The negotiations lasted for quite some time.
With Qing Muling and the Dragon Ritual Princess as the bond, the strategic alliance between the Dao Court’s Qinghuan Emperor lineage and Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace was formed. Both parties agreed to maintain a coordinated and unified stance on most matters, offering mutual support and vigilance.
It must be acknowledged that at the current stage, the power of the Dao Court still held a considerable advantage. Even just the strength of Qinghuan Emperor’s lineage was formidable, so Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace did indeed gain some benefits from this arrangement.
However, this was only the current situation. Once Qing Muling further matured, the strength of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace would rise with the tide, and it was possible that they would eventually surpass the entire Dao Court.
After some contemplation, Mu Yinghua asked, “Emperor, the content of this alliance should be kept absolutely confidential and not disclosed to the public, right?”
Qinghuan Emperor replied with a slight smile, “Of course not for now. As for the future, when the situation changes, this palace will consider revealing some details to those two to gain their support. I believe your side wouldn’t oppose this, right?”
“As long as you are aware of the implications.”
Mu Yinghua certainly understood her meaning. If the day came when that person from Origin Star Palace came knocking, to protect Qing Muling from being taken away, it would be necessary to have Xuan Yin Emperor and Wei De Emperor join the alliance.
However, among the descendants and disciples of those two Emperors, there were also exceptional women. Upon learning of Qinghuan Emperor’s arrangements, would they follow suit and demand Qing Muling to accept their family’s women? The thought alone was exhausting!
Ultimately, Qing Muling was the key. Whether the immortal civilization of this era in the Great Void could survive the great calamities and flourish with the revival of the world’s environment, it all hinged on him.
Then, Qinghuan Emperor handed over a jade slip, radiant with brilliance, to Xinyu Emperor. After Xinyu Emperor reviewed it, she passed it to Fengge Emperor, who then handed it to Mu Yinghua. After making its rounds, it finally reached Qing Muling’s hands.
The jade slip contained a long list of resources, ostensibly the dowry brought by the Dragon Ritual Princess. It was divided into three parts, the first of which was for Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, an enormous amount equivalent to the sect’s expenses for over a hundred years.
The second part was for Qing Muling himself, including a set of Postnatal Spirit Treasures, ten billion heavenly merits, seeds of three thousand supreme divine herbs, and seeds or seedlings of one hundred and fifty Heavenly Medicines. These were all considered extinct treasures in the Great Void, yet they could still be found in Qinghuan Emperor’s private world.
Moreover, the ten billion heavenly merits Qing Muling owed before no longer needed to be repaid. In exchange, once these divine and Heavenly Medicine seeds matured, half of them had to be sold to the Dao Court at an agreed internal trade price.
Clearly, Qinghuan Emperor had made such arrangements knowing Qing Muling’s divine abilities.
The third part, nominally shared by the Dragon Ritual Princess and Qing Muling, was managed by the Dragon Ritual Princess. It included ownership contracts for a hundred prosperous star domains, thousands of rare resource mines, medicine gardens, spirit beast ranches, spiritual fields, and a series of profitable industries like trading companies. The annual profit was an astonishing figure, enough to establish a top-tier sect.
Additionally, Qinghuan Emperor arranged for twelve Taiyi Golden Immortals, hundreds of Golden Immortals, and three thousand Xuan Immortals to serve as close guards for the Dragon Ritual Princess, obeying only her commands.
Accompanying the Dragon Ritual Princess were millions of maids, musicians, dancers, craftsmen, and talents managing various industries.
Considering that Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace was a sect of female cultivators, to avoid suspicion and facilitate interaction, all these guards and accompanying personnel were exceptional female cultivators, with not a single male cultivator present.
These territories and industries were unrelated to the Dao Court and belonged to Qinghuan Emperor’s private assets. She specifically declared that in the future, they would only be left to the children of Qing Muling and the Dragon Ritual Princess, and no one else was allowed to interfere.
Even Qing Muling couldn’t help but marvel at the lavish dowry, acknowledging that having a Quasi Holy Emperor as a mother was indeed extraordinary. At least, the likes of Xuebing Xuan and the other women couldn’t offer such conditions, despite their own remarkable family backgrounds.
Although Qing Muling himself didn’t care much for these things, this was Qinghuan Emperor’s attitude. To prevent her daughter from being looked down upon or marginalized after her arrival, she spared no effort to increase her resources and bargaining chips.
Even in ordinary mortal families, if a daughter didn’t have a sufficient dowry, she would inevitably be looked down upon by her husband’s family, let alone among high-ranking cultivators.
Especially given Qing Muling’s unique and incomparable status, and the Dragon Ritual Princess being Qinghuan Emperor’s only daughter, this matter could not be taken lightly.
Clearly, the Emperor’s arrangements were very effective. At least from now on, the higher-ups of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace would have no excuse to trouble the Dragon Ritual Princess. Even Xuebing Xuan and the other women had no confidence in her presence. After all, even a dowry maid had the cultivation of a Golden Immortal, how could they compare?
Mu Yinghua and Xinyu Emperor exchanged glances, already considering whether to add more chips to Xuebing Xuan and the other women’s side. Otherwise, they might indeed be suppressed by the Dragon Ritual Princess in the future, and the high ranks of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace would lose face.
“Qinghuan junior sister, feel free to stay a few more days in the sect,” Xinyu Emperor suggested. “Muling has now reached the pinnacle of the Destiny Realm and can cross the Feather Transformation Tribulation. However, his situation is too special. Last time in the Dao Court, he almost made a grave mistake. We can’t let such danger occur again.”
Qinghuan Emperor nodded: “You mean for us to join forces and ensure his safe passage through the tribulation? That’s no problem.”
By now, she understood the cause and effect of Qing Muling’s previous peril. If not for the effect of those five billion heavenly merits, the original owner of Origin Star Palace would have tracked him down and captured this Harmony Spirit Seed incarnate long ago.
This time, Qing Muling was not lacking in heavenly merits, and with two peak Quasi Holy Emperors joining hands to shield the heavens’ secrets, his safety was fully assured.
And so, the matter was settled.
A day later, at the imposing Yunji Peak, which soared over ninety thousand miles high and was enveloped in layers of formidable formations and prohibitions, a vast amount of spiritual energy was drawn from underground spiritual veins, providing ample energy for the operation of the great array.
Qing Muling sat alone at the center of the Ascension Platform, with a majestic golden seal floating in front of him. As he gradually released the seals within his body and slowly released his aura, the high heavens above immediately responded, and boundless dark clouds quickly gathered, plunging the world into darkness, obscuring the sun and the moon.
Apart from the continuous thunder, there was no other sound between heaven and earth. As the temperature in the void plummeted, an oppressive aura of destruction enveloped the surroundings, and wild lightning, like ancient dragons, writhed within the dark clouds.
Having supported many fellow sect sisters through their tribulations, Qing Muling was no stranger to heavenly tribulations. Moreover, for him, the tribulation itself was not particularly terrifying. With his profound accumulation, he could withstand it. The key was the leakage of his aura, which could attract the attention of the original owner of Origin Star Palace.
Fortunately, Qinghuan Emperor and Xinyu Emperor were already shielding all heavenly secrets and causality, allowing Qing Muling to face the tribulation without any worries.
“Perhaps in the past million years of the Great Void, no cultivator has ever had such a grand setup as me? To have two Quasi Holy Emperors personally protecting me through a Feather Transformation Tribulation, even those monstrous geniuses and designated successors from the Supreme Dao Lineages couldn’t enjoy such exceptional treatment…”
Qing Muling pondered silently. Not just this time, but for future tribulations at the Elemental Immortal, True Immortal, and even higher realms, he would likely require the protection of the two Emperors.
Thus, he was the core of this strategic alliance. As long as he remained safe, the relationship between Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace and the Dao Court would not be affected.
The phantom of the Blue Lotus emerged from within Qing Muling, and a vast essence of spiritual energy descended from the depths of the void like the waters of an opened celestial river, flooding into his body. The chaotic radiance shone and circulated endlessly, driving his cultivation to climb inch by inch, crossing that boundary that separated mortals from immortals, stepping into a brand new realm.
As the deafening thunderclaps of the heavenly tribulation finally descended, the massive auspicious clouds above weakened and blocked the tribulation lightning, posing no substantial threat to Qing Muling.
From the Understanding Mystery Realm to the Destiny Realm, a cultivator’s power, divine abilities, and lifespan would increase step by step, but fundamentally, they had not completely transcended the realm of mortals. However, cultivators who had crossed the Feather Transformation Tribulation and undergone the baptism and transformation of the heavenly tribulation belonged to a higher level of life, incomparable to the former.
The Feather Transformation Ascending to Immortality Realm could be strictly divided into two realms: the Feather Transformation Realm and the Ascending to Immortality Realm. The Feather Transformation Realm referred to cultivators who had passed the heavenly thunder tribulation, understood the mysteries of life and death, condensed the true laws of the immortal path within their bodies, and continuously refined themselves to transform their flesh into the body of an immortal.
The Ascending to Immortality Realm, on the other hand, meant that after the flesh, the soul had also completed its transformation and ascension into an immortal soul. Body and soul united, achieving a flawless immortal Dao fruit, allowing one to freely roam the Great Void and effortlessly refine various treasures and true pills.
Limited by the laws of the Great Dao in this realm, the lifespan of human cultivators in the Destiny Realm could not exceed ten thousand years, regardless of any life-extending elixirs or divine abilities. Only by passing the test of the heavenly thunder tribulation and condensing the true laws of the immortal path within their bodies could they effectively break this shackle and possess a lifespan as long as a Yuanhui.
On a distant mountain peak, a radiant flying cloud platform, a hundred zhang in size, hovered steadily. The Dragon Ritual Princess and Xuebing Xuan and the other women sat together, silently observing the tribulation process of their Junior Brother.
Although they understood there was no risk, the women couldn’t help feeling a bit nervous as the moment approached.
Every half-quarter of an hour, a terrifying thunderbolt shaped like a demonic dragon struck down from the heavens. After eighty-one thunderbolts, the tribulation clouds in the sky began to show signs of dissipating.
“The Harmony Spirit Seed is indeed extraordinary. Ordinary cultivators would pass after enduring nine thunderbolts, monstrous geniuses only need to withstand thirty-six, yet he has withstood a full eighty-one?” the Dragon Ritual Princess said with a slight frown, her own experience of crossing the Feather Transformation Tribulation having been far less intense.
“However, the power of the thunderbolts is quite limited, only about two or three tenths of the normal tribulation’s power, so it’s not too difficult to withstand,” Su Yuanzhen said with a smile.
The Dragon Ritual Princess nodded and said no more. Her Dao Companion was not someone who could be measured by ordinary standards. The usual rules and frameworks for cultivators simply did not apply to him.
On the Ascension Platform, Qing Muling silently used secret divine abilities to introspect. As the laws of the immortal path within his body successfully condensed, the light roots surrounding the Harmony Spirit Seed became denser and thicker, deeply penetrating different spatial depths, continuously drawing an immeasurable essence of spiritual energy back.
The ninth phantom of the Blue Lotus leaf had formed, and his lifespan surged to more than three hundred thousand years, three times that of an ordinary cultivator. Most importantly, his fortune had increased dramatically, nearly nine times that of his full Destiny Realm, and was still growing.
With the condensation of the laws of the immortal path, his many innate divine abilities were significantly enhanced. For example, the divine ability to detect all formations, prohibitions, traps, and curses had expanded from a range of two thousand li to four thousand li, with all beings below the Golden Immortal level unable to hide.
As for the ability to probe fortune, as long as the target’s cultivation was below the Elemental Immortal Realm, Qing Muling could easily see through all their secrets. Unless a Quasi Holy Emperor intervened to muddle yin and yang and shield the heavens’ secrets, this secret method would be ineffective.
Qing Muling’s ability to absorb the essence of spiritual herbs and grasses to aid in cultivation had now reached a point where a single use could increase their potency by six thousand years. Not only could he mass-produce divine herbs, but even Heavenly Medicines of a million years were no longer an unattainable dream.
Each Heavenly Medicine contained true laws of the immortal path, and to cultivate resources of this level, one must reach the Feather Transformation Realm.
His ability to move through the void had increased to over a million li, usable nine times a day. No matter the perilous or constrained situation, with a single activation, Qing Muling could instantly escape far away. This divine ability could also only be countered by Quasi Holy Emperors.
The innate divine ability to temporarily enhance his cultivation level now cost two thousand years of lifespan per use. By sacrificing two thousand years of life, he could temporarily gain the strength of a True Immortal for half an hour. With over three hundred thousand years of lifespan, Qing Muling could afford to be extravagant, but for his opponents, it was not good news.
After breaking through the Feather Transformation Realm, the Chrono Dial’s effect time extended to a hundred breaths, causing a small-scale reversal of time within a ten-zhang radius centered on himself. The cost was a permanent loss of a thousand years of lifespan per use, with no means of recovery, unless his cultivation could break through to a higher realm in the future.
His innate divine ability to conceal his presence had also been enhanced. Once activated, he could perfectly hide his form, aura, and even the trajectory of his fate, making it impossible for enemies to track or perceive him, lasting two hours.