Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 1028 - 883: Hiding in the Netherworld and Returning to the Void (Congratulations to the Lord of the River Alliance)

Chapter 1028: Chapter 883: Hiding in the Netherworld and Returning to the Void (Congratulations to the Lord of the River Alliance)

"A secret skill to delay the Immortal Thunder Calamity?"

The Phoenix and Xuanwu, upon hearing this, were both very interested.

Mahayana is the last step on the path to becoming an immortal; it’s the culmination of a cultivator’s lifelong cultivation and divine skills. After breaking through to the Mahayana period, one’s actual combat power is basically set in stone.

Thereafter, unless one cultivates a heaven-defying divine skill or obtains treasures like those from an Immortal Mansion, there will be no further increase in strength.

One could even say the number of calamities a Mahayana monk can ultimately survive and whether they can ascend to become an immortal are decided at the time they break through to Mahayana; their potential is already fixed and unlikely to change significantly.

In other words, the fact that this Five Elements Qilin can withstand up to the seventh calamity is not because its cultivation is still improving.

But because it had nearly the strength it has now when it first broke through to Mahayana!

Only now, when it’s difficult for its cultivation to take a step further, it understands the hopelessness of surpassing the eighth Immortal Thunder Calamity.

The secret skill of the Jiuchi Clan that can significantly delay the next thunder calamity now seems all the more important.

Even the true spirits, Phoenix and Xuanwu, are not very confident about surviving their fourth Immortal Thunder Calamity and are quite envious of this secret skill.

The Five Elements Qilin saw this but shook its head: "This secret skill is difficult to use, requiring the assistance of top-grade spiritual objects provided by the Jiuchi Clan... Besides that, there must be a great cost and hidden dangers, otherwise why would the Jiuchi Clan never have produced even one Mahayana monk capable of passing the seventh calamity, despite possessing such a secret skill?"

"You two still have leeway, your next calamities should not be problematic, and you’ll be free for another ten thousand years. It’s best not to employ such secret skills unless absolutely necessary and facing certain death..."

"Yes..." The true spirits, Phoenix and Xuanwu, exchanged a look and received the advice with gravity.

Still, they committed the matter to heart.

If they were ever driven to despair, any method would be worth trying.

...

The human race.

The Qingxu Child remained in his young but serious demeanor, sitting atop his own fan, nearly jumping with anger: "Guixu Zi, that old fool... our family faces such a life and death crisis, yet he refuses to show himself, saying he won’t emerge from seclusion until our family faces extinction - utter nonsense..."

"If only Zangmingzi were still here..."

The Qingxu Child muttered, aware that Guixu Zi and Zangmingzi were Taoist companions. Ever since Zangmingzi had fallen to the seventh Mahayana Immortal Thunder Tribulation, the highest cultivator among the human race had nearly lost all hope and now likely only had the obsession of transcending the calamity and ascending.

"Alas, one cannot blame Guixu Zi... He cultivates the ’Luan Ming Codex,’ the top dual cultivation skill of our human race. Originally, as an Immortal couple with Zangmingzi, they both advanced to Mahayana, becoming a celebrated tale within our race. But, after losing his companion, his cultivation would lean towards heartlessness... It’s quite normal for him to be indifferent at this time," Che Xuanyuan said with a bitter smile, holding the Void Mirror and speaking a fair word.

Master Bu, still dressed as a Taoist, carrying a long sword on his back, remained silent.

"The old ones are like this, the young ones too. Ever since Old Meng’s fall, Wu Xingzi has been like a soulless shadow, even more so, a frightened bird. And with Changqingzi’s attempt at Mahayana ending in his fall during the Immortal Thunder Calamity, and Qing Hezi’s disappearance... our selection of the Five Sons of Human Race now only leaves two who are of use!"

The Qingxu Child cursed when something came to mind, "Now, multiple sources confirm that the Monster Clan and Alien race are preparing for a high-level battle. What are your views on this?"

Among the three major races, the number of Mahayana monks is not large, sometimes amounting to barely a handful.

Moreover, those above the seventh calamity are even more scarce, often only one or two.

If there are more than two, that often signifies a time when the race is at its peak and is able to dominate the other two races...

Such occurrences are few in the history of the three races.

At last, Master Bu spoke up, "I’ve recently visited Hua Sir, and although he is troubled by the sixth Immortal Thunder Calamity, he has promised to lend his power to our race once."

"The Demon Clan has almost exhausted their foundation, and our four Mahayana monks will offer support..."

As the Qingxu Child weighed the situation, he felt a headache coming on: "If only Guixu Zi would agree, alas... Now we can only take things step by step; damn it, Old Meng died at such an inopportune time. What do you think about the death of Old Meng?"

Indeed, the extent to which the human race can exert power is known to each Mahayana monk.

This council was mainly convened to discuss this matter.

After all, there’s another human race Mahayana monk on Qing Hezi’s side!

This could be a crucial force influencing the outcome of the war.

"Old Meng Ghost was originally assigned by us to go and lift the siege of Twin Banyan City... And then he encountered Changqingzi’s Mahayana attempt..."

Che Xuanyuan combed through the details: "In my view, this man must have coveted Qing Hezi’s secrets, striking against him... Didn’t the former Immortal Taoist Master do the same? It’s just that no one expected that Qing Hezi would be the incarnation of that mysterious Mahayana. Old Meng reaped what he had sown; what else is there to say? We didn’t immediately announce his misconduct, causing Qing Hezi’s loyalty to cool, and now he’s in hiding, which really shouldn’t have happened..."

"We were hesitant to make a decision because we were waiting for that Mahayana to join the discussion..." Qingxu Child murmured.

Even though Old Meng was a demon cultivator, he was still a Mahayana of the human race. Attacking the Five Sons of Human Race during the war would have a terrible impact; news of it would certainly shake the morale of the troops.

They certainly wouldn’t do such a thing. They just planned to compensate Qing Hezi heavily when he approached.

Although the human race is currently not affluent, they could scrape together a Mahayana opportunity.

Yet, Fang Xi simply didn’t care about it.

Or rather, he never liked leaving decisions in the hands of others!

Even with only a one in ten thousand chance, if the Mahayana monks of the human race unanimously decided to defend Old Meng, his situation would become quite awkward.

Therefore, he simply retreated silently and then dedicatedly cultivated.

Once his original self reached Mahayana, he would naturally become the number one cultivator of the human race. Then, rewards and punishments would follow his heart’s desire, and judgments would be his to make. Wouldn’t that be satisfying?

"Alas..."

With that, the three Mahayanas could only sigh.

"Enough, we must be vigilant while going to assist the Demon Clan today, after all, our relationship with them is equally as deep with enmity..."

The Qingxu Child sighed, then added, "It’s also for the best that Guixu Zi isn’t going. With the highest combat force of the human race abstaining, even if the Demon Clan harbors ill intentions, they dare not act... We must consider the possibility that the Demon Clan, having their spine broken, will seek peace with the Monster Clan and Alien race... Lest we be sold out by the Demon Clan, as for our race’s foundation, I plan to only bring one item..."

Master Bu, a Mahayana Monk, exchanged a glance with Che Xuanyuan and immediately began to discuss...

When a Mahayana cultivator had a thought, the entire human race was alerted.

Soon after, the human race, from high to low, began to tense up, silently preparing for battle.

Although this time it might only be a clash among the higher-ups, the battleground is ever-changing, and who knows if the Monster Clan might launch a direct attack?

This could not be left unguarded!

...

Several days later.

Sky Demon Origin.

A low-profile bronze chariot traveled through mid-air.

Feng Yingyue touched her cheek, feeling an icy hardness.

If she were to look in a mirror at that moment, she would see a circle of pitch-black scales growing on her face, wearing an exquisite Demon Armor that revealed large patches of skin, showcasing her beautiful and enticing figure...

Most crucially, she was faintly emanating Demon Qi!

After being casually transformed by Prime Taoist Mu, she had now become what she looked like, a true spitting image of a Demon Cultivator.

As for Prime Taoist Mu, he was even more astonishing, his True Demon Qi surged skywards, absolutely a formidable demon lord in the late Integration phase!

"We... we’re now in the heartland of the Demon Clan?"

She recalled the journey of the last few days, still finding it hard to believe.

Several days ago, Fang Xi had rushed her all the way here and then, through an ancient teleportation array, they were directly transported into the Demon Clan territory.

Compared to the previous arduous trek to infiltrate the Monster Clan, this time was as easy and pleasant as a picnic.

’According to Senior Mu, it was a secret passage found in the memory of that Integration phase Wind Qilin... To mutually annihilate each other, the Monster and Demon Clans really schemed deeply, to even prepare such secret passageways unaffected by Arrays...’

Being from an Integration-level family, Feng Yingyue had insight and vision and knew just how precious this secret passage was.

If it were used to move troops, the Demon Clan would surely suffer a great loss!

’Now that we’ve used it, it’s like giving the Demon Clan a heads-up...’

Feng Yingyue had no qualms about this at all.

What amazed her even more was Senior Mu’s skill in disguise, which was simply miraculous.

Although she was certain she could not penetrate the disguise of a high-level cultivator, along their journey, they occasionally encountered high-level Demon Cultivators on patrol, and judging by the terrified manner of those they met, as well as the unobstructed passage all the way, she knew that Senior Mu’s disguise was flawless.

She even began to suspect that he was a high-level Demon Cultivator all along!

Suddenly!

The bronze chariot came to an abrupt halt.

"Senior?"

Feng Yingyue curiously asked.

"Junior, you are quite lucky, today you will witness Mahayana cultivators from the human, demon, monster, and alien races all taking action..."

Fang Xi said with a sigh.

"What?"

Before Feng Yingyue could react, she felt terrifying presences emanating from afar, surging towards her!

The wind howled, ripping through the void!

Each one was the result of a Mahayana Monk’s full-force strike!

Even Fang Xi didn’t dare to approach the battlefield at this time, only daring to remotely observe from afar!

"A battle of Mahayana?"

Feng Yingyue heard him and strained to widen her eyes, but to no avail.

With her meager Divine Consciousness, and at such a great distance, it was truly difficult to see anything.

Suddenly!

A Five-Color Radiance shot into the sky, instantly transforming into the true form of a Qilin!

Even though who knows how far apart, the colossal Sky Demon Qi and Spiritual Pressure still pressed down on Feng Yingyue, leaving her unable to move an inch atop the chariot.

Fang Xi crossed his arms before his chest, standing straight as a spear, remotely observing this scene with his Divine Consciousness: "Among the three races, are there only one or two Mahayana cultivators above seven tribulations?"

Through sensing the aura, he had already sensed the true spirit of the Qilin and the Demon Clan ancestor currently engaged in combat.

For the Demon Clan now, it was almost a desperate clan-wide battle, so naturally, all cards were on the table!

This also finally allowed Fang Xi to see the true strength of a peak clan!

’With my current cultivation and Divine Skills... once I break through to Mahayana, I may well be comparable to a six or even seven tribulations Mahayana cultivator?’

’In this way, even without the Supreme Northern Dipper Life-controlling Divine Light, once I breakthrough, I should be able to command respect throughout the Earth Immortal Realm.’

Fang Xi’s mouth curved into a slight smile.

Suddenly, as his Divine Consciousness swept past, he saw an astonishing scene and his expression abruptly changed!