With a slight shake of his head, Gu Xichen felt a flicker of disappointment as he watched the chaotic surge of thousands of cultivators rushing toward him.

The Cultivator Alliance, while gathering ninety-nine percent of the cultivators outside the aristocratic houses of the Star Alliance, was ultimately composed of scattered individuals. They lacked the power and influence of the ruling families in the Star Alliance. Their inheritances from ancient immortals were haphazard, and the immortal artifacts and elixirs they possessed were a jumble. Consequently, among the thousands of cultivators, there were many in the Void Realm and even more in the Spirit Transformation Stage, with some even in the Nascent Soul Stage, but remarkably few in the Heavenly Immortal Realm.

The strongest among them was an old man dressed in coarse linen, whose cultivation barely reached the third grade of the Heavenly Immortal realm. He was nevertheless surrounded by a throng of men and women, young and old, shining like a brilliant moon, flying forward with a subtle, almost imperceptible air of haughty arrogance.

From a distance, the old man burst into laughter: "Our little Zancui Palace Mistress, how is it that you have suffered misfortune today?"

The crimson-robed girl, whose face had turned ashen after Kan Hua had forcibly seized her immortal artifact, stomped her foot fiercely and shot the old man a playful, aggrieved glare. She twisted her slender waist, moving with a mixture of pouting discontent and stubborn refusal, running like a petulant seven or eight-year-old straight back to the old man’s side. She tugged at his sleeve with a childish whine, crying out, "Godfather, Daimeier is unhappy! You must avenge me!"

Gu Xichen felt goosebumps erupt all over his body.

He understood precisely how difficult cultivation was for the Star Alliance members. For Daimeier to have achieved the strength of a first-grade Heavenly Immortal, it must have taken at least several millennia of arduous practice to reach her current stage. To see an old woman, likely ancient, adopting such a childish demeanor in front of him—was this truly what they called 'growing old without dying, becoming a venerable fiend'?

Shivering suddenly, Gu Xichen retreated a few steps, secretly sending a telepathic message to Kan Hua to deal with the approaching crowd.

Kan Hua scratched his ear, squinting as he studied Daimeier for a long moment. Then, he let out a strange cackle. "A woman with considerable flavor, hmm, even if she's a bit older... Old Master Kan Hua doesn't mind! Hey, for us cultivators, what does a few thousand years even count as?"

The old man ascended upon a silvery cloud, drifting slowly before Kan Hua. He scrutinized Kan Hua from head to toe, then cast a sidelong glance at Gu Xichen and the others. Only then did he lift his chin, adopting the air of an aloof master, and inquired mildly, "Which esteemed seniors are you? Why do you trouble my adopted daughter? I am Zhaixing, the External Affairs Steward of the Cultivator Alliance!"

Elder Zhaixing held his head exceptionally high, clearly very proud of his title as the External Affairs Steward of the Cultivator Alliance. The cultivators beside him, including Daimeier, gazed over with inflated self-importance, as if they had just acquired an insurmountable backer.

The power obsession of cultivators had been detailed previously; they were also the most pragmatic and opportunistic group. They feared the Heavenly Dao and respected the strong, because both the Dao and the mighty could effortlessly erase centuries, millennia, or tens of millennia of their hard work. They scorned the weak, ignored the weak; regardless of righteous or demonic paths, they would use the most direct means to eliminate any weakling who showed them disrespect.

By all accounts, Gu Xichen’s party of four did not look like formidable experts—even though Kan Hua had just forcefully confiscated Daimeier's crimson silk immortal artifact.

Gu Xichen wore a suit as white as snow, a bespoke top-tier piece from the Earth Federation. However, the suit betrayed no divine light; it was just a plain, utterly unremarkable cotton suit.

Banruo and Mohe retained the essence of mercenaries, clad in the training uniforms of the Hell's Angels squad. Mohe even wore a tight camouflage undershirt, and with his shaved head, the two brothers looked much like beggars in the cultivation world.

As for Kan Hua, he sported a pure black tailcoat and a blood-red cloak—a classic ensemble clearly plagiarized from the Blood Clan, which, to cultivators, carried a rather improper aura. Furthermore, Kan Hua’s clothes seemed perpetually askew, stained everywhere. Combined with his sly grin and pale complexion, he looked scarcely better than a beggar.

Contrast this with the cultivators surrounding Elder Zhaixing, every one of them dripping in glittering treasures! Those possessing immortal artifacts wore them dangling from their waists or strapped to their backs. Those without had their entire bodies laden with various spiritual artifacts and magical treasures, enveloped in layers of radiant light several feet thick, as if terrified that others wouldn't recognize their immense wealth and status as powerful cultivators rich in magical tools. In this stark comparison, Gu Xichen’s group looked like a few country bumpkins who had just stumbled into the city with minimal cultivation!

Elder Zhaixing sighed with feigned pity. He waved his hand and stated calmly:

"No matter your origins, since you have offended my dear daughter, you shall kowtow and apologize to her! Hmm, is this your first time on Myriad Immortal Star? The entry tax is unavoidable. Pay ten times the entry tax, and we'll consider today's incident settled."

Daimeier puffed out her chest proudly and declared smugly, "You group of bumpkins! My Palace Master Godfather is magnanimous and won't bother with you commoners. Why aren't you thanking his venerable presence immediately?"

Gu Xichen let out a cold snort.

Kan Hua fiercely thrust out his chest and, without the slightest reservation, unleashed his aura as a first-grade Golden Immortal. Golden-red blood mist churned around him, and dense death qi, accompanied by piercing ghostly howls, swept across a thousand miles of void. The massive surge of spiritual power made the very heavens and earth tremble, and the vast Myriad Immortal Star suddenly emitted a deep, resonant roar.

With a maniacal laugh, a blinding crimson light erupted from Kan Hua's eyes. He glared fiercely at Myriad Immortal Star, causing its rotation and orbit to instantly halt for a split second. The only continent on the star immediately split open with a massive fissure running end-to-end. Vast swathes of black energy erupted from the ground, followed closely by torrents of crimson magma. The immense subterranean pressure even blasted molten rock beyond the planet's atmosphere.

"Golden Immortal!"

Elder Zhaixing’s voice fractured; he wailed as if his knees had dissolved. He bent his legs and sank to his knees in mid-air. All the cultivators beside him were even faster, already prostrating themselves and knocking their heads against the void floor.

Daimeier, who moments before had been loudly boasting, instantly shed her arrogance and indulgence. In a voice sickeningly sweet, she began introducing her Zancui Palace to Kan Hua, describing it as an organization housing the majority of the female cultivators in the Cultivator Alliance—essentially, all the most beautiful female cultivators in the cultivation world trained there.

"Oh?" Kan Hua’s eyes lit up! "Hmm, sounds quite promising!" Mohe vigorously rubbed his chin, watching the intensely forward Daimeier with a strange grin.

Gu Xichen coughed lightly, slowly reaching into his pocket to produce a token. He stated calmly, "Two months ago, I received this token. I heard a Dao-Demon Assembly is to be held here. Surely, the four of us brothers haven't arrived too late?"

Elder Zhaixing looked up, quickly glancing at the token in Gu Xichen's hand, and then quickly began flattering him with a grin. "If your honored self had presented this token earlier, there would have been no misunderstanding! Heh heh, the token you hold is one of the few Golden Immortal Tokens ever issued. Only those who have reached the Golden Immortal stage are eligible to receive one! Tut-tut," the Elder sighed, smacking his lips. "If this token couldn't actively seek out cultivators of compatible strength, we would never have dreamed that a Golden Immortal-level senior truly existed in this realm!"

Smiling deferentially, Elder Zhaixing lowered his voice. "The token already stated the schedule; the Dao-Demon Assembly is still four months away. You have arrived quite early, Senior!"

Is that so? Gu Xichen weighed the token silently. This token actually went out on its own to find suitable cultivators? Besides himself, were there other Golden Immortals in this lower realm?

Well, yes, the gods of the Angels and Dark Creatures, perhaps even the descendants of the Demon Emperor Dragon Clan—these were all Golden Immortal-level existences. The question was whether they could receive the token without possessing immortal or magical power.

After briefly revealing their strength, Gu Xichen and his party of four instantly became living ancestors. The cultivators of the Cultivator Alliance transformed into a host of devoted sons and grandsons, respectfully ushering them into the headquarters of the Cultivator Alliance on Myriad Immortal Star, the 'Myriad Immortal Palace,' and clearing the four finest palaces for their accommodation.

Yes, four palaces, each large enough to house two thousand people, reserved for just the four of them. The number of servants assigned to wait upon them neared five thousand. The Cultivator Alliance expressed their respect for Gu Xichen and his group with the most humble and submissive attitude.

This subservient cooperation pleased Gu Xichen greatly. After settling into the Purple Qi East Arrival Palace assigned to him, he began gathering intelligence about the Dao-Demon Assembly from Elder Zhaixing.

The Cultivator Alliance was composed of one hundred and eight affiliated cultivator organizations along with several powerful rogue cultivators. The Alliance generally had no supreme leader, instead rotating the responsibility of overseeing daily affairs among esteemed and powerful cultivators elected by representatives. A 'master' like Elder Zhaixing, a third-grade Heavenly Immortal, had served as the Alliance's External Affairs Steward for over three thousand years.

Starting about sixty years ago, the leaders of the various factions within the Cultivator Alliance began frequently receiving messages from the Upper Realms during their meditation.

The Cultivator Alliance inherited the legacies of the ancient Daoists, Buddhists, Demons, and Devils, and the messages they received originated from their respective connections and ties to the Daoist and Demonic predecessors of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. For instance, Elder Zhaixing inherited the lineage of an ancient Golden Immortal named 'Qiuyazi.' The messages he received came from the leader of Qiuyazi's faction, the 'Wandering Immortal Palace,' whose leader was 'Venerable Lingmiao.' This Venerable Lingmiao had transformed a sliver of primordial spirit into a being similar to a Heavenly Demon, who silently appeared in Elder Zhaixing's sea of consciousness during his cultivation meditation, guiding him on techniques for circulating energy. The Daoist arts inherited by Elder Zhaixing from Qiuyazi were already incomplete, and his understanding of the techniques was significantly skewed—a deviation similar to that of Daoist Mu in the past.

A perfectly viable technique, the "Golden Palace of the Purple Mansion," which should have allowed a cultivator to easily reach the mid-stage Golden Immortal realm, had only allowed Elder Zhaixing to reach the peak of the third grade of the Heavenly Immortal realm after tens of thousands of years of arduous effort. However, after receiving guidance from Venerable Lingmiao, Elder Zhaixing rapidly advanced from the threshold of the third grade to its peak within sixty years, poised to break through to the fourth grade of Heavenly Immortal at any moment! Given such a marvelous encounter, Elder Zhaixing naturally obeyed every word spoken by Venerable Lingmiao without the slightest dissent.

During this sixty-year span, all factions within the Cultivator Alliance, including Elder Zhaixing’s, frantically recruited disciples, and the cultivation of all their leaders soared. These leaders were fully aware of what was happening, yet they proceeded without hesitation.

In less than sixty years, the influence of the Cultivator Alliance expanded nearly a hundredfold. Seizing the opportunity when the Star Alliance Elder Council suffered a fatal blow from Gu Xichen, the Cultivator Alliance secretly seized seventy percent of the Star Alliance’s former territories, absorbing countless children suited for cultivation.

While other factions didn't know the precise details, Elder Zhaixing’s 'Star-Pinning Palace' alone recruited nearly a million children in less than sixty years. The civilizations controlled by the Star-Pinning Palace cultivators numbered over ten thousand, their sphere of influence spanning nearly a thousand star regions, covering an area stretching tens of millions of light-years.

Then, eight months prior, Elder Zhaixing and the leaders of the other major factions simultaneously received messages from the Upper Realms, along with a batch of tokens transmitted down from above.

After the rotating Alliance Master of the Cultivator Alliance, the White Bone Demon Ancestor, left an image on the tokens, this massive quantity of tokens tore through the void, flying directly toward the cultivators within the Star Alliance territories.

Among these tokens, those corresponding to realms below the Heavenly Immortal stage numbered over ten million; fewer than three hundred tokens corresponding to the Heavenly Immortal realm flew off into the void; and only a meager six tokens corresponding to the Golden Immortal realm departed.

Six tokens corresponding to the Golden Immortal realm?

Gu Xichen nodded subtly. Although these tokens originated from the Upper Realms, the Immortals of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were not Sages; their divine abilities were not so vast. In the boundless expanse of the cosmos, the restrictions placed on the tokens could only vaguely sense the presence of Golden Immortals, not accurately distinguish the aura of any single individual Golden Immortal.

One token was for his group. Perhaps two for the Angels? Maybe one flew to Earth? Because Du Lang now also possessed Golden Immortal cultivation, though Du Lang would certainly never attend this gathering. As for the last one? That was interesting.

Was it Wusuli? Or some other entity with Golden Immortal cultivation?

Day to day, Gu Xichen either questioned Elder Zhaixing endlessly or wandered through the Cultivator Alliance market accompanied by the Elder. He actually managed to pick up some rare treasures. The poor cultivators of the Alliance, whose inherited Dao traditions were incomplete, often had priceless rare materials before them, recognizing them as valuable but utterly ignorant of their specific uses. Gu Xichen, however, reveled in this ignorance, acquiring these heavenly materials at staggeringly low prices. After minimal refinement, he forged them into superior immortal artifacts that were valued immensely among the Alliance cultivators, allowing him to trade for even more valuable goods.

Eventually, Gu Xichen even managed to acquire fragments of innate supreme treasures—a fact that brought him immense joy.

These supreme artifacts clearly did not belong to this universe; they likely originated from a new outer universe. In an ancient, massive war, countless Great Sages from the outer regions perished, and their life-bound Holy Artifacts scattered throughout this universe. He wondered how the cultivators found these items, but now they all ended up benefiting Gu Xichen.

Thus, Gu Xichen enjoyed four months of leisure. Most cultivators willing to come upon receiving the summons had already arrived at Myriad Immortal Star; those unwilling would never appear. On the appointed day mentioned in the summons, a vast pressure spread across the void outside Myriad Immortal Star. All the cultivators of the Cultivator Alliance rushed out of the atmosphere and hovered in the void, quietly awaiting the arrival of a specific moment.

Gu Xichen’s party of four stood at the very front of the assembled cultivators. Beside Kan Hua and Mohe now trailed a dozen beautiful female cultivators. Gu Xichen shot them a reproachful glance, secretly transmitting a message ordering them to clean up any subsequent messes and avoid leaving any burdensome attachments behind.

Kan Hua grinned wickedly and stealthily showed Gu Xichen a small, pink plastic packet, about three centimeters square.

Gu Xichen nearly collapsed, spitting blood up to his throat, barely managing to suppress the urge to spew it out.

Fortunately, movement appeared in the distant void, preventing Gu Xichen from erupting in curses—a dignified Golden Immortal requiring condoms because he couldn't control his vital essence voluntarily? Was he trying to disgust everyone on purpose?

In the vast void, over thirty cultivators dressed in purple-gold robes embroidered with Bagua symbols stood arrayed according to the eight trigrams in the air, holding long banners. They continuously gathered the ambient spiritual energy of heaven and earth, transforming it into a specific fluctuation of magical power that spread outward into space.

This fluctuation of magical power acted like a lighthouse in the dark night, allowing certain interested parties to accurately pinpoint this specific location in space.

Not long after, a beam of golden light shot straight in from the far reaches of the void. Nine colossal golden dragons arrived with deafening roars, erecting a broad, impossibly long avenue spanning a hundred feet in the void.

Gu Xichen glanced at Kan Hua and pressed his fingers against his face a few times, causing subtle changes to his appearance.

Kan Hua, Banruo, and Mohe followed suit, subtly altering their features. After all, when Daoist Gu Chen still carried surveillance artifacts, who could guarantee that their faces hadn't been memorized by the great figures in the Upper Realms?

Accompanied by wondrous immortal music, two figures enveloped in golden light slowly walked across the golden bridge.

One was immensely tall, twelve feet in stature, possessing a dashing, handsome, and extraordinary appearance. He wore a light purple and gold robe and held a jade flute three feet and six inches long. His face was as pristine and fair as white mutton-fat jade, and every glance exuded an immeasurable, romantic charm.

The other figure was only four and a half feet tall, round and plump like a ball of flesh, yet clad in black armor. Around his neck hung a necklace strung with white bones. His grotesque, fierce face looked like a mashup of a wild boar, a grizzly bear, and a weasel, pieced together in an indescribably bizarre and strange manner.

However, the auras emanating from these two were diametrically opposed.

The youth, as handsome as a celestial monarch, radiated a bone-chilling, sinister, and malevolent aura; even his faint smile hinted at countless swords flashing in the air.

The ugly, fierce meatball, conversely, emitted a genuine immortal light of the Daoist sect. The light was pure, and faint green lotuses shimmered within its green oscillations. Though his face was ugly, his brow held an expression of profound serenity.

A pair of very interesting individuals.

As Gu Xichen was pondering the intentions of these two, the golden bridge quickly retracted.

In the blink of an eye, only the two golden figures remained, rapidly approaching until they stood before the crowd.

The handsome youth bowed deeply and smiled genially at the surrounding cultivators.

"Greetings to all you Daoist friends from the lower realms. I am 'Yuguanzi'!"

The meatball snorted coldly and stated plainly, "You youngsters be careful not to wander out late at night. This fellow, Yuguanzi, is a primeval exotic species—a flying serpent that transformed into a spirit. He particularly enjoys devouring the flesh and blood of cultivators. If any of your relatives or disciples go missing these few days, he is your culprit! He paused, then sneered, "This scoundrel is an intersex monster, taking both male and female. Don't be fooled by him and end up in his bed!"

Yuguanzi let out a 'cackling' laugh, flashing a flirtatious wink at the crowd in a rather effeminate manner.

Suddenly, Yuguanzi’s eyes locked onto one of the beautiful female cultivators beside Kan Hua. He let out a muffled sound, and Yuguanzi reached out to snatch at a female cultivator near Kan Hua.

"My lady, the Young Master has taken a liking to you! Come and join me, Young Master, for Yin-Yang harmony and pleasure!" Kan Hua’s expression darkened, and he swung a backhand punch toward Yuguanzi.