The unsuccessful abduction attempt did not have much impact on the higher echelons of Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace.

As long as Qing Muling was unharmed, other issues were trivial, merely a purge of some hidden threats. The vacated positions were quickly filled, and the elders and officers of the various departments continued their duties as usual.

In the rear garden pavilion of Imperial Dao Peak.

The sisters, along with Yu Lingzhou, Yueyi Heavenly Lord, Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord, and other close-knit elders, were all seated together, chatting. The luxurious hall was adorned with splendid fabrics and vibrant colors, and the enticing fragrance of their bodies filled the air.

Now, Dragon Ritual Princess and her personal maid Su Yuanzhen had also become one of the hostesses here. Due to the strong status of her maternal family, she even overshadowed Xuebing Xuan and the others.

As a result, elders like Yu Lingzhou and Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord from the Sect Master factions naturally joined in, sometimes even Fengge Emperor would attend, to balance the influence of the Qinghuan Emperor lineage.

Regarding Xinyu Emperor’s junior sister, Qing Muling once considered whether to help her ascend to a true Quasi Holy Emperor, as she was only half a step away. However, after consulting with Mu Yinghua, he dismissed the idea.

The reason was simple: Qing Muling’s cultivation was not yet sufficient. He would have to wait until he reached the True Immortal or Xuan Immortal realm before such a feat was feasible.

Feasible, but not guaranteed to succeed. Since there was no precedent for such an undertaking, even Xinyu Emperor couldn’t be certain. They could only wait until Qing Muling’s cultivation improved.

“…Junior Brother, are you sure there won’t be any other consequences?”

Yu Lingzhou, with her beautiful face and cheerful demeanor, clung to Qing Muling, her hands roaming over his body to meticulously check his internal state, drawing many disapproving glances from around.

This sly fox was ostensibly concerned but was actually just taking advantage of the situation to get close to Junior Brother. Did she think no one else could see through her act?

“It’s fine, I’ve only lost some lifespan. It can be restored once I break through to the next realm.”

Qing Muling explained that the bronze lotus from Calamity Fate Palace was extraordinary, one of the top-tier Innate Spirit Treasures. Fortunately, the elders who controlled it lacked sufficient cultivation to unleash its full power.

Thanks to Xinyu Emperor’s avatar sharing much of the burden, Qing Muling had the opportunity to use his “Chrono Dial” ability to reverse time. Coupled with his stealth and spatial transposition abilities, he successfully escaped the bronze lotus’s confinement and fled.

The price he paid was severe injuries and a permanent loss of two thousand years of lifespan.

With the miraculous Harmony Spirit Seed, healing injuries was a simple task. As for lifespan, it was a bit more troublesome and could only be restored upon breaking through to the next major realm. Of course, this was no big deal; with a lifespan of an entire Yuanhui, it was completely bearable.

Thus, when Qing Muling appeared before Mu Yinghua, he looked completely unscathed, not even a scratch on him.

Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord, with her calm and serene beauty, pondered, “That bronze lotus is a major treasure of Calamity Fate Palace, its lethality is no less than our Li Feng Star Cloud Tower, and it has many incredible uses. If the palace master herself had controlled it, Junior Brother, you might not have had a chance to escape, even with the help of an Emperor.”

Yueyi Heavenly Lord, with her dignified and intellectual charm, smiled, “For such an important operation, Calamity Fate Palace deployed their elite forces. However, their Main Altar couldn’t be left unguarded, so they had to leave a Quasi Holy Emperor behind, which is why the palace master didn’t come this time, giving Junior Brother a chance to turn the tables.”

Implicitly, if the palace master had personally taken action and controlled the bronze lotus, Qing Muling would not have had such an easy time escaping, unless Xinyu Emperor herself was present and willing to pay the price of severe injury to save him.

Of course, this was just a retrospective analysis, only for reference. If time could be turned back, Calamity Fate Palace’s higher-ups might have been willing to take a gamble, but now it was too late.

Without the cooperation of those high-level spies and with Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace’s heightened protection measures for Qing Muling, even if Calamity Fate Palace deployed three Quasi Holy Emperors, they would no longer have a chance.

Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord glanced at Qing Muling, thinking that his supreme fortune must have played a role in the outcome. Otherwise, with Calamity Fate Palace’s forces deployed against a mere Feather Transformation Realm junior, it should have been overkill, and there was no reason for failure.

From Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace’s perspective, this was the ideal outcome. Calamity Fate Palace had suffered a significant loss and would likely lay low for a while, not causing any trouble in the near future.

Qing Muling pondered, “Will Calamity Fate Palace deliver the territories and compensation as promised? Everything else aside, especially those two billion heavenly merits… If I were the palace master, I would probably look for excuses to delay for years, or even default on the debt.”

Heavenly merits were one of the most precious strategic resources in the Great Void. Two billion heavenly merits given to Qing Muling, followed by a month of closed-door cultivation with an accelerated time formation array, would be enough for him to achieve a flawless Elemental Immortal or even True Immortal Dao fruit. For Xuebing Xuan and the others, reaching the Golden Immortal Dao fruit might even be possible.

Dragon Ritual Princess, with her pure and mysteriously enchanting demeanor, pursed her lips and thoughtfully said, “The Sect Master negotiated a thirty-year deadline for the compensation delivery because Calamity Fate Palace currently has no heavenly merit reserves. They had spent all their merits on reviving the two Quasi Holy Emperors and now must rely on hunting Magic Clan progeny to earn them, so this matter can’t be rushed.”

For high-level cultivators, a hundred or eighty years was nothing. Calamity Fate Palace’s promise to pay all compensation within thirty years was considered quite sincere, so even Xinyu Emperor could not find a reason to object.

As for other cultivation resources and Spirit Treasures, they were easy to handle, just taken directly from the storerooms. Of course, Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace was not lacking in resources and was not particularly concerned about these benefits.

Cheng Yulan, with her ethereal and enigmatic beauty, asked softly, “Calamity Fate Palace has suffered a great loss. Will they try to compensate elsewhere? After all, they now have three Quasi Holy Emperors, and even a half-crippled Emperor is not something that Daluo-level powerhouses can contend with.”

After all, it was one of the oldest superpowers with a heritage far more ancient than any Supreme Dao Lineage power in the Great Void, including Dao Court, and its depth was unimaginable to outsiders.

Therefore, Cheng Yulan felt that Calamity Fate Palace was unlikely to let things go and was probably harboring some unknown malicious intentions.

Ice Falcon Heavenly Lord nodded lightly, “We can’t rule out that possibility, so we must not let our guard down.”

Her eyes glanced at Qing Muling, thinking that it wasn’t a big deal. As long as they could protect Junior Brother, Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace would remain invincible, regardless of whatever tricks Calamity Fate Palace had up their sleeve.

Su Yuanzhen observed the reactions of the ladies and felt a twinge of emotion. To secure Qing Muling, Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace’s higher-ups were truly sparing no expense. The girls present were the most outstanding in the entire sect, and now they all belonged to him.

Even if not now, it would likely be the case sooner or later, especially after the princess and herself had arrived.

Thinking this, Su Yuanzhen felt somewhat troubled. When Dragon Ritual Princess came, she had also carefully selected tens of thousands of accompanying maids, all directly under the Emperor’s trusted lineage, each one a beauty in a million, not inferior to Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace’s female cultivators in any aspect.

However, now, for the sake of secrecy and more importantly, to ensure Qing Muling’s safety, these maids had to stay in Dragon Ritual Princess’s Dao Court and were not allowed to step into Imperial Dao Peak.

As a result, facing the sisters and elders around Qing Muling, Su Yuanzhen and her young mistress seemed somewhat isolated.

This could not continue.

Su Yuanzhen was already considering whether to ask the Emperor to intervene, using the excuse that the princess needed attendants, to transfer a group of the most outstanding female cultivators to be arranged by her side. This would give them a chance to meet Qing Muling, and if a few were favored by him and taken into his household, that would be ideal.

The next day, Qing Muling entered Xinyu Emperor’s Dao Court to continue treating the high-level female immortals brought by Qinghuan Emperor.

Compared to assisting others in crossing tribulations, it was a priority to restore these high-level female immortals first, as it would significantly enhance Qinghuan Emperor’s available combat power. After all, a Golden Immortal-level powerhouse could easily crush thousands of Elemental Immortals, not to mention Taiyi and Daluo-level powerhouses.

With the help of the time acceleration formation array, after just forty days, more than three thousand high-level female immortals were fully restored.

Then, it was time to continue assisting the female cultivators in crossing their tribulations.

There were too many female cultivators needing to cross tribulations, and without the use of the time acceleration formation array, the efficiency was not as high as healing, so they had to proceed batch by batch.

As time passed, the date for the reopening of the Misty Illusion Secret Realm was drawing closer, now less than half a month away.

For this reason, Xinyu Emperor specifically instructed Qing Muling to temporarily stop his duties and enter closed-door cultivation with his sisters to rest and prepare for entering the Misty Illusion Secret Realm.

Qing Muling had no reason to refuse. Moreover, it was worth mentioning that Xuebing Xuan, Cheng Yulan, Qi Yalan, and Luo Huan had reached the peak of the True Immortal realm, just a paper-thin barrier away from the Xuan Immortal realm. Perhaps after this period of closed-door cultivation, they could attempt to trigger their heavenly tribulations.

As for Luo Wanqing, her progress was slower, but she was also at the late stage of the True Immortal realm, while Yu Binghua was at the late stage of the Elemental Immortal realm.

…

In the distant starry sky, at the Main Altar of Calamity Fate Palace.

Inside the bronze secret hall.

Heavenly Human Clan envoy Zihuang sat on the throne, quietly watching the palace master enter, a barely noticeable smile in her eyes, and spoke warmly:

“…After so much consideration, have you finally decided to abandon your so-called bottom line and make a decision that makes sense?”

The palace master did not speak, his features obscured by the glow of the halo, indistinct.

Zihuang’s eyes flickered, continuing, “The failure of the last operation has had a significant impact on your side, and to pay such a high price and still not capture a son of fortune is extremely detrimental to both Calamity Fate Palace and our long-term cooperation!”

“Had you not been intent on monopolizing the situation and chosen to conceal the information, that young man named Qing Muling should have been before us by now!”

At this point, Zihuang also felt regret. If Calamity Fate Palace had been upfront and allowed the Heavenly Human Clan to contribute, ensuring the success of the operation would have been entirely feasible.

Capturing Qing Muling and using the Heavenly Human Clan’s secret methods to plunder his fortune would have brought immense benefits, perhaps even worth more than all the gains from the past ten openings of the Misty Illusion Secret Realm.

The palace master was silent for a long time before speaking, “That was indeed an accident, but I don’t regret it. No matter how great a threat Qing Muling poses, he is ultimately a cultivator of our human race. With him, the return of the Great Void’s ancient era of immortal cultivation should be just around the corner.”

If Qing Muling were taken by the Heavenly Human Clan, they would surely drain him dry, and Calamity Fate Palace would likely not even get a taste. Therefore, from the palace master’s perspective, this outcome was the most suitable.

“Is that so?”

Zihuang sneered slightly, her beautiful eyes showing obvious mockery, “Is deep cooperation with our Heavenly Human Clan so unacceptable to you? Just because of those laughable principles and bottom lines?”

“I won’t mention other things, just the acts you’ve committed in the past. If even one-tenth… no, one percent were to be revealed, all the Dao Lineage powers in the Great Void, including Dao Court, would seek your life!”

The palace master sighed deeply, remaining silent for a while.

Cooperating with the Heavenly Human Clan had been Calamity Fate Palace’s long-standing strategy. However, from the sect’s standpoint, they could not allow the Heavenly Human Clan to gain too much advantage, as it would not be in their own interest.

Selling out the interests of the Great Void’s cultivation world to benefit themselves was something Calamity Fate Palace had always done but would never admit to.

In the palace master’s eyes, this was just a mutually beneficial business deal, not yet at the level of betrayal or selling out human cultivators.

Even if they were to sell out, it had to be at the right price. Too low was unacceptable!

Zihuang patted the armrest of the throne and said indifferently, “The most difficult moment of this cycle of calamities in the Great Void has not yet arrived. If it comes to a critical juncture, relying solely on your two half-crippled Quasi Holy Emperors, you will likely not survive. Apart from our Heavenly Human Clan, you won’t find a more suitable ally.”

“Fine, we accept your terms!”

The palace master’s voice sounded slightly bitter, “But the precondition is that you first provide enough resources to help our two Quasi Holy Emperors fully recover.”

At this statement, Lingxi, who had been silent beside them, frowned in displeasure, “Isn’t that too much? Those are Quasi Holy Emperors.”

The resources needed to restore a Quasi Holy Emperor were certainly available to the higher-ups of the Heavenly Human Clan, but they would not be given out easily. Such strategic military forces, related to the rise and fall of the clan, were not something you could have just by asking.

The palace master was firm, “That is our bottom line. If your side really finds it difficult, then we might as well not discuss it at all!”