"Are these Immortal Cultivators that the Lord intends to refine into Dao Soldiers? Is he perhaps agonizing now over the proper method to employ?"

Zong Shou heard this and could only offer a helpless smile. He wasn't contemplating which Dao Soldier secret art to use; he simply had no choices available.

"I do possess a method for refining Immortal-rank Dao Soldiers, and it is among the most supreme arts. I once acquired partial inheritances from the Qin Dynasty of the Cloud Realm and the Xiang family, which included a Dao Soldier cultivation technique called the Huangqin Feather Immortal Art. It is truly formidable. Legend has it that in the early years, both the Dao Sect and the Cangsheng Dao had to flee from it. While this art grants immense power and can extend a Dao Soldier's life by at least a thousand years, it utterly precludes any hope of future advancement—"

This was Zong Shou's greatest dilemma. The Immortal Cultivators of the First Emperor's era, the Huangqin Feather Immortals, even surpassed the secret Dao Soldier techniques of the great Dao Sects.

However, it clearly possessed a fundamental flaw. It remained unknown whether the Immortal Cultivators under the First Emperor failed to perfect it, or if it was intentionally designed this way.

Ye Xuan was visibly moved. Ten thousand years prior, the Cloud Realm, using the strength of a single world, had resisted thousands of other worlds.

The number of cultivators who reached the Apex Realm sequentially reached over a dozen.

There was even Xi Zi, a Half-Step True Harmony figure who had never appeared before.

Therefore, Ye Xuan dared not treat the cultivation methods and secret arts of this world with the slightest disdain.

How much more so when it came to the First Qin Dynasty, which had once left all the great sects of the Cloud Realm helpless?

"The Lord is benevolent; this is the good fortune of these people."

Ye Xuan's words offered no clue as to whether they were praise or mockery.

To be so reluctant to use such a top-tier Dao Soldier secret art was almost unimaginable.

Zong Shou smiled without speaking. This was not benevolence on his part; the two concepts were entirely unrelated. In the final analysis, it was about making these people willing to serve him.

If a person is completely driven to despair, they will do anything.

Though the Huangqin Feather Immortal Art was excellent, it offered only temporary benefits. One might recall that the First Qin Dynasty lasted only a single generation. Perhaps the unwillingness of those Huangqin Feather Immortals to exert their utmost strength played a part in that swift collapse.

After the First Emperor passed, the Huangqin Feather Immortals were never mentioned again in any subsequent great wars.

Preserving their hope for advancement was the only way to ensure they would genuinely exert themselves for him.

With their Soul Oaths and restrictive arts in place, whether they could advance to the Divine Realm, or even their very survival, rested entirely on his whim.

The resources required for cultivation—elixirs, techniques, spiritual grounds—all needed to be provided by him.

And to possess these, they needed to handle matters for him and satisfy Zong Shou.

If one day someone managed to break through to the Divine Realm, thus escaping the fetters of the Dao Soldier restriction, it would certainly mean their merits were sufficient to repay the price for escaping the Nine Deaths Prison.

It was something Zong Shou would gladly see happen. If they were willing to remain then, that would be best; if they wished to leave, he would offer generous gifts for a peaceful parting.

Forcing them with harsh means, leaving no room for negotiation—Zong Shou had always disliked that approach. An outcome where both sides gained benefit, a win-win situation through cooperation, was his preferred style of operation.

Ye Xuan did not know the details, but Lu Wubing guessed some of it, a strange glint appearing in his eyes.

He mused that this might be why Zong Shou was considered the Saint Monarch in this age.

With such a Lord, his subordinates could indeed feel at ease, though sometimes, it could also be intensely frustrating.

"The Dao Soldier secret art spied from the Cangsheng Dao's secrets was personally created by Xi Zi back then. This should be the Dao Soldier method with the greatest potential and the most complete structure currently in the world. Furthermore, the Lu family of Fenkong has the Nine Flames Soldier Incineration Art, which, combined with the Blaze Absolute Void Array, is also a top-tier Celestial-rank Dao Soldier cultivation technique. The Lu clan has waged war for ten thousand years, conquering thousands of worlds, gaining fame across realms, and is exceptionally well-developed—"

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow. The Cangsheng Dao's Celestial-rank Dao Soldiers were certainly not bad.

As a direct disciple of the second generation, he held the inheritance of this secret art himself.

However, these Immortal Cultivators were meant to be the Dao Soldiers of his Great Qian Immortal Court!

Using public assets for personal gain, while the elders of the Cangsheng Dao might not say anything, was ultimately improper.

When Lu Wubing reached the final few sentences, his brow furrowed deeply.

The Lu family?

Since he was unwilling to use the Cangsheng Dao's own inheritance, what need was there to consider the Lu family's?

He would indeed go to the Immortal Court in the future, but he had no intention of changing his surname or inheriting the title of Fenkong Saint Emperor.

His dislike for the Lu family remained unchanged. Furthermore, Zong Shou stood tall and proud; why should he rely on the favors of his predecessors?

Going to the Holy Court was merely to help his mother secure a foothold within the Lu family.

And Xuan Hua—

A sharp light flickered in Zong Shou’s eyes, a killing intent momentarily flashing.

Lu Tianqing might be dead, but the true culprit remained. This person, he would one day personally execute!

Seeing Zong Shou's expression, Ye Xuan knew all these suggestions had been dismissed.

He shook his head, truly unable to fathom his Lord's intentions.

Just as he was about to offer persuasion, a thought struck him, and he hesitated: "If the Lord has confidence in me, Ye Xuan possesses a set of methods. They originate from ancient times; their exact origin and lineage are unknown. Their might and completeness have never been verified. I acquired them decades ago in a ruin market. I originally intended to incorporate them into the Xiaoyao Pavilion, but—"

With the utterance of 'but,' Ye Xuan abruptly fell silent, not continuing.

Zong Shou knew with perfect clarity that what followed must relate to the past Ye Xuan was unwilling to speak of in front of others.

"Although they haven't been verified, and are even slightly incomplete, when I first examined them, I felt they were an absolute marvel of Dao Soldier arts. I was overjoyed, leaping for joy, yet unexpectedly, this Dao Soldier wonder became one of the accusations my sect members used against me."

After a self-deprecating chuckle, Ye Xuan presented an item resembling a piece of sheepskin scroll before them.

He possessed no personal treasures; when he emerged from the Death Prison, he had no usable sword weapon on him.

He only had this scroll pattern, which seemed to have been hidden close to his body.

"I valued this object greatly. At that time, I pored over it daily, wishing only to significantly boost the combat power of my sect's Dao Soldiers. Therefore, I never placed it inside a spatial artifact. Because of this, I luckily escaped having it confiscated."

Zong Shou raised an eyebrow. He did not know what happened to Ye Xuan before he was imprisoned in the Death Prison.

But that even a master of his sword intent valued this scroll pattern so highly made the scroll truly worth anticipating.

He extended a hand and summoned the diagram. The texture upon contact first left him bewildered—was this not just sheepskin?

But immediately, he saw Ye Xuan give a cold laugh and suddenly draw the Azure Heaven Sword.

Before Zong Shou could react, Ye Xuan struck the diagram with his sword.

The result was that the sword light was repelled by a soft, yielding force, while the sheepskin scroll remained completely unharmed, not even bearing a single white mark.

Zong Shou paused, exchanging glances with Lu Wubing, both showing astonishment in their eyes.

How immense was the power of Ye Xuan’s sword strike? Even without exerting his full strength, Zong Shou knew he could never withstand it.

Yet, this 'sheepskin scroll' managed to absorb a full strike!

—Even a top-tier defensive Immortal Artifact could do no better!

"I suspect this object is made from Primordial Dragon Hide, or perhaps the remains of another Divine Beast progenitor from this domain. In any case, the material must be one of these—"

Ye Xuan stated calmly, "If its appearance weren't so poor, it wouldn't have been left abandoned in that rarely visited Immortal Ruin, ignored, for me to find."

Zong Shou's mind was already intensely provoked. He looked closely at the lines and patterns on the scroll—

At first, he frowned; this looked too crude, seemingly an extremely superficial Profound-rank Dao Soldier technique, along with a corresponding sword formation.

Such methods were abundant in the Cloud Realm; the Cangsheng Dao repository held over a hundred variations.

Compared to the Cangsheng Azure Dragon Soldiers or his own Blood Cloud Cavalry, the gap was immense.

However, if not for Ye Xuan's sword strike just now and his words, Zong Shou likely would have been uninterested and tossed it aside immediately.

Now, he understood this diagram held a deeper mystery.

After a moment of contemplation, Zong Shou sliced his own wrist vein with his finger.

He stained the diagram with his fresh blood.

The diagram instantly absorbed the blood like a sponge.

As the entire scroll turned blood-red, faint, dark-gold lines emerged upon it, spreading outward from the center.

Combined with the original patterns, the information on the entire sheepskin scroll immediately became profound and inscrutable.

Zong Shou opened his Illusionary World Blood Pupils and examined the profound principles closely.

The deeper he looked, the more shocked he became. The patterns remained extremely simple.

A single glance was enough to grasp the basics; there were no complex mysteries.

Yet, the more he pondered, the more he realized there must be an underlying secret. The profundity within seemed endless, as if exhausting the ultimate truths of the Great Dao.

Gradually, a line of text appeared within his Sea of Consciousness.

—The Supreme Demon Slaying Record!

It was not just a Dao Soldier method, but seemed to be a scripture expounding the Great Dao—

Just as Zong Shou was about to delve further, the Chronos Book in his Sea of Consciousness suddenly stirred.

This caused a slight shift in what his Blood Pupils perceived.

First came astonishment, then a sense of realization.

"This was not passed down from antiquity, but rather originates from another realm—"

Others could not discern it from this scroll, but to Zong Shou, who possessed the Chronos Book, the conspicuous temporal and spatial energies lingering around it were unmistakable.

As soon as he uttered this, Ye Xuan was startled, then thoughtful: "So that is it! No wonder I searched through countless classics afterward and could never find its origin."

Zong Shou's mind was also momentarily adrift. Senior Immortal Cultivators had long speculated that beyond this domain, there must be other realms.

One needed to achieve True Harmony with the Dao to cross over. Even the Buddhist Sect had always held the ambition of opening up another domain.

However, these were all unverified matters.

Zong Shou had always been half-believing, half-doubting.

But this sheepskin scroll today was akin to confirming the existence of other domains!

"It is indeed slightly incomplete; it should be a fragment forcibly torn from a supreme Dao Scripture."

Zong Shou shook his head hard, returning to the present, and focused on the missing corner in the upper left.

"Truly extraordinary! Unfortunately, about one-thirtieth is missing. But since Ye Xuan has studied this diagram for so long, perhaps there is a way to complete it."

As he thought this, the Nameless Sword within his sleeve vibrated with a clear hum.