After several days and nights of intense debate, Calamity Fate Palace and the Heavenly Human Clan finally reached a consensus.
Within a couple of days, a bottle of pills from the Heavenly Human Clan’s Emperor was delivered to the hands of the Calamity Fate Palace’s master through special means. These were resources to treat two severely injured Quasi Holy Emperors, ensuring their recovery to peak condition within a month.
For the higher-ups of Calamity Fate Palace, there wasn’t much left of their bottom line. For the greater good of the sect, sacrificing a bit more didn’t matter. The immediate benefits were what counted, and as for the future, who could say for sure?
“Our side has fulfilled the promise,”
The divine envoy Zihuang’s cool voice echoed in the hall: “Next, it’s your turn to perform. The Misty Illusion Secret Realm will reopen within three days. We hope the number of cultivators entering it won’t disappoint us!”
The palace master replied with a calm expression: “Rest assured, divine envoy. The Magic Clan progeny’s recent assaults on the Dao Lineage’s powers seem to have slowed, so many cultivators are eager to seize this opportunity to enter the secret realm in search of fortune. With our covert operations to stir up interest, the outcome will surely satisfy you.”
Perhaps the losses of the lower and middle-tier Magic Clan progeny were significant, or perhaps the Magic Clan’s higher-ups had new considerations for the war. Thus, in the past month, the onslaught of these alien beings had noticeably softened, giving the struggling Dao Lineage’s powers a chance to catch their breath.
Therefore, the Calamity Fate Palace’s higher-ups were confident that once the secret realm opened, they could coax enough cultivators to enter and meet their demise, allowing the Heavenly Human Clan to reap their fortune and potential.
As for the cultivators of Calamity Fate Palace, they were, of course, the specially protected group. Not only would they be safe this time, but they would also reap considerable benefits.
In previous years, the opening of the Misty Illusion Secret Realm followed a similar arrangement, which allowed the latent power of Calamity Fate Palace to grow stronger. There were even two dormant Quasi Holy Emperors, and not a few Taiyi and Daluo level powerhouses, though little known to other Dao Lineages.
Holy Maiden Mei Qingfeng pursed her lips, glancing at her silent master. With the opening of the secret realm, many cultivators from all Dao Lineages, including the Dao Court, would enter, and Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace would not be absent.
So, Qing Muling would certainly not miss this opportunity, right? If she could find him in the secret realm and carefully lay out a plan, perhaps…
Zihuang seemed to see through her thoughts and spoke: “The jade token slots allocated to Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace have been pre-arranged by us. Any disciple entering the secret realm will receive our special attention! This includes slots they exchange for resources inside the realm, all will be treated the same.”
“So, tracking Qing Muling’s whereabouts shouldn’t be difficult. Next, it will be our Heavenly Human Clan’s powerhouses who will personally capture him. Even though it’s only his Divine Soul, it’s enough.”
“Then here’s to your swift success!”
The palace master said somewhat helplessly, as this was also part of the confidential agreement. All the benefits associated with Qing Muling would eventually belong to the Heavenly Human Clan, and Calamity Fate Palace would no longer target him.
Mei Qingfeng sighed silently, wondering if she should secretly tip off Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace. As long as they didn’t let Qing Muling enter the Misty Illusion Secret Realm, the Heavenly Human Clan’s higher-ups wouldn’t be able to make a move, and she would still have a chance.
However, this had to be done secretly, without alerting the Heavenly Human Clan or even letting her master know, acting solely on her own behalf.
…
Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, Imperial Dao Peak.
In the abode of the Supreme Sect Master, Xinyu and Qinghuan, the two Emperors, sat side by side on the cloud bed, while Mu Yinghua and Fengge Emperor sat to one side. Below them were the high-ranking elders, with Qing Muling, his senior sisters, and Dragon Ritual Princess also present.
“The time has come,”
Mu Yinghua’s eyes, bright as stars, turned to Qing Muling and said softly, “Since you can enter the Misty Illusion Secret Realm directly with your flesh without using that jade token, why not give it a try?”
Qing Muling nodded: “Alright.”
The possibility of the Heavenly Human Clan and Calamity Fate Palace tampering with the jade tokens was clear to Xinyu Emperor, so initially, she was against Qing Muling entering the secret realm again, even if it meant foregoing the resources inside, as his safety could not be compromised.
However, now, Qing Muling’s newly awakened divine ability granted him the potential to circumvent this hazard, making it worth a try for the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace’s higher-ups.
Mu Yinghua waved her hand, and the entire abode lit up. The ground and walls revealed layers of formation patterns, and as the surging spiritual energy roiled, the spatial pressure in the room sharply increased.
Qing Muling sat in the center of the formation, holding his breath and concentrating, silently reciting his technique. After a moment, a huge phantom of the Blue Lotus leaf slowly emerged.
Yueyi Heavenly Lord, Yu Lingzhou, Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord, and over twenty Supreme Elders approached and gracefully merged into the phantom of the Blue Lotus, disappearing from sight. They had entered the spatial realm within Qing Muling’s body, ready to protect him closely.
As for Xuebing Xuan and the other ladies, due to their lower cultivation levels, Mu Yinghua did not allow them to take risks, and the same went for Dragon Ritual Princess.
After a dozen breaths, a thirty-foot-tall circular gate of light slowly appeared in mid-air and solidified. The ethereal and mysterious aura from within wafted out.
Normally, this gate would only allow the cultivator’s Divine Soul to enter, leaving the physical body behind. But now, Qing Muling was no longer subject to this restriction.
As the phantom of the Blue Lotus leaf gradually shrank, Qing Muling’s figure vanished on the spot. To the sensing of the two Emperors, he had indeed left this world.
When Qing Muling’s vision returned to normal, he found himself on an island.
Beneath his feet was fine, white sand, and the sea breeze carried a rich aura of water. A few hundred feet away was the azure sea, churning and crashing against the shore’s rocks, spraying fine foam. The distant calls of seagulls echoed.
Qing Muling’s divine consciousness spread lightly around, scanning the island of only a few dozen miles several times in an instant, finding no powerful beings. Then, he extended his senses into the sea.
The ocean was rich with diverse life, including sentient sea fish and beasts capable of absorbing spiritual energy for cultivation. However, their strength was generally not strong, at most equivalent to the True Person Realm.
Assured that there was no threat within thousands of miles, Qing Muling finally relaxed. The phantom of the Blue Lotus leaf appeared, releasing Yueyi Heavenly Lord, Yu Lingzhou, and the other ladies from his inner space.
“Wow, it really works!”
Lolita Elder stepped on the sand, her beautiful eyes taking in the surroundings. Delighted, she exclaimed, “That’s great, since Junior Brother can safely enter and exit from now on, we can freely transport the good stuff here! We’re well-prepared this time, guaranteed to bring back resources a thousand times over!”
Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord surveyed the somewhat monotonous seascape, sighing softly, “Back when I first entered the Misty Illusion Secret Realm, I was just a core disciple at the True One Realm, adventuring with my senior sisters. We even fought with disciples from the Dragon Tiger Pill Cauldron Sect and Huaqing Divine Palace over a rare vein of spiritual ore. It’s hard to believe so many years have passed.”
Yueyi Heavenly Lord carefully sensed her condition and spoke softly, “The feeling of having the flesh protect you is different. The vulnerability I used to feel when entering this world is completely gone. Even if I get injured accidentally, it’s easy to recover, which shows the Heavenly Human Clan really had ill intentions.”
Yu Lingzhou hugged Qing Muling excitedly and nibbled on him, smiling, “Now it’s our turn to fleece them. Thinking about how many sisters from Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace have been robbed here over the years, we must earn it all back with interest!”
The ladies agreed wholeheartedly. The Heavenly Human Clan’s actions were no different from vampires, and the countless cultivators of the Great Void Starry Sky had long harbored dissatisfaction. Given the chance, they naturally wanted to retaliate fiercely.
Qing Muling wrapped his arms around Yu Lingzhou’s smooth waist and said, “Since there’s no problem, let’s return for now. We shouldn’t keep the Emperors and Sect Master waiting.”
This visit was just a test. Once Qing Muling’s divine ability was confirmed effective, a large number of high-ranking female cultivators would come over to plunder the rare resources of this world.
“Okay, let’s go back together.”
Yu Lingzhou nodded, and the ladies re-entered the phantom of the Blue Lotus leaf’s inner space.
Back in the abode.
Due to the time flow differences between the two worlds, the two Emperors and Mu Yinghua didn’t have to wait long before they saw Qing Muling reappear, followed by Yu Lingzhou and the other elders emerging from the phantom of the Blue Lotus leaf.
“How was it?”
Mu Yinghua asked eagerly.
“Excellent, it’s completely feasible.”
Yu Lingzhou’s response allowed the elders present to breathe a sigh of relief. This meant that the Misty Illusion Secret Realm would soon become a resource treasury for Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace to exploit at will.
“If that’s the case, then let’s begin!”
Xinyu Emperor said, “This palace will split off another avatar to hide within Muling’s body, along with Qinghuan, to cast a grand divine ability that obscures the heavens and confuses yin and yang, ensuring the Heavenly Human Clan won’t notice anything.”
The remnants of the Heavenly Human Clan were indeed powerful, but the strongest among them were only at the Quasi Holy Emperor level, with no true Saint Supreme in existence. Therefore, this method of shielding the heavens was completely effective.
Qing Muling raised his hand and collected the neatly stacked hundreds of golden-threaded cloud sandalwood boxes in the corner of the abode into his inner space. Each box was filled to the brim with large-capacity Space Bracelets and rings.
Last time, Qing Muling’s cultivation was not high, so the volume of his inner space was limited. Coupled with the sect’s lack of preparation, he could only carry a little over three thousand large-capacity spatial artifacts in and out. But now, the range of the inner space within the phantom of the Blue Lotus leaf had expanded to over three thousand miles, so this limitation was almost nonexistent.
Over the past few years, Mu Yinghua had arranged for her confidants to purchase large-capacity spatial artifacts at any cost through various channels, both overt and covert, and had also mobilized the sect’s elders to refine a batch.
Later, when Qinghuan Emperor learned of this, she used her authority to transfer a batch of spatial artifacts from the Dao Court’s stores, totaling tens of thousands, more than enough for their needs.
Especially now that the inner space could accommodate living beings, Qing Muling could bring tens of thousands of high-ranking female cultivators into the Misty Illusion Secret Realm at once, without relying on the jade token slots given by the Heavenly Human Clan, ensuring maximum safety.
After storing the spatial artifacts, with Mu Yinghua’s hand gestures, the spatial formation in the abode activated, and a secret door opened. Rows of beautiful and graceful female cultivators in white robes and carrying swords entered, their eyes full of anticipation.
Qing Muling glanced at them. They were all his senior sisters and aunts whom he had helped cross tribulations some time ago, all with True Immortal cultivation, and some even Xuan Immortals, totaling twenty thousand.
Due to the rules of the Misty Illusion Secret Realm, even Daluo level powerhouses could only use power at the peak of the Ascending to Immortality realm, so True Immortals and Xuan Immortals were sufficient. After all, their task was to collect and transport resources.
As for Yu Lingzhou and the other Supreme Elders, they were there to protect Qing Muling. Having spent a lot of time with him, they would also benefit subtly from his fortune.
“There’s no time to waste, let’s get started!”
Mu Yinghua instructed, and the female cultivators responded in unison, bowing before merging into the phantom of the Blue Lotus leaf and disappearing.
Then came Xuebing Xuan, Dragon Ritual Princess, and the other senior sisters, including the little phoenix Fengxia. Finally, Yu Lingzhou and the other ladies followed.
Seeing all the female cultivators enter his inner space, Qing Muling bid farewell to Mu Yinghua and vanished from the spot.
As light and dark shifted in his vision, the island, beach, and the vast blue ocean reappeared before him.
Then, twenty thousand female cultivators flew out, forming two hundred teams of a hundred each, with a Xuan Immortal leading each team.
“Alright, time is of the essence, let’s get to work!”
Yu Lingzhou straightened up and instructed, “All the sea fish and beasts in this ocean, the various rare specialties on the seabed, anything the sect can use, collect them all. After you fill your spatial artifacts, come back and hand them to Junior Brother.”
The female cultivators agreed and stepped forward, each taking over twenty large-capacity Space Bracelets and rings, then flew off in all directions, soon disappearing from sight.
The resources in the deep ocean were far richer than on land, with spiritual herbs, rare minerals, exotic plants and trees, and the great demons and spiritual birds inhabiting the ocean floor, all valuable targets for the cultivators.
Yu Lingzhou and the other Supreme Elders remained in place, ready to assist any team that encountered trouble.
Xuebing Xuan, Dragon Ritual Princess, and the other senior sisters didn’t need to work themselves. Their task was to keep Qing Muling entertained and well-cared for.
…
Back in the abode.
“Now, it’s time to arrange for them to enter the secret realm.”
Mu Yinghua spoke leisurely, and the remaining elders nodded in agreement. To avoid suspicion from the Heavenly Human Clan and Calamity Fate Palace, this cover operation was essential.
This time, Calamity Fate Palace allocated over two thousand jade token slots to Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, three hundred of which were reportedly given by the Heavenly Human Clan for free. Then, Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace symbolically purchased several hundred slots, as the price of the slots had significantly decreased compared to previous years.
Knowing the other party’s intentions, they had to play the part fully and use all the slots. Otherwise, suspicion would arise, which would not align with the intentions of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace’s higher-ups.
Therefore, these two thousand plus selected female cultivators were to serve as a distraction.
Mu Yinghua’s intention was not for them to perform exceptionally inside, but to protect themselves as best as they could. Even if it meant hiding in a city of the Heavenly Human Clan and idly waiting for the secret realm to close, as long as they survived, they would have completed their mission.