Ye Qin, carrying his newly refined, minor Divine Ability-grade Five Elements Swords and the repaired Skywing Battleship, slowly walked through the market streets after leaving the Heavenly Dao Merchant Guild, his mind churning.

"I still need three more minor Divine Ability-grade Minor Three Wonders Flying Swords to complete the immensely powerful Eight-Mile Sword Array, which should be enough to handle cultivators in the late Nascent Soul stage. However, confronting powerful cultivators like the Ghost Master, who wields the Divine Transformation stage Nether Flame, will likely still be impossible. It's a shame I don't know how to refine the Ice Lotus Seeds; otherwise, forging a set of Ice Lotus magical artifacts would mean I wouldn't need to fear the Ghost Master anymore."

At that moment, a thin ray of golden light shot toward him.

Ye Qin's eyebrow twitched. He reached out and snatched it—it was a golden sound transmission talisman bearing the mark of the Heavenly Dao Alliance. The golden talisman emitted a faint sound, then began to burn away, the sound ceasing as the talisman turned into a small pile of ash.

"The Elder Council of the Main Alliance is convening a grand assembly?"

Upon hearing the transmission, Ye Qin's face settled into a deep contemplation. He then strode forward, vanishing at the end of the market street. He first returned to the Azure Elixir Palace to discuss some necessary matters with Huangfu Bing'er, and only then did he head toward Immortal Palace City.

Immortal Palace City.

This city spanned tens of thousands of miles, making it the largest and most prosperous immortal city in the Eastern Sea cultivation world. Inside and out, it possessed the strongest defenses, serving as the bedrock for Eastern Sea cultivators, and the location of the main headquarters for both the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance.

Because this immortal city was far behind the islands of the Eastern Sea and distant from the Sea of Blood, the strength of its garrison and patrol teams was comparatively weaker, consisting largely of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

It was an open city, prohibiting no one from entering—except for cultivators from the Demon Tribe strongholds. Rogue cultivators, alien races from the Central Lands, native Eastern Sea clans, and mortals were all allowed entry. Even if a ghost cultivator appeared occasionally, it would only draw stares; the guards would not specifically drive them away. If one spotted a demon cultivator within the city, it wouldn't be strange; those were likely the spirit beasts or mounts nurtured by the Great Immortal Palace that had broken through the Shape Transformation stage. Such demon cultivators were allied with human cultivators and were not of the same faction as the demon cultivators from the tribal strongholds.

It could be said that Immortal Palace City was a crucible of mixed elements.

Ye Qin had visited Immortal Palace City few times, and each time he had been awestruck by the sheer momentum of this super-great immortal city. Its status as the premier super immortal city of the Eastern Sea was undisputed.

However, only after visiting the Demon Realm and witnessing the Twilight Sanctuary complex—spires that pierced the sky for a hundred thousand zhang over the Great Fruit Plain of the Demons—did Immortal Palace City seem to pale in comparison.

Although Ye Qin was not overly despairing about the overall situation, he held little confidence in the strength of the Eastern Sea cultivators to stand against the Demon Saints. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so desperate to advance his own cultivation.

After Ye Qin teleported from White Float City to Immortal Palace City, he proceeded directly to the Heavenly Dao Alliance headquarters in the city center to attend the Elder Council Assembly. Before long, he arrived before a magnificent palace.

A large number of luxurious spirit beast mounts were already parked outside the palace. The security here was extremely tight; the patrol teams consisted almost entirely of Nascent Soul stage cultivators, making it impossible for ordinary cultivators to approach. Only after inspecting the Elder Token Ye Qin presented were the guards able to let him enter the palace hall.

Entering the hall, Ye Qin was shocked to see nearly a thousand Nascent Soul stage cultivators gathered inside.

The attire of the cultivators within the hall was incredibly mixed. Not only were the Five Sect Masters and the members of the Heavenly Dao Alliance Elder Council present, but even the Five Great Leaders and the members of the Heavenly Demon Alliance Elder Council had shown up. Roughly a hundred Nascent Soul cultivators had arrived from each sect lineage.

Ye Qin instantly understood: summoning all the elders to this location for this assembly suggested a rare, major meeting between the two great immortal alliances, one that would result in extremely significant decisions.

Though the hall was crowded, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy. Familiar cultivators gathered in small groups, conversing in low tones about the situation in the Eastern Sea cultivation world, almost all of them wearing solemn expressions, causing no loud commotion.

Ye Qin walked further into the hall. Scanning the crowd, he spotted Chief Elder Zhong, the foremost elder of the Northern Sect Lineage of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, Sect Master Zhou Yu, and dozens of other elders including Jiang Zhenyuan gathered together. He quickly quickened his pace toward them.

"Chief Elder Zhong, Sect Master Zhou, Dao Brother Jiang, greetings!"

Ye Qin smiled lightly toward Chief Elder Zhong, Sect Master Zhou, and the others.

"Elder Ye has arrived. This time, it's thanks to Elder Ye transmitting the accurate news of Black Sand City's destruction in time, allowing our Northern Sect Lineage to prepare in advance. Otherwise, the losses would have been catastrophic. I suspect many elders here don't recognize you yet; allow this Sect Master to introduce you! This is Elder Zhang from Ten Thousand Springs Palace, and these two are the esteemed couple, the Wangs, from Red Cloud Palace."

Zhou Yu laughed heartily. Seeing Ye Qin appear, he immediately drew him in and introduced him to the surrounding elders, appearing quite intimate.

Ye Qin immediately paid his respects to the Northern elders introduced to him.

Ye Qin had met these elders of the Northern Elder Council during previous assemblies, but back then, he was merely a Golden Core stage cultivator, insignificant and without much clout. They had all treated him as a junior, with little interaction.

"Elder Ye, you must have broken through to the Nascent Soul realm in the last few years, correct?" However, upon seeing Ye Qin, this small circle of elders displayed expressions of astonishment and extreme strangeness.

Their cultivation was profound; they could discern Ye Qin’s level at a glance. Ye Qin’s current cultivation was exceptionally robust, likely at least mid-Nascent Soul stage. How had he managed to advance to this level in the mere years since they last met?

Ye Qin naturally knew why they were puzzled. However, in this setting, he could not conceal his cultivation. He offered a wry smile. "My Daoist Brothers must know I am a Divine Alchemist. I have no other hobbies besides the delight of refining elixirs. During my years adventuring in the Sea of Blood, I happened upon more than ten unknown, rare ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs. By sheer fortune, I managed to refine a new spirit elixir with miraculous effects on cultivation—I consumed some myself, and I plan to exchange the remaining small portion for spirit stones to sell at the Heavenly Dao Merchant Guild. If any Daoist Brothers are interested, you may purchase some to consume and see the efficacy of this elixir for yourselves."

"Unknown ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs? Brother Ye's luck is that good!?"

"Oh, such an elixir exists? I must buy some to try later."

The elders were surprised, their gazes slightly suspicious, but they did not voice their doubts openly.

However, Ye Qin’s explanation contained no obvious loopholes. He was a Divine Alchemist, capable of refining the highest-grade elixirs in the Eastern Sea cultivation world.

If someone discovered rare heaven and earth treasures over ten thousand years old, leading to an explosive increase in cultivation in a very short time, while extremely rare, such occurrences did happen.

This was called a stroke of Heavenly Fortune, a deep encounter with Immortal Fate.

A cultivator blessed with deep Immortal Fate might return from a casual search outside with excellent spirit herbs.

Such matters only invited envy from others.

Of course, there were other possibilities. But since Ye Qin intended to obscure the truth, and they didn't want to risk offending him by investigating further, it wouldn't be easy. Still, since Ye Qin was taking it to the Heavenly Dao Pavilion to sell, they decided to check out what kind of elixir it was first.

With the great assembly of the two immortal alliances imminent, the elders of the Northern Sect Lineage had no time to delve deeper for the moment.

The Five Chief Elders and Five Sect Masters of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, along with the Five Chief Elders and Five Great Leaders of the Heavenly Demon Alliance, took their places gathered at the center of the hall. They signaled for silence, and the great hall fell utterly quiet, so still one could hear a needle drop.

"Everyone must be aware of the current situation in the Eastern Sea cultivation world! Since the appearance of the Three-Legged Crow Demon Saint in Black Sand City a month ago and the subsequent destruction of the immortal city, the entire Sea of Blood has fallen into panic. Within days, another immortal city, Rosy Cloud City, was also attacked by a Demon Saint, suffering catastrophic losses. More grimly, following the fall of Black Sand City, cultivators from the Demon Tribe strongholds began a massive assault! Our Sea of Blood immortal cities have faced fierce attacks, with three cities falling in succession. The immortal-demon war in the Sea of Blood has reached the brink of collapse; it is time to make a decision! This Chief Elder and the other nine Chief Elders have proposed two resolutions. The first is to decide on a full withdrawal from the Sea of Blood and to defend the Eastern Sea immortal cities to the death. The second is to request that the Divine Transformation stage cultivators from the Northern Abyss Continent and the Southern Demon Continent return to the Eastern Sea to defeat the Demon Saints! This decision concerns the future of our Eastern Sea cultivation world and requires the consent of all elders present. We hope everyone will consider these two points of the assembly seriously!"

The speaker was the oldest Chief Elder of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, hailing from the Central Sect Lineage. He was a gaunt old man with a sallow complexion and a stern, expressionless face.

Ye Qin was stunned by the announcement and held a trace of confusion. The Chief Elders planned to invite back the Divine Transformation stage cultivators from the Northern Abyss Continent and the Southern Demon Continent? He had never heard of any teleportation array capable of intercontinental transit. The Eastern Sea islands didn't even have a teleportation array to the Central Lands, let alone the Northern Abyss or Southern Demon Continents. If they had to fly across the sea, it might take decades for a messenger to reach those continents. By the time the Divine Transformation stage cultivators crossed the sea to return, the state of the Eastern Sea cultivation world would be utterly unpredictable.

In the hall, the elders began to murmur loudly.

"The Demon Saint's appearance in the Sea of Blood has already broken the non-interference treaty between high-level demon cultivators and our human high-level cultivators. Naturally, we should invite the Divine Transformation stage cultivators back! The example is when the Kui Niu Demon Saint came to cause trouble in the Eastern Sea, he was surrounded and slaughtered by Divine Transformation stage cultivators."

"No one has returned from the Divine Transformation stage cultivators sent to those two continents for tens of thousands of years. Unless the very foundation of the Eastern Sea cultivation world faces annihilation, they are unwilling to return. Back then, the Kui Niu Demon Saint caused too much chaos in the Eastern Sea, provoking the wrath of the ancient Divine Transformation cultivators who slew him. Now, with only the loss of the Sea of Blood and the Demon Saint not having yet reached the Eastern Sea, can we really expect the Divine Transformation cultivators to return? They might not be willing!"

"Regardless, the news of the Demon Saint appearing in the Eastern Sea must be transmitted to the Divine Transformation stage cultivators, allowing those supreme beings to decide whether to return!"

"This old man believes we should first withdraw all cultivators from the Sea of Blood. The defenses of the Eastern Sea immortal cities are far stronger than those of the new cities in the Sea of Blood. As for inviting back the Divine Transformation stage cultivators, we can delay that and see how the situation develops. If the Demon Saint leaves soon, recalling the Divine Transformation stage cultivators might not be necessary!"

The voices of nearly a thousand Nascent Soul cultivators mixed together, engaging in a fierce debate.

Of course, such disputes could not yield a decision; ultimately, the resolution had to be made according to the ancient signing of the pact.

After the elders debated for an hour, each elder took a black or white talisman and cast it into a jade vial to decide whether to support the two proposals.

The first proposal: full withdrawal from the Sea of Blood. Almost every elder cast a white talisman in favor of this proposal. After all, the losses in the Sea of Blood had been devastatingly gruesome, the Demon Saint’s movements were unpredictable, and with widespread panic, maintaining the defense would become incredibly difficult.

The second proposal: inviting Divine Transformation stage cultivators back to the Eastern Sea to confront the Demon Saint. Approximately seventy percent of the elders cast white talismans for this proposal; many cultivators harbored doubts and withheld their support. But regardless, it had surpassed the halfway mark, and the proposal passed.

"Both proposals have passed!"

The ten Chief Elders seated in the center of the hall personally verified the number of white talismans in both jade vials and nodded in agreement.