Eye ceased questioning and addressed Yunmei.

Besides Qisha and Tianzhu, Yuan Kingdom had another Nascent Soul power: Fire Qiqi Family.

But that clan, having surrendered after Qiyun Kingdom’s defeat, held no real sway.

“Thank you, True Lord Heavenly Eye. I will relay your kindness to True Lord Nine Spirits.”

Yunmei bowed and exited.

Once he left, True Lord Heavenly Eye turned to the others. “What do you think?”

“Senior Brother, with Nine Spirits’ status unclear, will hosting the Barebody Sect provoke Yangming True Lord?”

Pomwang worried. Tianmu Sect was rising fast—they needn’t clash with Yangming.

He knew Heavenly Eye’s power was great.

If trouble arose, his senior brother might not match Yangming.

“Pomwang Shi Shu, why inflate someone else’s glory only to shrink your own?”

“Nightmare Shi Shu and Qianren aided Liang Kingdom. Now Yuan Kingdom stands opposed to Yangming True Lord. Why back down now? With our Ancestor here, what do we fear?”

Star Pupils spoke up.

As Heavenly Eye’s descendant and a new Nascent Soul, she called the others “Shi Shu.”

She held her ancestor’s power in high regard, confident he could match Yangming.

Before ascending mid-stage Nascent Soul, he’d pierced Heavenly Eye and slain many Qiyun cultivators.

Now fully mid-stage, he surely ranked among the best.

Pomwang kept quiet to avoid undermining his own brother.

“Our priority is learning Nine Spirits’ status.”

Pomwang continued, “And why didn’t Mo Luo act when Beast God Mountain collapsed?”

When they invaded Qiyun Kingdom, Mo Luo had dealings with Tianmu Sect.

But they distrusted demonic envoys and only cooperated superficially.

“Mo Luo hails from the Seven Demonic Sects. If he intervened too much, he’d upset the cultivation balance and draw Mystic Gates’ ire.”

True Lord Heavenly Eye said, “Besides, what good would it do? He might help briefly but can’t maintain a presence at Beast God Mountain.”

“Previously, he urged Nine Spirits to go to the Central Region. Now with Beast God Mountain destroyed, Nine Spirits likely heads there with Mo Luo to Wan Shou Mo Sect.”

He believed Yunmei’s words: the injured Nine Spirits would join Mo Luo in the Central Region at Wan Shou Mo Sect.

“If Yangming True Lord targets Yuan Kingdom, Barebody Sect won’t change anything. What worries me is Yangming’s growth.”

Nightmare Eye spoke.

Though he’d never met Yangming, he witnessed the Liang-Yue War’s reversal.

Alone, Yangming shattered Liang and Yuan forces.

He dreaded not only Yangming’s might but also his speed of advancement.

In a few decades, he’d advanced from Core Formation to mid-stage Nascent Soul giant.

In another few decades, where might he stand? Leading late-stage Nascent Soul below the first?”

Once Yangming grew stronger, seizing resources, opening new spirit veins, expanding territory—Yuan Kingdom would surely clash with him.”

“I share that fear. His mysterious origins and meteoric rise suggest he may already be a late-stage Nascent Soul veteran.”

“Restoring to late-stage seems impossible here. Yet if we give him time…” Pomwang’s face darkened.

They hadn’t expected a powerhouse like Yangming to appear so quickly.

Before, Qianren or Xuanjian breaking mid-stage Nascent Soul felt plausible.

But Yangming’s emergence exceeded all forecasts.

Star Pupils grimaced, sensing their elder brothers’ concerns.

“First, send envoys to Dameng City to gauge Yangming’s stance.”

True Lord Heavenly Eye said calmly, “As for the rest, we’ll watch and wait.”

“Watch and wait?” Star Pupils frowned. This seemed unlike their Ancestor’s style.

“Remember, we’re not the only ones wary of Yangming.”

He addressed his descendant: “During the Mirage Domain crisis, Zicang True Lord, Yin Lei, and others attacked Qingluan True Lord. Yangming risked his life to save her, self-destructing his Dao body. Their bond runs deep.”

“Though both escaped the Mirage Domain, Qingluan’s acquisition of its core fortune sparked a scramble among Nascent Soul cultivators.”

“Would they dare provoke Yangming?” Star Pupils asked.

“Who said they wouldn’t?” Heavenly Eye chuckled. “Some saw Lord of Mount Luofu strike Qingluan True Lord back then.”

“Lord of Mount Luofu?!”

Star Pupils gasped. The name roared like thunder.

He was one of the Northern Region’s top Nascent Soul titans, though he’d stayed silent for nearly a century.

A hundred years ago, when Lord of Mount Luofu first appeared, his power rivaled Yangming’s.

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

Star Pupils asked, respectful yet concerned for Qingluan.

“I heard in that battle Qingluan’s Dao soldiers were decimated. She only escaped by a hair.”

True Lord Heavenly Eye murmured, nostalgic.

In the Mirage Domain, new Nascent Soul Qingluan had impressed many older cultivators with her Dao soldiers and fourth-rank spirit pet.

Given time, she might have become a mid-stage giant.

Yet she faced Lord of Mount Luofu—a true titan—and suffered grave losses.

“Qingluan True Lord slipped free?!” Star Pupils marvelled.

Though Qingluan surpassed many early-stage Nascent Souls, Lord of Mount Luofu’s record of slaying multiple Nascent Souls and fourth-rank mid-stage demon kings was terrifying.

“She escaped, but rumor says Lord of Mount Luofu hired a senior monk from Great Awakening Temple to hunt her relentlessly.”

“Whether he captured her or not, once Yangming learns this, he won’t let it lie.”

“And Lord of Mount Luofu spent great effort and resources to hunt Qingluan to amass late-stage Nascent Soul resources.”

“Now that Yangming shines with such extraordinary might and Qingluan’s fate is known, would Lord of Mount Luofu ignore the matter?”

True Lord Heavenly Eye explained calmly, revealing his reasoning for watching and waiting.

“If Lord of Mount Luofu eliminates Yangming, Tianmu Sect does nothing.

If Yangming emerges wounded or barely resists, we can choose to assist whichever side suits us best.”

“Ancestor, should we share this news with Yangming or Lord of Mount Luofu?” Star Pupils asked.

“They’ll learn it soon enough. No need for us to provoke.”

He replied patiently to his descendant.

As word spread, tales of Dameng City’s lord and Yangming’s deeds traveled from Liang and Yue Kingdoms across the Southern Desolation to the Yuan Kingdom and beyond.

At that moment in the Kingdom of Yu, within a fourth-rank Immortal City:

“Dameng City’s lord is Yangming True Lord? He slew Ming Sha True Lord and captured six Nascent Souls?”

A woman in a rainbow-hued dress and a five-colored glowing mask read the jade slip, eyes widening.

Though she knew her adoptive parents—Wang Lin and Li Muwan—were extraordinary, she never expected Dameng City’s lord to be Yangming.

Moreover, decades later, from Core Formation to a mid-stage giant—astonishing.

“He killed Ming Sha True Lord and captured six Nascent Souls. Maybe I can rent a fourth-rank spirit land from him to break Nascent Soul?”

Yan Xuanxuan’s autumn-bright eyes glimmered under her mask’s rainbow glow.

Though her parents had secured Nascent Soul resources for her future, another connection meant another path.

Once, Wang Lin and Li Muwan were merely comparable to Nascent Souls.

Now one rose to mid-stage giant. Her three chances would be far more valuable.

Whether to rent land to breakthrough or seek aid if in trouble, she could turn to him.

“Father, Mother, are you well?”

Thinking of her parents’ favor and connections, Yan Xuanxuan’s heart ached with longing.

They’d planned to journey to the Eastern Sea Cultivation Realm together.

But her doting father forbade her from crossing the Starry Sea if they failed to return.

“Eastern Sea…”

She sighed inwardly.

Though she’d considered crossing the Starry Sea after breaking Nascent Soul to reach the Eastern Sea Realm, she knew it meant death.

Her parents prepared thoroughly, using an ancient teleportation array and hunting multiple third-rank top-tier sea beasts and a fourth-rank Deep Sea Demon Whale King to safeguard their voyage.