If it were not for the Heavenly Court’s reinforcements, at the gathering of the Confucian Sects, all the saints from the Nine Great Confucian Sects would have been slaughtered, except for the Master whose ability to preserve life is extremely strong.
The Martial God of Wushen Palace said, “What is their purpose? To eliminate the Nine Great Confucian Sects and remove obstacles in advance?”
The people of the Heavenly Court all turned their heads in unison to look at the Master.
The Master had exchanged blows with the Hallucinatory Dark Demon Venerable and had conversed with the adversary; perhaps the Master could extract some words from them.
The Master glanced at the Heavenly Court’s arrivals and spoke slowly, “Originally, I also believed their target was the Nine Great Confucian Sects, but now it seems they might not have acted against our sects. Sage Chen’s death could have just been something they did conveniently.”
“Do you have any findings?”
Everyone was surprised when the Master drew an unusual conclusion.
All of a sudden, the Master asked, “Why has the Heavenly Emperor not come?”
“…”
Yang Qing remained silent.
All eyes turned towards Yang Qing.
Yang Qing, who defends the Southern Heavenly Gate, one of the strongest among the four Heavenly Generals, is also a Great Expert of the Jade Void Palace; he should be aware of the Heavenly Emperor’s situation.
The Master looked up at the sky with his hands behind his back, where the Heavenly Court was located: “With the Heavenly Emperor’s cultivation level, it would only take a single breath for him to come here from the Heavenly Court, and the Great Formation arranged by the Demon Lords could be broken in an instant. The Heavenly Emperor could have seized this opportunity to slay these Demon Lords. Yet, the Heavenly Emperor did not come. There are only two possibilities, one is that the Heavenly Emperor turns a blind eye, ignoring the situation. The other possibility is… the Heavenly Emperor cannot come.”
The Master then turned his sharp gaze towards Yang Qing again.
The Qiongxiao Sword Maiden was shocked by the Master’s deduction, she found it unbelievable: “Yang Qing, could it be that the Heavenly Emperor is…”
The Master continued, “The Cold Bone Demon Venerable, Hallucinatory Dark Demon Venerable, Imprisoning Demon Venerate, and others retreated as if they had planned it in advance. They must have guessed something, and this time they acted to confirm their suspicions. Since they have all guessed it, there is no need for you to hide it from us anymore. If I’m not mistaken, the Heavenly Emperor must be gravely injured for some reason and therefore unable to take timely action against these Demon Lords.”
“The Heavenly Emperor is injured?”
Even the people from the Heavenly Court were astonished.
Had it not been for the Master’s reasoning, how would they ever connect the assault on the Confucian Sects’ convening by the Demon Lords with the Heavenly Emperor’s injury?
“It is said the Master roamed the ancient times with two great abilities: one for preserving life, and the other for deduction. Truly, your reputation is well-deserved. Correct, the Heavenly Emperor is injured and unable to take action.”
The pupils of the Great Experts from the Eight Great Divine Palaces shook.
The Heavenly Emperor, the strongest in the Immortal Realm, got injured!
At a critical juncture when the Demon Realm is about to launch a major invasion into the Immortal Realm, the most powerful being in the Immortal Realm being injured is like a bolt from the blue!
What’s even worse is that the Cold Bone Demon Venerable has verified his guess through his scheming, and now the Demon Realm knows that the lord of the Heavenly Court can’t act.
With this, the Demon Army could invade at any time.
The Qiongxiao Sword Maiden had a sudden realization: “No wonder the Heavenly Emperor has been cultivating the Emperor’s successor for the last million years, it’s because…”
“This matter must not be divulged, or it will cause panic. If someone from the Demon Realm were to spread this word, we would be powerless.”
Yang Qing expressed indifferently.
To block the soldier with the general, to cover the water with soil.
Even though the Heavenly Emperor is injured, the Demon Lords have also fallen, and the current Demon Marshal Dugu Mietian is not highly cultivated and can be disregarded; the Immortal Realm still has experts capable of contending with the Demon Realm.
“Forget it, you win, I give up.”
Lu Changsheng has been Refining the Nameless Ancient Cauldron for half a day, and it remains unyielding; Lu Changsheng has no way to subdue it.
With a magical treasure of the level of the Nameless Ancient Cauldron, Lu Changsheng lacks the capability to force it into submission.
“Hey, Lu Changsheng, isn’t my surrender enough? Please, I beg you to let me go.”
Dantai Meng tried all sorts of secret techniques and magical treasures, unable to break free from the Mountain and Rivers Chart, thus she started pleading with Lu.
As the Hallucinatory Dark Demon Venerable had returned to the Demon Realm without backing her, Dantai Meng was at Lu’s mercy.
“Just stay put inside, you won’t starve.”
Lu wasn’t ready to let Dantai Meng go just yet.
Catching this fellow again so soon, he wasn’t about to release her without a proper lesson to be learned.
“Hmph.”
Dantai Meng had no choice but to sit down and cultivate.
She knew that with the threat of the Hallucinatory Dark Demon Venerable, Lu wouldn’t kill her, but that she’d have to live under someone else’s roof and put up with it for a while.
Fortunately, the Mountain and Rivers Chart was connected to the outside world, allowing Dantai Meng to cultivate normally within.
“This Confucian Sect conference has encountered an unexpected catastrophe, thus we shall call it to an end here. I implore everyone to make your ways home.”
After conversing with the envoy from the Heavenly Court, the Master announced the conclusion of the Confucian Sect conference.
Tens of thousands of Confucian Scholars had perished in this great disaster, and no one was in the mood to continue participating in the conference, hence they all headed back to their respective abodes.
The disciples from Weilong Academy gathered the relics left by Sage Chen, in order to repair his tomb and coat, before returning to Weilong Mountain.
“This catastrophe is only the beginning. Master, what do you think our chances of victory are?”
Duke Huanglong reattached his wine gourd to his cloth belt and stood shoulder to shoulder with the Master, looking down at the departing Confucian Scholars.
“It’s hard to say; I might even lose my life because of this.”
“Hahaha.” Duke Huanglong laughed as if he had heard a joke, “With your ability to preserve life, I fear there are few in the world who can kill you. I remember, in ancient times, several Dragon Kings joined forces to hunt you down throughout the Three Realms. Although you fled in disarray and they beat you with fists and kicks, using all sorts of seals, they still couldn’t handle you because they found they simply could not kill you.”
“…”
The Master rolled his eyes. Was Duke Huanglong praising him or mocking him?
Duke Huanglong’s expression turned serious: “With a great catastrophe impending, I too must hasten my comprehension of the Dao. I take my leave.”
Duke Huanglong led the Confucian Scholars of Tianming Academy away.
The Eight Great Confucian Sects left, one after another.
The other smaller and weaker Confucian Sects also departed in succession.
With the interruption of the Confucian Sect conference, this place was no longer one to stay for long.
However, Lu Changsheng was in no rush to leave.
The Demon Lord’s attack on the Confucian Sect conference seemed to be a probe of sorts, and having achieved his goal, he likely wouldn’t come back again.
Having finally reunited with his third disciple, Mo Huazhi, after a long separation, Lu Changsheng wished to catch up and was not in a hurry to return to Mount Taihua Sacred Land.
“Lu, you have a rather impressive treasure within your body.”
Suddenly, the Master’s voice reached him, startling Lu Changsheng.
The blue light that erupted from the Nameless Ancient Cauldron, which repelled the Daoyu Demon Venerable, had been noticed by the Master.
Although the Master was a disciple of Mo Huazhi, with a good reputation in the Immortal Realm, Lu Changsheng was cautious and still uncertain of the Master’s character; he did not know whether the Master would covet the treasure.
Since the Master had discovered it, Lu Changsheng casually responded: “It was an incidental find.”
“Do you know the origin of this treasure?”
“Do you know, Senior?”
Lu Changsheng got progressively more excited; it seemed that not only did the Daoyu Demon Venerable know of the Nameless Ancient Cauldron’s origins, but the Master did as well.
With just a glance at the blue light released by the Nameless Ancient Cauldron, the Master could guess the origins of this magical treasure; truly a testament to an Ancient Saint’s extensive knowledge and experience.”
“I can tell you its origin, but you must also tell me how you came upon this treasure.”
“Agreed.”
Lu Changsheng had fortuitously obtained it in the Nine Nether Domain—he neither stole it nor seized it forcefully, so there was indeed nothing to fear in telling.
“This object is a magical treasure of the Qing Emperor, known as the Human Sovereign Cauldron.”
A magical treasure of the Qing Emperor!
Lu Changsheng’s heart surged with shock and awe.
No wonder the blue light released by the Nameless Ancient Cauldron could repel an existence like the Daoyu Demon Venerable; it was in fact an ancient treasure of the Qing Emperor!
The Qing Emperor was an existence even more ancient than the Master; the grade of his magical treasure was beyond ordinary measurement.
Lu Changsheng had been frustrated that the Nameless Ancient Cauldron had been drawing a fair amount of his True Qi, but now it seemed the price was well worth it.
The Master asked, “The Human Sovereign Cauldron was originally meant to be buried within the Qing Emperor’s Mausoleum, but it was stolen by the Demon Lord and ended up in the Demon Realm. How did it end up in your hands?”
“I had the good fortune to encounter it in the Nine Nether Domain…”
Lu Changsheng answered the Master’s query, and the Master seemed to understand.
“It seems the spirit of the Human Sovereign Cauldron was unwilling to be trapped in the Demon Realm and thus found a way to escape. By the time it crossed the abyss into the Immortal Realm, it had already sustained damage, which is why it temporarily resides within your body.”
“So that’s how it is.”
Lu Changsheng also came to a realization; the spirit of the Human Sovereign Cauldron had already developed its own consciousness, only submissive to the Qing Emperor, hence it resisted being Refining by Lu Changsheng.