Chapter 704 - 698 Qi Fortune Destined, Great Power Shocked
Spring and Autumn Academy was not only the foremost among the four major academies of the Central Region, but also one of the five super forces of the Biluo Great World.
Although the Spring and Autumn Ancestor had harmonized with the Heavenly Union Dao, unlike Grandmaster Ancestor Taixuan and others who were still able to sit at the Mountain Gate, no one dared to underestimate the academy because of this.
Not only because the Spring and Autumn Ancestor had made significant contributions to Biluo, but after harmonizing with the Heavenly Dao, he was still able to maintain an independent will. Although he rarely showed himself, he did not abandon the academy; instead, his vision became broader, focusing on the entire Biluo Great World.
No one dared to say whether the Spring and Autumn Ancestor would appear if the academy faced great adversity. Once the Spring and Autumn Ancestor, who had merged with the Heavenly Dao, showed bias, that would be a serious issue.
After all, to some extent, the Spring and Autumn Ancestor represented the Heavenly Dao—his will was the will of the Heavenly Dao. If he bore malice toward someone, that person would feel as if the whole world was filled with hostility towards him. From then on, things would go wrong, and calamities would befall him!
Even those who were self-sufficient great entities, after all, hadn’t left the world and couldn’t be unaffected.
Therefore, even if the Spring and Autumn Ancestor did not take action, his mere will could intimidate greatly.
Even without the Spring and Autumn Ancestor, just the strength of the Spring and Autumn Academy was enough to hold high esteem among peers.
Not only were the deans of various divisions above the Immortal Realm, but Mountain Master Gongsun Cuo was also an existence at the peak of the Eternal Realm, almost achieving Creation, just a hair’s breadth away from Grandmaster Ancestor Taixuan and the few other top-level entities.
Such an existence, apart from Grandmaster Ancestor Taixuan, the Ghost Ancestor, and a few others, there were scarcely any in the entire Cultivation World who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.
Even if there were no other great entities stationed there, just Gongsun Cuo alone was enough to uphold a formidable force, not to mention the numerous Immortal Realm division heads.
In the hall, Gui Ling Ancestor was seated on one side, discussing matters with several great powers of the early Spring and Autumn Academy.
Since the conclusion of the Five Domains Alliance, several ancestors had entrusted the task of conquering the Nordic God Realm to Gongsun Cuo and Gui Ling Ancestor. After settling his Sect’s affairs, Gui Ling Ancestor spent most of his time at the Spring and Autumn Academy, strategizing with Gongsun Cuo on how to capture that world with minimal cost.
This was no small matter.
A high-rank world was an entity that could shake a vast expanse of the Star Domain, a powerful world that countless medium and small worlds looked up to, not something a great world could easily conquer without suffering heavy losses!
Like the Red Flame Demon Realm, a medium world that the Beast Taming Sect had captured by joining forces with the Five Poisons Sect, the Ghost Controlling Sect, and several dozen medium and small sects.
But high-rank worlds were different.
As with the Divine Realm currently being besieged by the Ten Directions Ghost City, even though the force of Ten Directions Ghost City was much stronger than that of the Beast Taming Sect, and they had summoned countless large and small sects from the Northern Domain to join the war, amassing numerous cultivators, they still hadn’t achieved victory and were even blocked by God King Zeus leading countless Divine Clan and a vast army. Despite the numerical advantage, they were stuck in a defensive position.
This was not a favorable situation for an expeditionary cultivator army.
If it weren’t for the Ghost Ancestor backing them, and the various sects of the Northern Domain still continuously sending reinforcements, it would be hard to say whether this expedition would be victorious or defeated!
Hence, if Gongsun Cuo and Gui Ling Ancestor could conquer the Nordic God Realm with the least cost, not only would it reduce many losses for the Cultivation World, but it would also allow various sects and academies to allocate their forces to other battlefields and achieve more victories.
Most importantly, high-rank worlds contained treasures that could replenish the Biluo Origin, which was the primary reason why they aimed at five high-rank worlds from the start.
If they managed to capture the Nordic God Realm, it would, to some extent, replenish Biluo’s origin and restore some primordial qi.
While they were discussing, a scholar entered.
“Mountain Master, Senior Gui Ling!”
The scholar bowed, “Outside are a few Daoist Fellows from the Beast Taming Sect who have come to seek an audience with Senior Gui Ling about an important matter!”
“Oh?”
Gui Ling Ancestor and Gongsun Cuo exchanged glances.
Both were entities with profound Dao cultivation. Gui Ling Ancestor had verified the Dao through Prediction Calculation, and Gongsun Cuo was the top entity of Confucianism, who had long been delving into universal truths and had a far superior understanding of the laws of the Heavenly Dao than others.
Therefore, when the scholar made his report, their minds sensed something.
Then, glancing outside, they immediately saw two thick clusters of Qi Fortune energy.
“So it’s them, the Qi Fortune children of your sect!”
Gongsun Cuo lightly stroked his beard, “I heard these two youngsters caused quite a stir in the Northern Domain recently!”
“Hehe…”
Gui Ling Ancestor chuckled softly upon hearing this. “The younger generation, still young and restless, naturally cannot stay still. It’s fine as long as they don’t stir up too much trouble.
Eh? They have already become Immortals?!”
With his level of Dao cultivation, even from afar, without looking directly, he could discern from Qin Feng and Li Miaozhen’s Qi Fortune that there was something different about them, noting that their Qi Fortune was not only thriving but seemed to have grown compared to before, which surprised him.
Normally, even the Qi Fortune of Qi Fortune children would deplete. Their cultivation would progress rapidly, burning their Qi Fortune like a torch to ensure their cultivation speed.
Unless their cultivation speed surpassed the burning rate of Qi Fortune, and they also acquired additional Qi Fortune from other sources, it was unlikely for their Qi Fortune to increase.
Yet now, that was the case with Qin Feng and Li Miaozhen; their Qi Fortune was richer than when they had first been recognized by the Heavenly Dao.
“Let them in!”
Gongsun Cuo, as the Mountain Master of the Spring and Autumn Academy, naturally took on the role of the host and instructed them to be let in.
The scholar acknowledged and exited the hall, soon leading the awaiting trio of Long Qian, Qin Feng, into the academy.
“Greetings to the ancestors, greetings to Mountain Master Gongsun, and greetings to all the seniors!”
Several people bowed respectfully.
Among those present, besides Gongsun Cuo and Gui Ling Ancestor, the rest were also Great Powers of the Immortal Realm. Even Elder Long Qian could only be considered a junior in front of them, so his words were very respectful.
“Hmm.”
Gui Ling Ancestor waved his hand, signaling them to rise, his eyes vaguely seemed to swirl with nebulas as he carefully observed Qin Feng and Li Miao Zhen and slightly nodded, “You two indeed have good fortune to have achieved the Immortal Dao so quickly. It seems this excursion into the Otherworld has brought you quite some benefits!”
Qin Feng bowed, “I must also thank the Grandmaster for looking out for us. Had the Grandmaster not spoken to the White Bone City Lord in advance, my fellow apprentice and I could not have returned so easily from that Divine Realm!”
“No need for modesty!”
Gui Ling Ancestor cheerfully waved his hand, “The White Bone City Lord and I have an agreement, looking out for you was simply part of it. Besides, he only ensured your safety and would not give you opportunities for free. To gain advantages, you still have to seize them yourself. However, it seems like the opportunities you two seized were not small!”
At this point, he couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh lightly, “I initially thought of using the Otherworld war to temper you, where the Heavenly Dao does not favor you, to let you slow down in cultivation, solidify your foundation, to prevent the progress of your cultivation from being too rapid and inappropriate, and also to temper your Daoist Heart.
Yet you… eh, it was unexpected that going to the Otherworld actually accelerated your progress even faster than while in Biluo. Truly beyond my expectation.”
“Ha ha…”
Hearing this, Gongsun Cuo and the other Great Powers all laughed heartily.
Dean Su Muzhe of the Poetry Institute joked, “Daoist Fellow Gui Ling, if you don’t want them to progress too quickly, next time such an opportunity arises, let my disciples go instead. Perhaps a few among them might also prove themselves worthy of longevity!”
The group burst into laughter once more.
Beside them, Dean Zhao Boyang of the Scripture Interpretation Division shook his head, “Daoist Brother, you should not be dissatisfied. Your disciples progressing so quickly in their cultivation and yet you complain! I see their foundation as more solid than most, nothing inappropriate about it.
Hmm, if there’s any future instance of sending disciples to the Otherworld to suppress their cultivation, don’t forget to tell me, I’ll also send a few disciples over to experience it.”
Gui Ling Ancestor humorously exchanged a few words with them before turning his attention to them, “Enough, the destiny of the Master of Qi Luck is determined by the heavens, it seems no need for this old one to intervene.
Long Qian, you brought them here for a matter, if you need to return to the Southern Domain, just go on your own. We are currently planning an expedition and can’t return to the Sect for now!”
“Reporting to Grandmaster, we indeed have an urgent matter to report!”
“Oh? What is it, speak!”
“Yes!”
Elder Long Qian bowed and said, “Grandmaster, previously while I was waiting in the Desolate Wilderness for their return, having stayed in the Desolate Wilderness for a long time, I noticed something amiss. There were many cultivators who went out treasure hunting and did not return.
Since the number was not small, I covertly investigated, only to discover a batch of Demon Path remnants capturing cultivators, attempting to communicate with the Outer domains through an altar left from ancient times.”
“What? An altar for communicating with the Otherworld?”
“After the Ancient Great Tribulation, we joined hands to sweep through the lands, yet there remains an altar that can still communicate with the Otherworld?”
“Is this truly the case?”
Upon hearing this, not only did Gui Ling Ancestor’s demeanor turn serious, but the other Great Powers who were previously smiling also straightened up and looked over.
“Indeed, it is true!”
Elder Long Qian stated, “Moreover, that group of Demon Cultivators had already succeeded. They not only communicated with powerful beings from the Otherworld but even transported over a Three-Legged Crow carrying a powerful Divine Artifact!”
“They can already transport beings over?”
Several Great Powers had grave expressions, “A Three-Legged Crow? Could it be from the Heavenly Demon Great World’s Demon Clan?”
“Perhaps, if it originates from the Heavenly Demon Realm, even if it is not from the Golden Crow Clan, it should still possess the Golden Crow Bloodline!”
“This is troublesome. We are not prepared yet, and it’s not time to initiate another Great Tribulation!”
Gui Ling Ancestor and the other Great Powers turned their gaze towards Elder Long Qian and asked, “Where is the altar now? Let’s go and destroy the altar first. This way, even if they locate Biluo, due to the great distance, it will be difficult for them to transport a large army in a short period of time, giving us time to buffer.”
“The altar has already been destroyed!”
Elder Long Qian stated, “Among that group of Demon Cultivators were remnants of the Heavenly Demon Sect’s Soul Devouring Demon Venerable, two other Demon Immortals, and that Three-Legged Crow carrying a powerful Divine Artifact, I was no match.
Fortunately, Qin Feng and his companions appeared in time. Not only did they help me slay the Demon Cultivators, but they also captured the Three-Legged Crow and suppressed the powerful Divine Artifact on the crow!”
“Hmm? Already solved?”
“And you seized the Divine Artifact and captured the Three-Legged Crow?”
The Great Powers exchanged glances, relieved and also extremely surprised at the same time.
They were just in serious preparation, ready to face a second Great Tribulation that might start at any moment.
But then, here comes Long Qian telling them that the crisis had been averted, not only seizing the enemy’s treasure but also taking the opponent alive!
This… somehow, seemed a bit too trivial!
Even for someone as steady as Gui Ling Ancestor and others, a sense of absurdity couldn’t help but rise in their minds.