Chapter 627: Another Hidden Enemy

Jiang Lianyi recalled the recent battle, finding it nothing short of thrilling and fraught with immense peril.

"As expected of our sect leader, she is truly formidable."

"Just moments ago, Sect Leader Yun and I clashed within a fractured space, trading hundreds of blows in mere breaths of time. It was an arduous, inseparable struggle, the tactical intricacies of which are too complex to articulate in short order!"

"Sect Leader Yun's strikes were fierce and sharp, fully embodying the brilliance of the later generations. The world claims that the present cannot match the past, but in my view, that is utterly mistaken. As a pinnacle cultivator of this era, Sect Leader Yun has proven everything!"

"The two of us waged a cataclysmic war, shattering space, jarring time, and scattering primordial chaos."

"I intended to invoke the method of nirvanic rebirth to unleash my latent potential for a final, decisive showdown with Sect Leader Yun. Regrettably, the gateway to the fractured space swung open, and I inadvertently fell through. The battle concluded without a victor, so it can only be considered a draw!"

Lu Yang: "..."

Third Senior Sister: "..."

Lu Yang felt that given Senior Lianyi’s mindset, even if she lost, her Dao heart would never collapse.

The Immortal Fairy was highly satisfied with Jiang Lianyi’s performance. "As expected of this Fairy's honorary disciple! To use such a method at a critical juncture to maintain a non-losing record shows you are a fast learner with a promising future!"

"This Fairy can fight the Yun girl to a draw. When the time comes, with the help of you and the Second Chief, the scales of victory will surely tip toward my side!"

One must realize that when strengths are matched, any minuscule variable can alter the outcome of a battle.

The Eldest Senior Sister flew out from the fractured space, feeling somewhat helpless upon hearing Jiang Lianyi's description of the combat.

Was it not a case where you claimed you wanted to show me ancient divine abilities, initiated the attack, unleashed over a hundred techniques within a few breaths, and then, the moment I deflected them and struck back, you immediately deployed a death-feigning technique to flee the fractured space?

"Eldest Senior Sister," Lu Yang greeted her politely.

"The Nascent Soul stage? Not bad. Your foundation is solid. Despite having just broken through, you have no need to stabilize your cultivation base. Truly worthy of a breakthrough paved by the Invincible Pill." Eldest Senior Sister nodded. Lu Yang's cultivation progress was remarkably swift, showing that he had not neglected his training during his half-year stay in the Demon Realm.

"Third Junior Sister, the Sixth Elder has been constantly murmuring about you during this period. Now that you have returned to the sect, you had better pay her a visit. Do not wait for the elder to come looking for you, lest it disrupt proper etiquette."

"Understood." Faced with Eldest Senior Sister, Third Senior Sister lost the lawless demeanor she had displayed in the Demon Realm, becoming entirely obedient and compliant, doing exactly as she was told.

After Third Senior Sister went down the mountain, Eldest Senior Sister motioned for Lu Yang to sit, and allowed Jiang Lianyi to sit on a stone chair rather than remain on the ground.

"Eldest Senior Sister, these are local specialties I brought back from the Demon Realm."

Like a child presenting treasures, Lu Yang produced four imperial thrones from his identity jade plaque. They had been insisted upon as gifts by Senior Zhu Tian before Lu Yang left the Demon Realm.

With the stone chairs replaced by imperial thrones, the atmosphere instantly shifted.

"Junior Brother, Senior Immortal, what did you do in the Demon Realm, and how exactly was Senior Lianyi resurrected?"

Eldest Senior Sister’s calm tone carried a hint of resignation. Truth be told, when Third Junior Sister appeared before her with Jiang Lianyi, she had genuinely been taken aback.

Without even thinking, she knew this matter was inextricably linked to her Junior Brother and the Immortal Senior.

The Immortal Fairy emerged and settled into a seat with a half-crouching posture.

The human, the demon, and the ghost detailed their experiences in the Demon Realm, placing particular emphasis on their discoveries regarding the structure of the world, the recording left behind by the Qilin Immortal, and the history of the four immortals battling the mastermind behind the scenes.

Hearing this, Eldest Senior Sister fell into a long silence. This was indeed an unexpected harvest.

"A battle between Immortals cannot be decided in a short time, especially since the mastermind is suspected of holding the Karma Dao Fruit, making them even harder to deal with. But to be able to fight the four ancient immortals for seven days and seven nights without a clear victor, it seems the mastermind’s strength is even greater than I anticipated."

The Immortal Fairy nodded. "I thought so too."

She then added with righteous indignation, "I don't know what that boy Qilin Immortal is plotting, or perhaps he has fallen asleep. Lianyi caused such a massive commotion in the Demon Country, yet he didn't show himself at all."

This was also one of the reasons why Jiang Lianyi had taken the initiative to appear at the grand founding ceremony of the Demon Country.

Her standing upon the Heavenly Altar signaled that the Immortal Fairy had been resurrected. This was the intelligence she wished to convey to the Qilin Immortal. Even so, the Qilin Immortal had still failed to appear, indicating that his current situation was highly complicated.

Either he had fallen into a deep slumber due to certain reasons, or he was unable or barred from meeting the Immortal Fairy.

The Qilin Immortal had spoken with grand bravado in the projection orb, saying things like the enemy is too dangerous so leave everything to me, my wife you will definitely see the Immortal Fairy, and Immortal Fairy I am happy for your resurrection.

It was entirely possible that after uttering those fierce words, the Qilin Immortal had been ambushed by the mastermind.

Eldest Senior Sister shook her head gently and said placidly, "In truth, is there not another possibility? It is merely that the two of you are unwilling to think in that direction."

Lu Yang was bewildered, looking at Eldest Senior Sister in confusion.

Conversely, the expressions of the Immortal Fairy and Jiang Lianyi turned somewhat grim.

Eldest Senior Sister continued, "The Qilin Immortal has perished. The suppression vanished, and a Half-Immortal took the opportunity to achieve immortality, re-establishing the suppression."

Lu Yang’s heart skipped a beat; this was indeed a possibility. He then voiced a doubt, "But wasn't it said that the Tribulation of Immortality is immensely grand and impossible to conceal? Could a Half-Immortal achieve immortality without anyone noticing?"

"The Tribulation of Immortality does indeed cause a tremendous stir, but it is not entirely impossible to mask. For instance, one could use the chaotic din of two warring armies, or the fluctuations of a battle between Half-Immortals, to obscure the tribulation. Someone used this exact method to achieve immortality a hundred thousand years ago."

"However, the probability of the Qilin Immortal having perished is very small. After all, the characteristics of the Qilin Immortal's Dao Fruit ensure that he is extremely difficult to kill. If a battle of that magnitude had occurred, ancient records would surely have captured it. The commotion from such a clash is not something that can be hidden."

Hearing Eldest Senior Sister say this, the expressions of the Immortal Fairy and Jiang Lianyi softened slightly.

Eldest Senior Sister added, "Listening to Senior Lianyi's description of the ancient battle brings forth another question. Do you still remember the immortal who attempted to pluck the embryonic form of the Immortal Dao Fruit?"

Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy nodded. Of course they remembered. After the Immortal Fairy was born, a dark shadow had hidden beside her, preparing to seize the embryonic fruit. Eldest Senior Sister had discovered it and obliterated the shadow, later determining it was something akin to an immortal's clone.

Eldest Senior Sister had found the tactile sensation familiar, recalling that she had once clashed with the original entity of the shadow when it entered the Great Xia and was repelled by Yun Zhi.

"The opponent was undoubtedly an immortal, but by no means possessed the caliber required to fight the four ancient immortals for seven days and seven nights."

"Could they have been hiding their strength?" Lu Yang conjectured.

Eldest Senior Sister shook her head. "Whether they hid it or not is something I can perceive. That was their true level."

"Could it be that they were heavily injured and had not yet recovered?"

"That is also impossible. No injury persists for three hundred thousand years without healing. When I clashed with him, I felt no indication of any injury."

Lu Yang frowned. This implied that apart from the mastermind behind the scenes, there was yet another hidden enemy.

Even if not as powerful as the mastermind, they were still of the immortal level and could not be underestimated. This was troublesome.

...Wait a moment, why do I subconsciously assume he is my enemy? I am merely at the Nascent Soul stage, do I even qualify?

Lu Yang realized something was amiss. When did his horizons become so excessively high?

I never expected to win first place in the Beidou Fourth Star. When I saw the notification today, I thought I had misread it, and it took me several seconds to confirm it was real. When I first started this book, I never could have imagined receiving such an honor.

Winning first place would have been impossible without the support of all my fellow Daoists. I will certainly redouble my efforts in the future to repay you all with my work!

(End of Chapter)