The Chief Elders of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance announced the results of the council meeting. As soon as the results were revealed, the hall, which had been filled with murmuring discussion, fell into immediate silence among the assembled cultivators.

Regardless of approval or dissent, the decisions made by the two elder councils governed the order of the Eastern Sea Cultivation World and had to be executed and obeyed. "Effective immediately, all Eastern Sea cultivators are to fully withdraw from the Sea of Blood." "The Grand Alliance will relay the situation in the Eastern Sea Cultivation World to the Northern Abyss Continent and the Southern Demon Continent, requesting that Spirit Transformation cultivators return to the Eastern Sea to oversee the overall situation.

We will activate the spatial gates; all esteemed elders are to await the return of the Spirit Transformation cultivators within Immortal Palace City, and must not venture beyond a thousand li radius of the city." The ten Chief Elders, along with the ten Sect Masters and titans, rose in unison and departed the hall to initiate the spatial gates. "We comply with the council's decree!" The Nascent Soul cultivators within the hall stood up one by one, watching the Chief Elders and Sect Masters depart with evident confusion, before they too dispersed to await events in Immortal Palace City.

This 'Spatial Gate' was something the vast majority of them had never even heard of; had the Chief Elders not mentioned it, they would never have known of its existence. Now that it was mentioned, they still had no idea where this spatial gate was located.

…… Not long after, in the northern and southern districts of Immortal Palace City, streams of brilliant light erupted, causing the arrays spread throughout the city to illuminate, forming two colossal array diagrams. Innumerable pale red pillars of light shot skyward, centered on the heart of Immortal Palace City, converging at a height of ten thousand zhang in the heavens.

The sky above Immortal Palace City underwent a phenomenal transformation under this immense display of power. The clear, sunny sky suddenly grew dim as countless dark clouds surged in from all directions, gradually spiraling into two vortexes, each spanning a thousand zhang.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared within these two vortexes, with strange arcs of lightning writhing erratically; the oppressive aura was surely comparable to the tribulation lightning faced by a Spirit Transformation cultivator, utterly terrifying. Within Immortal Palace City, countless Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators looked up in horror, rendered speechless by the vortices taking shape overhead.

If the council's resolution hadn't spread so rapidly, the cultivators in the city might have panicked, fleeing Immortal Palace City, which appeared to be facing some colossal heavenly tribulation. "This is...

a spatial rift?" Ye Qin emerged from the great hall and, upon seeing the vortexes high above, gasped sharply. From the vortexes, he sensed an aura terrifyingly similar to that of the Demon Realm passage, filled with intensely chaotic spatial storms and various wind-elemental spells.

Ye Qin watched for quite some time before suddenly noticing that Sect Master Zhou was standing not far from him, observing the sky. Sect Master Zhou glanced at Ye Qin with surprise, curious as to how Ye Qin recognized the spatial rift, and said slowly, "This spatial gate is indeed a type of spatial rift, but it is highly unstable, consumes Wind Elemental Spirit Stones, and can only be maintained for a few days.

These two spatial gates were constructed by ancient cultivators right here in Immortal Palace City and lead directly to immortal cities on the Northern Abyss Continent and the Southern Demon Continent. Forcibly tearing space to connect continents this distant would require an incalculable amount of spirit stones.

Only Spirit Transformation cultivators could erect such a gate; what an undertaking!" "How many Wind Elemental Spirit Stones does it cost to open a spatial gate like this once?" Ye Qin exclaimed in amazement upon hearing this. "It takes the accumulated Wind Elemental Spirit Stones of both great immortal alliances from roughly several decades to open it once!

For this great war between Immortals and Demons, the high echelons of the two alliances prepared for over a thousand years, intending to expend everything at their peak strength to seize a portion of the Sea of Blood. The investment in just one large immortal city in the Sea of Blood is incalculable, let alone the losses among the Eastern Sea cultivators." Sect Master Zhou shook his head and said gravely, "The Demon Saint cannot be dealt with by us mere cultivators.

We can only hope that the Spirit Transformation cultivators from the Northern Abyss and Southern Demon Continents return to confront that Three-Legged Crow Demon Saint... As long as even one returns, there is at least hope." Sect Master Zhou did not sound optimistic about the return of the Spirit Transformation cultivators to the Eastern Sea.

"One returns?" Ye Qin was startled, yet a weight settled in his heart. The Three-Legged Crow Demon Saint and the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon Saint had appeared in the Eastern Sea; without at least two Spirit Transformation cultivators, dealing with these two great Demon Saints would be difficult.

"To my knowledge, Spirit Transformation cultivators rarely return after leaving the Eastern Sea Cultivation World. The Eastern Sea no longer possesses the spiritual resources they require for cultivation; staying here merely wastes their lifespan...

Only when the foundations of the two great Eastern Sea immortal alliances are shaken will these Spirit Transformation cultivators be disturbed. After all, almost all of them originated from these two great alliances." Saying this, Sect Master Zhou suddenly fell silent, staring intently at the sky above Immortal Palace City.

While the two were conversing, the two massive vortexes above Immortal Palace City had fully formed. Within the cloud vortexes, two astonishingly deep spatial rifts tore open a seam in the sky, faintly visible, radiating a terrifying aura of tyrannical destruction, leading to distant, alien realms.

No cultivator dared approach those two massive vortexes. Setting aside other matters, the spatial gate's location at ten thousand zhang altitude was unreachable by ordinary cultivators.

Only late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, relying on extremely powerful defensive divine abilities or artifacts, could reach such heights. At this moment, the two oldest Chief Elders from the Heavenly Dao Alliance and the Heavenly Demon Alliance, protected by artifacts, soared into the high altitude and cast two black slips into the respective spatial rifts.

The spatial rifts instantly swallowed the black slips. Sect Master Zhou, as the Northern Sect Master, clearly knew much of the situation.

Seeing Ye Qin’s confusion, he explained, "The temporary spatial rifts opened by the spatial gate are extremely unstable, filled with horrifying spatial storms potent enough to kill a Nascent Soul cultivator; no one below the Spirit Transformation stage can pass through. We Eastern Sea cultivators cannot use these gates to reach the Northern Abyss or Southern Demon Continents.

The communication black slips cast in by the Chief Elders are made of special materials that resist being torn apart by the spatial storms. These spatial gates can only remain open for three days; next, we can only wait and see what the attitude of the Spirit Transformation cultivators on the two continents might be.

It's unlikely they can arrive immediately... If there is no news after three days, it means the Spirit Transformation cultivators do not intend to intervene in this matter." Ye Qin nodded, finally grasping the significance of the Chief Elders' actions.

Sect Master Zhou stood with his hands behind his back, then suddenly smiled, "I still recall the first time I met Elder Ye, it was at the Island Seizing Assembly in White Float City. At that time, you were only at the early stage of Core Formation.

In a mere century or so, you are now at the sixth layer of Nascent Soul, soon qualifying to stand alongside me. Truly, the younger generation is formidable!" "Not at all, I am far inferior to the Sect Master..." Ye Qin felt a jolt in his heart as he spoke.

Sect Master Zhou waved his hand and chuckled, "Elder Ye need not explain. To obtain a rare spiritual medicine in the Sea of Blood and leap directly to the middle stage of Nascent Soul saved you several hundred years of arduous cultivation; this is your immortal destiny, something others can only envy.

You are an elder of my Heavenly Dao Alliance; with the support of my Northern Sect lineage, no one dares to touch you. However, the Heavenly Dao Alliance pursues steady progress in cultivation; haste makes waste.

As a Divine Alchemist, boosting your cultivation rapidly using elixirs is easy, but the stability of your realm might suffer by comparison, unable to keep pace with your rapid rise. This might not show harm in ordinary times, but once you encounter a formidable enemy, or suffer a deviation of Qi, the consequences could be unpredictable." "Thank you for the guidance, Sect Master!" Sect Master Zhou's words startled Ye Qin deeply, and he bowed sincerely.

"Elder Ye, take care of yourself. If you need anything that requires my assistance, feel free to ask.

I shall take my leave now." Sect Master Zhou nodded with a smile, then floated away gracefully. Ye Qin watched Sect Master Zhou depart, remaining silent outside the palace for a long while, before turning and leaving with a thoughtful expression.

…… Over the next three days, the spatial gate ten thousand zhang high above Immortal Palace City attracted countless Eastern Sea cultivators who came to watch. Innumerable Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators occupied every tower and pavilion in Immortal Palace City, and the sky itself glittered with the lights of various magical artifacts, waiting for Spirit Transformation cultivators to emerge from the spatial gate.

The cultivators from the Northern Abyss and Southern Demon Continents, whose arrival would decide the fate of the Eastern Sea Cultivation World, existed only in legend. Ye Qin did not waste time waiting idly.

During these three days, he visited the major merchant guilds in Immortal Palace City, as well as the library within the Heavenly Dao Alliance headquarters, searching for the Nascent Soul volume of the Sitting In Oblivion Scripture. He sought this cultivation method not to increase his vital energy, but to stabilize his own realm.

Lacking the assistance of a complete Nascent Soul stage cultivation art drastically increased the danger of Qi deviation. To Ye Qin's profound disappointment, while the major merchant guilds in Immortal Palace City sold various Nascent Soul cultivation arts, none offered the Nascent Soul volume of the Sitting In Oblivion Scripture.

This art had long been lost, and since no cultivator practiced it, the merchants naturally wouldn't stock it for sale. However, within the library at the Heavenly Dao Alliance headquarters, Ye Qin discovered a copy of the Sitting In Oblivion Scripture Nascent Soul volume amidst a pile of crumbling ancient texts—a happy surprise.

But what made Ye Qin smile wryly was that this incomplete manuscript was recorded on more than a dozen extremely ancient jade slips made of Cuiyu bamboo. Cuiyu bamboo was a fifth-tier spiritual bamboo of decent quality, but it could not withstand thousands or tens of thousands of years of decay and weathering; many crucial characters were missing.

In short, it was a cultivation manual fragment. Who would dare cultivate using such a remnant?

A single missing crucial character in a complete manual could be as dangerous as gambling with one's life, let alone having hundreds of characters missing. Ye Qin was speechless.

Nevertheless, he managed to peruse every volume he could find containing insights and comprehension notes on self-created Nascent Soul cultivation methods, as well as immortal classics concerning the cultivation of the mental state. Mulling it over carefully, he might be able to grasp a clue.

Three days flashed by. Ye Qin’s thoughts snapped back from a jade slip detailing a self-created technique, and he suddenly realized the three-day limit for the spatial gate was rapidly approaching.

Yet, no powerful spiritual pressure fluctuations had emerged from the spatial rifts above Immortal Palace City. If Spirit Transformation cultivators were emerging, it would surely have alerted the entire city.

Conversely, the arrays, talismans, and light pillars shooting up from Immortal Palace City were gradually dimming. The spatial rifts torn open by the spatial gates were also shrinking, from a thousand zhang in length to less than a few dozen zhang.

Ye Qin felt a growing unease. If the Spirit Transformation cultivators did not appear, the Eastern Sea Cultivation World would likely descend into dark, endless panic.

He lost all inclination to continue reading the jade slips. He left the library of the Heavenly Dao Alliance headquarters and flew his sword to the tallest Star Gazing Platform in Immortal Palace City.

This viewing tower offered an unparalleled vantage point, the best in the city for observing the heavens, but only members of the Elder Groups of the Heavenly Dao Alliance and Heavenly Demon Alliance were permitted to remain there. The vast majority of other cultivators had to hover in the air on their flying swords or perch on other high structures.

"Three days have passed, and these two spatial gates leading to the Northern Abyss and Southern Demon Continents are about to close, yet not a single communication jade slip has arrived. Are the Spirit Transformation cultivators of the Northern Abyss and Southern Demon Continents unwilling to reinforce our Eastern Sea?" "Or perhaps they believe the current situation does not warrant intervention?" "The morale of the Eastern Sea Cultivation World is already low.

Without Spirit Transformation cultivators presiding over the overall situation to fight the Demon Saints, the outcome will likely be irreversible defeat. This will be a devastating blow to the morale among Eastern Sea cultivators." Ye Qin ascended to the Star Gazing Platform and entered.

He saw that the faces of the several hundred elders gathered there were all grim, whispering amongst themselves. On the platform, several Chief Elders and Sect Masters also wore heavy expressions.

"Is the disaster and catastrophe facing the Eastern Sea Cultivation World truly unavoidable now? Have those Spirit Transformation cultivators who went to the Northern Abyss and Southern Demon Continents completely forgotten the Eastern Sea?

How can this be? Have they forgotten that it was the support of the immortal alliances that allowed them to achieve the Spirit Transformation stage!

This old man cannot accept it!" The oldest Chief Elder of the Heavenly Dao Alliance, his withered face now ash-grey, stared blankly at the two spatial rifts above, which were nearly sealed shut, sighing mournfully. The Chief Elders and Sect Masters on the Star Gazing Platform remained silent, no one able to answer the question.

"If the matter cannot be resolved, we must make plans for the future as soon as possible. We cannot sit idly by and allow the Demon Saints to destroy our Eastern Sea immortal cities!

Even at a terrible cost, we must find a way to kill that Three-Legged Crow Demon Saint." The Chief Elder of the Heavenly Demon Alliance stated gravely. The spatial rifts of the spatial gates were continuously shrinking, and a turbulent clamor rose throughout Immortal Palace City.

Suddenly, the spatial rift leading toward the Southern Demon Continent seemed as if it were being forcibly stretched open by some immense power. Amidst a violent spatial tremor, the rift abruptly tore open from a size of a few zhang to several dozen zhang, and clumps of spatial storm erupted from the fissure.

A massive foot stepped out from the rift. Following it, a bare-chested man nearly ten zhang tall, built like an iron tower with bronze-colored skin, emerged from the rift.

He held a gigantic club in one hand and clutched a huge, blood-red gourd in the other. A terrifying spiritual pressure and a frenzied, bloodthirsty aura enveloped the entire Immortal Palace City, causing the cultivators within to tremble.

The bare-chested man glared, sweeping his gaze over Immortal Palace City below and the tens of millions of cultivators within, then sneered, his voice echoing across the heavens above Immortal Palace City, "A bunch of good-for-nothings! So many of you, and you can't even deal with a feathered beast like a Three-Legged Crow.

You brat down there, tell this Demon where that Three-Legged Crow Demon Saint is right now! ...

This damn crow has wasted this Demon's time making a trip back from the Southern Demon Continent. If someone seizes the territory I worked hard to establish in the Southern Demon Continent while I'm gone, I swear I'll skin that bird alive!"