7376308 Summons Order Bu Xiu ten inquired, “Huangfu Rui, you dispatched someone to the East Sea more than two years ago reporting that the Sacred Emperor was still alive—is this true?”
Huangfu Rui immediately replied with deep deference, “Reporting to Martial Uncle-Grandmaster, this is absolutely true. I sent a Foundation Establishment disciple who actually traveled to the Sacred Emperor Cultivation World over two years ago. He unexpectedly penetrated the underground Imperial Mausoleum and personally witnessed the Sacred Emperor alive within the lower palace. After this disciple reported the matter, your junior recognized its immense significance and dared not delay, immediately sending a message to the East Sea, hoping a senior could advise on the course of action.”
“Hmm, you handled that matter well. This situation is indeed somewhat strange and unsettling. The three of us are returning to the Central Continent precisely to visit the underground Imperial Mausoleum beneath the Sacred Emperor Ruins, to ascertain how much lifespan remains for the Sacred Emperor in that palace. The fact that the Sacred Emperor has not yet died causes considerable disquiet. You need not concern yourself with this; I shall manage it.”
“Yes!”
Cultivator Wei, having concluded his inquiry on that matter, then asked with an unreadable expression, “What is the current situation in the Spirit Mist Realm? Have the forces of the Azure Pill Sect suffered any damage?”
Huangfu Rui hastily responded, “Reporting to Martial Uncle-Grandmaster Wei, although the Battle of Spirit Mist City raged for several years, we only lost some Qi Refining cultivators and a small number of peripheral Foundation Establishment cultivators. The core of the Seven Great Cultivation Sects remains untouched. Little.”
“The Seven Great Cultivation Sects are the foundation of the Spirit Mist Realm. As long as the sects remain intact, the basis of the realm will not waver. Approximately how long will it take to regain former strength?”
“Reporting to Martial Uncle-Grandmaster, provided the cultivators from the Azure Heaven Original Realm and the Ten Thousand Moon Lake Realm withdraw, our Spirit Mist Realm cultivators, given a century or two of recuperation, can fully recover their vigor.”
“Recover vigor in one or two centuries? There shouldn't be any fighting during that period. Should anyone else covet the Spirit Mist Realm in the future, you are to strike them ruthlessly and beat them until they feel the pain,” Cultivator Wei stated with detached composure, casting an intentional, sidelong glance at Bu Chi on his left.
Bu Chi immediately burst into loud laughter, quite pleased with himself. “Brother Wei, we only consented to the Tianmeng forces retreating out of respect for True Person Miaoling. If you feel slighted and are nursing resentment, we can simply recall them and let the fighting resume; neither you nor I need interfere.”
Cultivator Wei snorted coldly. “If you have the nerve, let the Spirit Mist Realm and the Azure Heaven Original Realm fight alone. Don't drag in the cultivators from Ten Thousand Moon Lake. None of the three of us will intervene. Let’s see what result the juniors can forge. What do you say, Brother Bu Chi?”
Bu Chi was instantly choked speechless. He glared with frustrated fury for a long time, saying no more. He had no intention of letting the disciples and descendants of Azure Heaven Original fall into the fray needlessly.
Seeing the three Nascent Soul cultivators cease their dispute, Huangfu Rui cautiously interjected, “Martial Uncle-Grandmaster, there is one more matter upon which I require your counsel.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“The Wei Clan still has secular relatives; do you perhaps wish to meet them?”
Cultivator Wei showed surprise this time. “I have not returned to the Central Continent for a long time. It has been ages since anyone in the Wei family produced a cultivator with Spiritual Roots, they should have long since declined. Are there truly still Wei descendants alive in this world? Where are they?”
“Reporting to Martial Uncle-Grandmaster, one of your direct blood kin is within Spirit Mist City, being properly housed by the cultivators of our sect. Please wait a moment, Martial Uncle-Grandmaster; I shall immediately dispatch my young daughter to fetch him so you may meet.”
“Hmm, very well.”
Cultivator Wei nodded slightly.
Huangfu Rui immediately sent a transmission talisman glowing with golden light down toward Spirit Mist City under the floating clouds, landing at the Azure Pill Sect’s temporary station within the city.
Not long thereafter, Huangfu Bing'er ascended to the floating cloud, piloting an ice sword alongside a richly dressed youth, approximately fifteen or sixteen years of age. Upon arrival, Huangfu Bing'er stepped forward and respectfully bowed before the three Nascent Soul cultivators.
The youth trailed behind Huangfu Bing'er. Clad in silks and brocade, he possessed the appearance of a wealthy young master from the secular world. At this moment, his face was deathly pale, utterly stunned by the overwhelming awe he felt. He gazed at the three Nascent Soul cultivators with a completely bewildered expression.
In truth, he was a genuine secular person. By the time Huangfu Bing'er brought him from Linju Kingdom to Spirit Mist City, he had already become simple-minded from shock. Everything he saw and heard involved immortals who could supposedly traverse heaven and earth daily; he simply could not process it, treating the entire experience as a dream, allowing himself to be moved about passively.
Cultivator Wei glanced at the youth and nodded placidly, not even bothering to ask his name.
He was a descendant separated by a thousand years; besides shared blood, there was virtually no familial affection left between them.
“You have been thoughtful. Find a place to settle him comfortably. If his descendants show potential for spiritual roots, let them enter the Azure Pill Sect to study the alchemy arts of the immortals. It will serve to leave a bloodline for the Wei family within the Spirit Mist Realm.”
Huangfu Rui quickly affirmed his compliance.
Cultivator Wei gave the matter little attention, offering at least a simple word of praise to Huangfu Rui.
Conversely, it was Huangfu Bing'er, who escorted the Wei youth, that caused Cultivator Wei a slight stir of surprise, prompting him to examine her more closely. He noted that Huangfu Bing'er possessed the relatively rare Ice and Fire Dual Spiritual Roots—exceptional potential. Furthermore, she practiced the Azure Pill Sect’s highest-tier cultivation method, the Ice Fire Heart Condensation Art. A desire to cherish talent instantly arose within him.
“Huangfu Rui, your daughter’s spiritual root potential is quite good. However, there is a disparity in the potential between her Ice and Fire Roots, making conflict likely. Send her to the East Sea. Child, you may take my token and travel there to join the Heavenly Dao Alliance. Once you arrive, seek out True Person Liu Yu, who also came from the Spirit Mist Realm, and have her accept you as a disciple. Reaching the Core Formation stage should certainly not be an issue.”
Cultivator Wei retrieved a white wooden token from the Sumeru Ring on his right hand and casually handed it to Huangfu Bing'er.
Huangfu Bing'er respectfully received the white wooden token.
Joy flooded Huangfu Rui’s face, and he bowed profusely in thanks.
He knew perfectly well that if Lü Zhangyou or Qin Shanjun were present, their eyes would likely turn red with envy. Such a small token, while not a treasure in itself, represented the unparalleled advantage of mentorship from a Nascent Soul cultivator, making the arduous path of cultivation ten times easier. This was a massive benefit that no price could secure. Even for Core Formation cultivators like himself, it was rare for a Nascent Soul cultivator to offer such guidance.
All his painstaking efforts, the meticulous planning that accounted for every elder ancestor of the Azure Pill Sect, had finally borne fruit. With Bing'er going to the East Sea to apprentice under a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Huangfu family of the Azure Pill Sect might finally have a chance to produce a Nascent Soul cultivator.
After lingering briefly above Spirit Mist City, the three Nascent Soul cultivators departed toward the Chaotic Lands.
Huangfu Rui stood at the gates of Spirit Mist City to see them off.
The vast, rolling triple-colored cloud layer, stretching for dozens of miles, lifted from above Spirit Mist City and sped away toward the Chaotic Lands, vanishing without a trace.
The immense spiritual pressure that had enveloped Spirit Mist City dissipated. The crushing stone that had left tens of thousands of low-level cultivators inside and outside the city struggling to breathe finally vanished along with it.
The Core Formation Ancestors of the Spirit Mist Realm, such as Lü Zhangyou and Qin Shanjun, looked upon Huangfu Rui with profound envy, even as they cursed inwardly.
They had not heard a single whisper regarding the Sacred Emperor affair. Huangfu Rui had managed to keep that secret remarkably well.
Of course, they also understood that had they known about the matter, they would never have told anyone else. Gaining the appreciation of a Nascent Soul cultivator was a chance that appeared once in a millennium, an immense opportunity they would never willingly yield.
The honor of achieving this first contribution had been snatched by old man Huangfu.
They could only seek ways to compensate in other arenas. Currently, the Heavenly Dao Alliance in the East Sea was severely short of manpower, and a decision was made to conscript a contingent of low-level cultivators from the Central Continent to travel East, bolstering the Alliance’s strength.
This, too, represented an opportunity to earn merit.
That very day, the cultivators from the Azure Heaven Original Realm and the Ten Thousand Moon Lake Realm began a massive withdrawal, taking with them all the spiritual resources they had plundered from the Spirit Mist Realm nations. The cultivators of Spirit Mist City did not pursue them, wishing to avoid reigniting conflict.
Shortly after the enemy forces departed, the Spirit Mist Alliance posted official announcements within the city, declaring the conclusion of the war between the three cultivation worlds. Furthermore, all participating Spirit Mist cultivators would receive various commendations and rewards based on their merits in battle. The greater the merit, the richer the reward.
The finest reward was undoubtedly the direct granting of fiefdoms—designating a territory rich in spiritual resources from one of the nations within the Spirit Mist Realm to a cultivator of distinguished service. Such hereditary fiefs could rapidly elevate an entire cultivation family to prominence.
Lesser rewards included magical artifacts, spirit artifacts, spirit pills, spirit stones, and similar items. Such rewards, once expended, were gone, naturally inferior to land grants.
The hundreds of thousands of cultivators within Spirit Mist City swarmed the streets to read the contents of the announcements.
The thoroughfares instantly became bustling with activity.
Whether they were cultivators from major sects, smaller families, or rogue cultivators, nearly all displayed expressions mixed with sorrow and joy. The sorrow stemmed from the fact that the low-level cultivators lost in this catastrophe numbered nearly forty to fifty thousand. Among the fallen were many of their friends, relatives, and loved ones, making grief unavoidable. The joy came from having survived this calamity of the cultivation world.
Now that the fighting was over, many of them would return to their territories in various nations to continue their cultivation. Moreover, because so many cultivators died on the battlefield, a vast amount of territory had been vacated. They could now claim more land and acquire more resources for cultivation based on their battle merits than before.
Ye Qin pushed out of the crowd after reading the announcements and walked through the streets of Spirit Mist City with a heavy heart.
The sudden conclusion of this cultivation war had taken him by surprise.
However, whether the war ended or not hardly mattered to him; as long as he had spirit stones available, he would be fine.
What truly made him uneasy was the other proclamation issued simultaneously with the war's end: the Spirit Mist Summons Order.
This conscription order was issued in the name of the Spirit Mist Alliance.
All cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage within the Spirit Mist Realm, regardless of whether they belonged to a cultivation sect, a family, or were rogue cultivators, fell within the scope of the summons. Any cultivator selected by the Spirit Mist Alliance could not refuse. All conscripted cultivators would proceed under the leadership of their respective Ancestors, sail across the sea to a distant island, and join the East Sea’s largest coalition of Central Continent cultivators—the "Heavenly Dao Alliance," thereafter serving the Alliance.
Ye Qin was merely an ordinary Foundation Establishment disciple within the Azure Pill Sect and remained unaware of many sect secrets, naturally knowing nothing of this unheard-of Heavenly Dao Alliance.
He only wished to find a suitable place for cultivation and advance steadily, breaking through to the Core Formation realm and beyond.
By his own intention, remaining in Spirit Mist City was undoubtedly the superior choice.
The local market here offered the spirit stones he needed, as well as vast quantities of raw materials for artifact forging and alchemy. There were also numerous cultivators here with whom he could enter secluded training; should doubts arise during his practice, he had resources to consult.
Compared to the completely unfamiliar environment of the East Sea, where the danger level surely exceeded that of the Spirit Mist Realm, he harbored no desire to venture into the East Sea at all.