As a Father, I Just Want to Watch You Achieve Immortality Chapter 1659: Immortal Artisan’s Fifth Molting, Second Type of Primordial Dao Tribulation; State Preceptor Invites the Underworld to Join His Side...
Previously on As a Father, I Just Want to Watch You Achieve Immortality...
The Emperor listened to these words, his fingers lightly drumming against the tabletop. "Qian Yuan has failed time and again—perhaps we should turn our assault toward the Heavenly Pill Divine Sect?"
"That might succeed, provided we seize the Divine Sect's Qi Fortune..."
"These Divine Sects pretend loyalty to the Imperial Court, yet their submission rings hollow... In truth, since their Qi Fortune hasn't flowed into Great Vista, it doesn't count as real allegiance. This moment is perfect..."
A subtle smile curved the Emperor's lips, his satisfaction unusually evident.
Even so, the mission for the State Preceptor to shatter Qian Yuan Dao City and seize Li Che alive appeared improbable to fulfill.
The Emperor paid little heed to that outcome.
For the State Preceptor had already gathered substantial Qi Fortune from the Divine Sects, and once all their Qi Fortunes converged, conquering Qian Yuan would cease to pose a challenge.
In reality.
The true concern weighing on the Emperor was the Purple Mansion Divine Sect...
This ancient Divine Sect, akin in legacy to the Equal Heaven Temple, filled the Emperor with dread.
And with Xie Yushen's strength alone, shattering the Purple Mansion Divine Sect remained utterly out of reach.
Xie Yushen had endured back-to-back losses against Qian Yuan—how could he possibly overcome the Purple Mansion?
...
...
Crack crack—!!!
Within Guangling Dao City.
Across the Heavenly Dome, the explosive clash of Divine Tribulation forces tore through, summoning endless lightning bolts that savagely lit up behind the stormy clouds, weaving into a dense web!
Numerous Human Head Toad Furnaces floated high above, encircling the rotund Yangxuan Grandmaster.
This Heavenly Pill Divine Sect Grandmaster appeared wild and thrilled in that instant.
He spread his arms wide, as though rousing a long-slumbering entity.
From the Heavenly Pill Divine Sect's Mysterious Temple, a majestic pillar of divine radiance erupted, seemingly slashing apart the gloomy clouds while sending shockwaves rippling far and wide.
A silhouette in gray robes, with hair flecked by silver, gradually materialized from the luminous shaft linking to the Heavenly Pill Divine Sect's Mountain Gate.
The moment it surfaced, the very atmosphere twisted unnaturally.
Fierce gales and swirling snow were instantly vaporized into droplets by the overwhelming power, which then turned to vapor in flight, blending into the space between sky and ground.
Yet this vapor carried a murky gray-black tint, making it impossible to tell if it was mere steam or toxic haze.
Gu Qianchi, locked in confrontation with Yangxuan Grandmaster, felt his face drain of color abruptly.
"Poison Saint Yin Xuan?!"
Gu Qianchi clearly recognized the title of Grandmaster Yin Xuan, one half of the Heavenly Pill Divine Sect's famed Yin-Yang duo...
In their era, they dominated the cultivation world, with Yin Xuan standing out as the dreaded Poison Saint.
His infamy peaked when he poisoned every Grandmaster of the Dan Sect, wiping that faction from history and elevating the Heavenly Pill Divine Sect to supremacy among Dan Sects.
But hadn't the universally reviled Poison Saint Yin Xuan met his end a thousand years prior?
Yin Xuan's arrival brought no warmth to his features.
His gaze swirled with deep black light, scanning slowly before lingering briefly on Gu Qianchi, then fixing on Xie Yushen and his forces below.
"The Imperial Court... dares invade my Heavenly Pill Divine Sect?"
Yin Xuan stated coolly.
Gu Qianchi's frame stiffened, an inexplicable wave of dread surging through him at the sound of Yin Xuan's voice.
Furthermore, Yin Xuan's sudden manifestation flipped the battlefield's balance.
Gu Qianchi's expression grew grim—could it be? Was it possible?... How could the Imperial Court's fortune sour so sharply?
After endless setbacks assaulting Qian Yuan, would this strike on the Heavenly Pill Divine Sect also crumble to failure?
What cursed fate clung to Xie Yushen?
Forever charging into unbreakable barriers?
Gu Qianchi drew in a steadying breath—one had to admit, every Divine Sect's foundations ran profoundly deep.
Even the most overlooked Heavenly Pill Divine Sect harbored such hidden depths.
Yin Xuan shot a casual look downward. "Imperial Court forces, withdraw."
"Else, this old man sees no reason to let you leave alive."
"Doubt me at your peril—even against your vast army, a mere drop of poison from my fingertip could fell you all."
Yin Xuan remarked with a thin smile.
Fresh from his awakening, he was taken aback to discover the court's troops storming and dismantling the sect, but as a founding Grandmaster of the Heavenly Pill Divine Sect, he refused to stand by while his creation faced annihilation.
Letting the sect's Qi Fortune drain away unchecked.
Xie Yushen remained seated in his palanquin, eyeing the newly appeared Yin Xuan with narrowed lids.
Then, a subtle grin spread across his face.
Yin Xuan, the Poison Saint?
Gu Qianchi hurried back to the palanquin's side, his visage clouded in shadow. "State Preceptor... that's Poison Saint Yin Xuan—he's a formidable adversary..."
"Our preparations lack countermeasures for his toxins; we may not endure them."
Gu Qianchi warned gravely.
Having shared the same age as Yin Xuan, Gu Qianchi knew full well the horrors the man wielded.
Yet Xie Yushen's features glowed with fierce determination, betraying neither dread nor the urge to flee.
"Grandmaster Yin, are you aware... why I boldly command this army against the Heavenly Pill Divine Sect?"
"Rather than pressing the assault on the Qian Yuan Divine Sect?"
Gu Qianchi shook his head, utterly puzzled.
Xie Yushen rose from the palanquin, winds whipping through to make his robes flutter noisily.
He fanned himself gently with his feather fan, a icy smirk tugging at his mouth.
His eyes lifted toward the skies over the Heavenly Pill Divine Sect's Mountain Gate, where the Yin-Yang Grandmasters—two powerhouses of the Divine Tribulation Realm—suspended in vigil.
Yin Xuan outshone Yangxuan clearly, his cultivation probably at the One Disaster Two Tribulations stage, matching the Old Dragon God's tier.
Yangxuan, by contrast, lingered at One Disaster One Tribulation.
Two wielders of Divine Tribulations...
But truthfully, in the current Heavenly Pill Divine Sect, just these two Divine Tribulation experts guarded the core—nothing beyond that.
The Ascending Immortal Pavilion had cleared out Guangling Dao City, just as it had stripped the Heavenly Pill Divine Sect bare.
Beyond that...
The Heavenly Pill Divine Sect had crossed a figure it never should have provoked.
"Grandmaster Yin, remember this: in this realm, foes aren't bound forever—only... lasting gains endure."
"Those who once blocked our path to raze the sect might yet turn into steadfast partners."
Xie Yushen intoned with layered intent.
Gu Qianchi caught the words, his forehead creasing in bewilderment.
Xie Yushen... what scheme was he unveiling?
As Xie Yushen's statement concluded, he turned his palm upward, unveiling a dark chess piece, carved as if from polished inkstone.
This was...
A burst of savage energy exploded from the ebony token.
In the instant that followed, he hurled it skyward.
Launched aloft, the black piece quivered faintly before streaking upward at blinding speed.
Gu Qianchi stared in shock.
Moments later, his gaze sharpened.
For...
The inky chess piece ballooned outward mid-flight!
Then, a shadowy metropolis burst into being, dominating the expanse between heavens and earth!
Churning death qi and crushing might emanated from it, like a nightmarish fortress commanding the thresholds of existence and oblivion, poised threateningly over Guangling Dao City.
A ferocious, turbulent presence unleashed itself, as though infernal demonic forces coiled in fury.
The metropolis's gates creaked wide...
Countless tendrils of ink seemed to spill forth, painting the firmament like a canvas to outline the horrifying form of a savage creature!
Nine heads, evoking mighty Divine Dragons, lashed wildly from the gateway's depths, though seven stayed hazy, with only two in sharp focus.
Those two distinct draconic maws parted, unleashing a thunderous bellow that overpowered the cosmos!
As the city quaked, the monstrous entity with its nine writhing heads inched forth from within.
Its pair of obsidian wings unfurled in a rush, eclipsing the heavens and snuffing out daylight!
Swish, swish...
Without warning, ink-hued downpour commenced from above!
Swish, swish—immense and unrelenting!
As though oceanic swells had vaulted into the air, only to crash back as cascading deluge.
Among the Underworld's ten legendary beasts...
Sea Flipping Nine Infants!
Gu Qianchi tilted his head skyward.
The grip on his prized sword quivered faintly.
Beholding this awe-inspiring monster, he sensed its profound menace on instinct... clearly a Devil God-tier being in the Divine Tribulation Realm!
However...
That wasn't the crux!
Gu Qianchi eyed the fortress in bafflement...
This all-too-recognizable stronghold.
Not merely Gu Qianchi...
Ning Caisen, Gu Cheng, alongside countless Martial Saints from the court forces and Divine Fetus Practitioner leaders, all stared in stunned silence.
Etched on that fortress's signboard were the bold words "Fengdu."
Two characters both intimate and jarringly bold.
The Underworld's Fengdu?!
Just days before, they had clashed viciously with the Underworld, the battles savage beyond measure...
Now, through the State Preceptor's cunning diplomacy, the Underworld had been swayed to their side?!
Thus...
The Underworld... now fought as allies?!