"Brother Feng, are you willing to undertake a diplomatic mission for me, to meet with Hong Jiuchen, Mu Fang, and the others? This matter cannot simply end here. They owe Da Qian an explanation, a reckoning."

Feng Taiji was initially puzzled, scrutinizing the person opposite him.

From Zong Shou's expression, one could discern nothing. However, there was indeed nothing much to hesitate or deliberate over in this matter.

"Why not? I only wonder, Sovereign, what is your bottom line?"

Since he had agreed to the mission, he needed to know Zong Shou's general opening offer.

"Limit them to withdrawing from the Yuanlian World within ten days! This time, anyone whose hands have been stained with the blood of Da Qian's subjects and cultivators must pay with their life. Furthermore, the heads of Hong Jiuchen and Tan Jing."

Hearing this, Feng Taiji felt nothing amiss. The conditions did not seem overly excessive.

The latter two would be slightly more difficult, but they were also justifiable; otherwise, it would be difficult to satisfy the populace.

Yet, to truly reach an agreement, he suspected their side would mostly have to make concessions.

But the next moment, Zong Shou continued, "In addition, these four major forces must each cede four Minor Thousand Worlds to Da Qian. This is my absolute bottom line, from which I will not yield a single fraction—"

Not only was Feng Taiji astonished, but the others gathered there were also dumbfounded and perplexed.

Four Minor Thousand Worlds might be negligible to a major power like the Lu Family, which possessed eight hundred Middle Thousand Worlds.

But for factions like the Xuanling Cultus or the Jiejue Sacred Court, it was tantamount to tearing off flesh.

Not to mention the Tianfang Cultus, which had been struggling merely to survive.

To expect these few forces to agree was undoubtedly a pipe dream, an utterly impossible proposition.

Several among them vaguely discerned that the Sovereign of Da Qian had no true intention of peace talks.

Feng Taiji sighed helplessly, "If the Sovereign demands such terms, it might be better to start the fight directly!"

Zong Shou offered a wry smile. "One must always offer civility before force. These people schemed diligently to take my life. What's the big deal if I demand a few Minor Thousand Worlds from them? Just say that I am enraged and absolutely unwilling to compromise."

Feng Taiji opened his mouth, intending to speak more, but then seemed to realize something, giving a slight bow. "This Taiji roughly understands the Sovereign's meaning!"

What Hong Jiuchen and the others plotted was the life of the Lord of Da Qian. Therefore, whatever reaction Da Qian made would not be considered excessive.

All he needed to do was convey this meaning to the other side.

It would be best to spread this matter so that everyone knew.

He also secretly found it strange that Zong Shou's actions were mostly intended to provoke and enrage. This would only cause the four factions to resist fiercely, perhaps even unite.

But where did Zong Shou derive the confidence to show no apprehension toward these forces that commanded numerous Saints?

Observing Zong Shou's demeanor, it seemed he was practically hoping the Nine Capital Celestial Court would refuse, so he could legitimately attack.

In Feng Taiji's view, simply taking the entire Yuanlian World this time would have been excellent enough.

Based only on the current situation—the six or seven Immortal Ranks present from the Cloud Realm's Three Teachings, along with Zong Shou himself and Ruoshui—forcing these four factions to make further concessions was absolutely impossible.

And on the battlefield, even with brilliant generals like Zhuang Yu and Shi Ruolan, victory was not guaranteed.

However, despite a thousand doubts in his heart, he knew Zong Shou was not a reckless person.

Either he possessed sufficient certainty, or there was some deeper meaning at play.

"For this diplomatic mission, Taiji will certainly not fail Your Majesty's trust!"

"Then I will have to rely on Brother Feng! I have no sincerity in this matter; Brother Feng, when you go, you may prioritize your own safety—"

Zong Shou openly stated it was civility before force, nothing more than a measure to silence critics.

It was also to give the other side time to prepare, to mobilize their forces. When the real fighting began, they wouldn't just catch small fry.

Only by severely wounding these four major factions could the dozens of newly occupied Minor Thousand Worlds be secured.

His own side also needed time to prepare.

Although his subordinates already possessed a complete set of the Supreme Heavenly Astral Demon Slaying Sword Formation, the Demon Slayers of the Source Sea still required time to familiarize themselves and practice.

This expedition yielded not only spirit stones but also a great deal of precious material that could be used to forge armor, weapons, and gear.

With his current martial and spiritual cultivation accumulation, he was now capable of perfecting the Black Fox Iron Cavalry.

He was confident that in terms of cultivation techniques, they would not be inferior to the Blood Cloud Cavalry in the slightest. The only disparity lay in the mounts' armor, the riders' equipment, and the weapons they used.

Cavalry armor is for the beasts; equipment is for the riders.

Although his Black Fox Iron Cavalry were Sixth-Tier Dao Soldiers, in terms of equipment, they were far inferior to the Blood Cloud Cavalry.

He glanced again at the distant void warships locked in fierce combat.

Since the five Formless God-Demons were slain by him, these ships had shown signs of collapse.

Under the assault of Shi Ruolan's fleet, more than ten had been destroyed in succession, their formations scattered, the situation even more dire.

A few ships remained hovering in the air, having been closed upon by Da Qian's warships and were now engaged in desperate struggle.

The rest were unable to escape. Although Zong Shou had not directly intervened, his Soul Sense and Sword Intent firmly locked onto this sector of the world-river space, suppressing and impacting the cultivators' minds, indirectly influencing the battle.

Judging by the state of the battle, it was clear that even without the aid of Immortal Ranks like them, the allied forces of those few factions stood no chance of victory.

It seemed from Shi Ruolan's intent that she aimed to capture all several dozen void warships.

Zong Shou let out a cold sneer, raising a hand slightly, and seized the man who had been loudly laughing just moments before.

He was a man who remembered every slight, never forgiving. He had not forgotten this person, who had cursed and mocked him for a long time.

Without asking a single question, he immediately subjected him to the Soul Search technique to forcibly extract his memories.

"So, he originates from the Seven Saints Alliance—"

Zong Shou instantly understood, no wonder this man viewed him as an enemy.

Indeed, the Nine Quiet Hermit and several of his subordinates had died by his hand, and one of them was this man's only blood relative.

However, this time, it was these individuals acting privately; it held little connection to the Seven Saints Alliance itself.

Zong Shou paid these matters little mind. Even if the Seven Saints Alliance truly joined the fray, it would only add one more force, which he could still handle.

It was another piece of information that caused Zong Shou to raise an eyebrow in surprise. After pondering for a moment, Zong Shou looked again toward the northeastern corner of the continent within the Yuanlian Realm.

"The Asura Clan, perhaps?"

After a moment of contemplation, Zong Shou began to walk toward that direction.

It seemed he absolutely had to meet with this fellow, Brother Chahuhu Cha... At almost the same instant, in the void several worlds away,

A curled, azure lotus leaf drifted to this location. As the spiritual river surged, it moved forward.

Not only was its speed extremely fast, but the leaf itself seemed alternately visible and invisible. The crystal beasts surrounding it appeared completely unaware of the leaf, as if it simply did not exist.

It was moving farther and farther away from the Cloud Realm.

The curled blue lotus then revealed a crack, and then fully unfurled.

Two figures appeared within: two men and one woman, all clad in azure Dao robes, and all appearing young.

The one leading them was the young woman in the center. Her expression was currently ashen, her eyes vacant as she stared in the direction of the Cloud Realm, utterly silent.

"This is the Blood Sword Demon Lord who cost my Dao Sect tens of thousands of disciples? Truly extraordinary. Perhaps one unmatched in several thousand years."

The speaker stood to the side, appearing to be nearly thirty years old. A cinnabar mole marked his brow, and he held a horsetail whisk, exuding an ethereal and detached air.

His words at the moment held a slight note of lament, though whether it was genuine admiration or something else was unclear.

"Uncle-Master Chengxin! I know you appreciate talent, but this person is an irreconcilable foe of our Dao Sect. Qingming personally witnessed him slay several of my close friends on the spot. He is truly a demonic figure—"

The young woman offered a wry smile and shook her head slightly. "Having left the Cloud Realm for several years, this Blood Sword Demon Lord's cultivation has not stalled; rather, it has advanced, becoming ever more unfathomable."

As she finished speaking, she asked curiously, "With Uncle-Master's abilities, I wonder if you could capture Zong Shou now?"

"If we were anywhere else, it should be a near certainty!"

Daoist Chengxin's words were indeed rather arrogant, but his tone did not convey complete confidence, immediately adding, "However, don't forget, this is the Yuanlian Realm. And within the Yuanlian Realm, the so-called Da Qian Celestial Dynasty controls nearly half of the territory."

The implication was that in a fair fight, his chances of winning were significant, but near the Yuanlian Realm,

Zong Shou held the advantage as the local power, commanding the might of an entire nation. Even if his cultivation were slightly weaker, he could still match Zong Shou, or even suppress him slightly.

"This man's physical body has reached the Indestructible Realm, comparable to a Divine Realm cultivator. His mastery of Soul Realm Sword Intent is already at a very high level. His art of instantaneous spatial movement is also virtually untraceable. What other methods he possesses are yet unknown. But based on these alone, he can fight Saints across ranks. To possess the power to contend with Divine Realm cultivators at the early stage of the Immortal Realm—this truly marks him as the foremost rising talent in the Cloud Realm. Those headless, formless God-Demons died without complaint! This time, we underestimated him."

Qingming also sagged in dejection. Just in case, she had specifically warned the person in charge of the Hidden Demon faction to increase manpower and send five more Divine Realm experts, yet the result still left her disheartened.

"In other words, we are currently helpless against him, and it is best not to make any move against him again?"

"That would be best!"

Chengxin nodded slightly, a look of satisfaction appearing in his eyes; this girl was teachable.

"This time, we have already alerted the snake. This person should already be on guard. Calculating against him again will be ten times harder. Moreover, once the situation in the Cloud Realm is settled, and the Cang Sheng Dao is destroyed, and Long Ying is left without external support, taking this brat's life will be as easy as turning over a hand. Under the current circumstances, stability is paramount—"

But before his words finished, he was interrupted by someone beside him.

"There is still an opportunity! This Zong Shou has always been ruthless and vengeful. Having been schemed against by those four factions and suffering heavy losses under his rule, he certainly will not let this go! Those like Hong Jiuchen are also not the type to willingly hand over their foundations. Once conflict erupts between the two sides, that is where our opportunity lies!"

Chengxin immediately frowned deeply at this, looking displeased toward the person next to him.

This person was Xiaoxiangzi, a remarkably outstanding figure among the younger generation of the Dao Sect.

However, in his presence, it was not this junior's place to speak and contradict his words.

If it were not for the sake of the deceased Wuxuzi's reputation, based on this single sentence alone, he would have certainly made this young man suffer a little.