Just as the high-ranking members of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace were in a meeting, Qinghuan Emperor was also receiving her trusted subordinates in her own Dao Court.

Although the Female Cultivator Alliance had already taken shape, with the five female Emperors discussing external matters together and coordinating with each other, internal affairs were still handled independently without interference.

After all, an alliance is different from a sect. Even though Yu Lingzhou had mentioned to Qing Muling that the five female Dao Lineages might one day truly merge into an unprecedented superpower, that day was still far off.

“Emperor, you’ve been staying at the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace for quite some time without returning to the Dao Court. Those two are starting to get suspicious.”

In the cave mansion, a noble-looking woman reported, “If you think this place is important enough to keep you here, you should prepare in advance to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings when the time comes.”

Among the three Emperors of the Dao Court, Qinghuan Emperor led the pure female cultivator lineage, while Xuanyin and Weide had their own factions. Although they usually advanced and retreated together on most matters, there was still competition among them.

Now, Qinghuan Emperor had made a strategic move by discovering Qing Muling’s identity and arranging for her daughter, Dragon Ritual Princess, to marry him, thereby smoothly allying with the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace and greatly increasing their fortune.

Although the matter was conducted in secrecy, the other two were not fools. Over time, they would inevitably notice something amiss and start paying attention.

“It doesn’t matter. The die is cast. Even if they find out, they can’t interfere or stop it.”

Qinghuan Emperor smiled. Her high-end combat power now surpassed the combined strength of the other two. If necessary, she could also join forces with the other four female Emperors, so she didn’t need to care about their feelings.

Of course, things hadn’t reached that point yet. The core interests of the three Dao Court Emperors were essentially unified, and they had maintained a delicate balance of competition without breaking apart. There was no reason to turn against each other now.

However, regarding matters involving Qing Muling, Qinghuan Emperor could only stand with the Female Cultivator Alliance. There was no room for negotiation on this.

“What if… those two want to join this circle in the future? Should we agree?” the noblewoman asked with a frown.

“They will join eventually, but by then, they will at most be second-tier allies, incomparable to our five families. And as for the opportunities surrounding Qing Muling, they can forget about it.”

Qinghuan Emperor said calmly. This matter was the core interest of the Female Cultivator Alliance, not to be touched by outsiders. Qing Muling would likely have no interest in helping those male cultivators with their tribulations or injuries.

“But we’re worried they might do something unusual,”

A cold-looking female immortal frowned and said, “If they decide to awaken those sleeping Emperors at any cost and use them as leverage to force our alliance to compromise on certain issues, what should we do?”

In the Hidden Cave Mystical Realm of the Dao Court, there were indeed many high-ranking elders in slumber due to various reasons, including several Quasi Holy Emperors.

Although the Innate Spirit Treasure could continuously generate heavenly merits, the amount obtainable in a given time was limited and couldn’t be squandered freely.

Especially with the numerous factions within the Dao Court, aside from the three main Emperors, there were many smaller factions. The distribution of heavenly merits was so vast that the amount each individual cultivator received was actually quite small.

Only the three main Emperors received a significant share, but even they had many subordinates eagerly watching, so the merits were still insufficient for them.

As a result, the injured Quasi Holy Emperors in the Hidden Cave Mystical Realm had never been revived due to the high cost, and the three main Emperors had never made the decision.

Moreover, having more Quasi Holy Emperors in the Dao Court would inevitably lead to more factions, diluting the power of the three main Emperors, which was another reason they were reluctant to revive them.

However, times had changed. With the demonic tribulation looming in the Great Void, if the Dao Court didn’t utilize its high-end power, they might not be able to withstand the future threats.

Qinghuan Emperor pondered for a moment, “It’s a possibility, but the timing isn’t right yet. We’ll wait and see.”

She believed that with Qing Muling’s rapid progress, it wouldn’t be long before he reached a higher level of cultivation. By then, creating a few Quasi Holy Emperors would be a piece of cake, and they wouldn’t need to worry about those male factions anymore.

After the elders left, Qinghuan Emperor saw a figure quietly appear before her in a flash of light.

“How much did you get this time?”

Qinghuan Emperor asked with evident anticipation in her voice.

“Not bad!”

Dragon Ritual Princess, with her snow-white skin and pure, charming demeanor, raised her hand, and a palm-sized, radiant purple jade bottle floated lightly to Qinghuan Emperor.

She took it and examined it briefly, then said with some dissatisfaction, “Just this? There were three of you! How come you only got this much Dao Rhyme each time you cultivated with him? It’s embarrassing! Those other girls can’t compare to you in talent and beauty!”

Dragon Ritual Princess blushed and mumbled, “There’s no fixed amount in such matters. How much we get during cultivation depends on luck. Besides, we need it to improve our own cultivation. If we give it all to you, what about us?”

Qinghuan Emperor sighed, “But refining the Harmony Dao Golden Elixir requires a lot of Dao Rhyme, and we have to consider the risk of failure. It might take many attempts to succeed, and this amount is far from enough.”

Pills are categorized into seven levels: Mortal, Human, Earth, Spirit, True, Heaven, and Immortal, each with three grades: upper, middle, and lower.

Above Immortal-grade, there are so-called Supreme-grade pills, also known as Harmony Dao Golden Elixirs. As the name suggests, they are refined using an Innate Spirit Treasure-grade pill furnace, with some innate essence as the medicinal guide, and various rare herbs as ingredients, incorporating corresponding Dao laws. They have miraculous effects even for Quasi Holy Emperors.

To attain sainthood, Qinghuan Emperor had been trying to refine a certain Harmony Dao Golden Elixir but had always failed due to the lack of Harmony Spirit Seed sap as the medicinal guide.

This seemingly unsolvable problem was effectively addressed only after Dragon Ritual Princess became Dao companions with Qing Muling.

Although it was somewhat embarrassing, under Qinghuan Emperor’s strong insistence, Dragon Ritual Princess reluctantly agreed. After each cultivation session with Junior Brother, she would secretly collect some Dao Rhyme. Su Yuanzhen and Kong Yuhuan did the same.

The three women worked together, and the matter was accomplished. However, Qinghuan Emperor’s luck was poor. Despite many attempts, she always failed at the final stage, wasting a lot of rare materials.

Thus, the frustrated Dragon Ritual Princess had to repeatedly collect Dao Rhyme and bring it to her mother, which was quite embarrassing to talk about.

“I think it’s because his cultivation level is still low, so the Dao Rhyme’s effect isn’t strong enough.”

Qinghuan Emperor mused, “But he’s now at the True Immortal Realm. This time, the Dao Rhyme might be more effective. If there’s more of it, the chances of success will significantly increase.”

Seeing Qing Muling’s cultivation rapidly advance from the Feather Transformation Realm to the True Immortal Realm, Qinghuan Emperor had experienced the increasing potency of the Dao Rhyme. However, it was still not enough to refine a true Harmony Dao Golden Elixir.

Dragon Ritual Princess blinked her beautiful eyes and asked curiously, “Even if the Harmony Dao Golden Elixir is successfully refined, how confident are you in attaining sainthood? Wouldn’t it be a waste of effort?”

No matter what others thought, she didn’t believe it. The legendary Harmony Saint Supreme Dao Fruit couldn’t be achieved with just a pill. At most, it could make Qinghuan Emperor’s magical power deeper and her accumulation more substantial, which should be the limit.

To achieve true Harmony Saint Supreme? Eternal transcendence and ultimate freedom? It would probably still depend on Qing Muling.

Dragon Ritual Princess believed her thoughts were correct. Her mother’s method was ultimately a deviation. The unnamed pill scripture she had dug out from that mysterious ruin was incomplete and couldn’t be relied upon too much.

“Whether it works or not, I have to try to be at peace.”

Qinghuan Emperor snorted, “You continue to find ways to collect more. If it doesn’t work, just tell him directly that it’s for my pill refining and ask him for more!”

“…”

Dragon Ritual Princess widened her eyes, her face flushed, looking at her in disbelief.

Her mother-in-law asking her son-in-law for such a thing as a medicinal guide, and wanting more? What kind of situation was this? Wasn’t the Dao Court Emperor’s dignity at stake?

“I can’t ask for that. If you want it, you ask him yourself!”

Dragon Ritual Princess, her face flushed, blurted out, “He’s so busy now, who knows when the next cultivation session will be! If you can’t wait, find a way to ask him yourself!”

Qinghuan Emperor: “…”

As soon as she finished speaking, Dragon Ritual Princess realized the absurdity of her words, her cheeks turning red as fire, wishing she could find a hole to hide in.

Stomping her foot, she didn’t dare to look at her mother’s expression and turned into a light beam, quickly leaving.

…

In the deep, dark Great Void.

Thirty-two pitch-black floating battleships silently sped through, like a pack of deep-sea predators on a hunt, deftly navigating between asteroid belts and floating lands.

“After two more long-distance void shifts, we’ll reach the Main Altar of the Mirage Gate. If our information is correct, their remaining forces won’t be much.”

In the flagship cabin, Yu Lingzhou manipulated the magical projection mirror in front of her, speaking to Qing Muling beside her.

The Mirage Gate was a secret organization engaged in shady activities, specializing in intelligence gathering and espionage. They also dealt in black market trades, slave trafficking, robbery, assassination, and extortion, earning a notorious reputation.

Although their power didn’t match the Calamity Fate Palace, they barely reached the threshold of a Supreme Dao Lineage. It was more accurate to describe them as a dark merchant organization rather than a sect.

This time, enticed by certain behind-the-scenes patrons, the Mirage Gate took on a mission against the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, sending their elite forces to conduct guerrilla attacks and abductions in the Cloud Dream Immortal Domain, resulting in the deaths of many female cultivators.

After discussing with the elders, Mu Yinghua decided to make an example of this force, launching a surprise attack on their headquarters with overwhelming strength to uproot them completely.

More than half of the Supreme Elders of the Cloud Dream Heavenly Palace, some Great Golden Immortals from the other four sects, along with Xinyu, Lan Hua, and Tongying Emperors, and Qing Muling, formed an unprecedentedly powerful team, enough to destroy even the Calamity Fate Palace!

Mu Yinghua stayed behind at the Main Altar of the sect, with Qinghuan and Jinglan Emperors ensuring security.

Qing Muling looked at the magical projection mirror, calculated for a moment, and sensed no danger. He nodded, “Let’s proceed. This operation will be very smooth.”

“With Junior Brother’s assurance, we can be at ease!”

The gentle and elegant Liyi Heavenly Lord smiled, and the surrounding elders agreed. Although Qing Muling’s cultivation wasn’t high, his fortune and luck were undeniable. If he said there was no problem, there likely wouldn’t be.

The journey was indeed smooth. When the floating fleet reached the star domain of the Mirage Gate’s headquarters, their remaining forces were caught off guard.

The headquarters was a small star cluster composed of sixteen floating lands of various sizes, orbiting an orange sun under the influence of a formation. The surface of these floating lands appeared desolate and lifeless, making it hard to believe that this was the headquarters of a Supreme Dao Lineage force.

Beneath the surface of these floating lands, vast spaces had been excavated, housing countless cultivators, large merchant guilds, and auction houses. Various dubious goods and resources, as well as slaves, were available here.

The floating battleships quietly dispersed, and tens of thousands of high-level female immortals formed a grand array on the periphery, completely sealing off the void within a hundred billion miles.

“It’s our turn to act!”

Xinyu Emperor said, summoning a delicate and beautiful black jade crystal screen, which expanded into a colossal object tens of thousands of miles long and wide in the blink of an eye.

The screen depicted a refined and elegant women’s pavilion surrounded by a vast peach blossom forest, creating a serene and picturesque scene.

Under Xinyu Emperor’s immense power, the peach blossom forest on the screen came to life, and billions of fragrant peach blossoms flew out, forming thick pink clouds that swept across the surface of the floating lands.

Wherever the flower clouds passed, the floating lands groaned under the pressure, mountains collapsed, the ground cracked, and layers were obliterated and shattered, revealing the vast underground spaces within.