Ba Shifang pursed his brows as he felt a piercing gaze. He apologized to Hu Landie and turned toward the offending gaze. Just who was so rude?

The man staring intently at him wore white linen robes, and even his features were just as forgettable. The only thing of note was the sword slung over his shoulders. It was a thing of beauty, and Ba Shifang immediately wanted to collect it. Who knows, perhaps Tianyi was already eyeing the man’s sword?

More than the initial impressions, Ba Shifang also found a familiar sensation coming from the plain man. He didn’t know how to describe it. It was a distinct feeling different from the one he felt from his former Main Body or Donghai Longzi.

Ba Shifang frowned. He was unable to put a word to the feeling, and it vexed him to no end.

Strangely, the man smiled at him, puzzling Ba Shifang to no end. Although the Jade and Numinous Conference wasn’t meant to be hostile, the relationship between the Immortal Court and Numinous Sword Sect shouldn’t be harmonious to the point that smiles would be thrown around, especially to strangers.

Then, the plain man shifted his gaze onto Hu Landie. Ba Shifang couldn’t tell what emotions the man had when he stared at Hu Landie, but they were definitely positive.

He didn’t like it.

Ba Shifang stood in front of Hu Landie and blocked the man’s gaze. The plain man blinked and then he threw an apologetic smile to Ba Shifang. The more the man acted so amiably, the more Ba Shifang felt that the man was up to no good.

Thankfully for Ba Shifang’s nerves, Minister Vastlight invited the Numinous Sword Sect into the palace. Mengfei only stood to the side and watched Minister Vastlight work. Her presence was to act as an anchoring point for the Immortal Court, thanks to her cultivation as an immortal sovereign. In regards to the negotiation and alliance clauses, that was up to Minister Vast Light.

Upon entering into the grand hall of the palace, the members of the two forces split in half. Since this was a negotiation and not a banquet, there was only the bare minimum of refreshment provided. Not that any attendee needed them, since everyone was a true immortal at the very least.

“While we agree that the Buddhists and Demon Clan are a threat to our hegemony over the myriad realms, the problem is that we do not have a method to locate either one,” Sovereign Yanxu said.

Minister Vastlight smiled. “While I have no clue regarding the Pure Lands Pseudo System, we, the Immortal Court, have some information regarding the location of the Divine Beast Pseudo System and the composition of their forces.”

“Oh? You’ve managed to locate them?” Sovereign Yanxu asked. “As expected of the Jade Pure Lineage. You’ve even managed to sniff them out while conquering the Primordial Realm. However, I wonder how you expect to wage war against the Demon Clan. Surely, your forces must have suffered for the war and a thousand years is hardly enough to recover. I will say it now, the Numinous Sword Sect will deploy as many forces as you do. Don’t try to take advantage of us.”

“Still as frank as ever,” Minister Vastlight said. The ‘as expected of a sword immortal’ went unsaid. “However, you don’t have to worry. Although the Immortal Court suffered some losses, we still kept the majority of our forces untouched just for this moment.”

Minister Vastlight continued. “Now is the best time to attack them. After the recent upheavals, The Demon Clan will never expect us to attack them.”

Sovereign Yanxu nodded. Indeed, even he was surprised by the Immortal Court’s boldness. They just unified the Huang Realm and upgraded it to the Primordial Realm. Logically, they should be nursing their wounds and using this time to expand their power. Instead, they wanted to leap into another war after one had just ended.

Still, Sovereign Yanxu wouldn’t agree so easily. “Starting a war isn’t something that can be decided at a moment’s notice. I hope you don’t think it will be the child’s play that you call the Human-Divine Beast War that occurred in the Huang Realm three thousand years ago.”

The event Sovereign Yanxu spoke about was the invasion of the Demon Clan into the Huang Realm thousands of years ago. It was also one of the events that became a part of Xi Mengfei’s legend. To the denizens of the Huang Realm, it was a titanic battle between humans and demons, but both the Immortal Court and the Numinous Sword Sect knew that the Demon Clan had far more forces than the ones they deployed at that time.

The origin of the war started because the Demon Clan had started to infiltrate the lower realms in an attempt to occupy more resources. The then-Buzhou Immortal Court and Numinous Sword Sect detected this and dispatched agents to destroy the Demon Clan’s plans. In retaliation, the Demon Clan invaded the Huang Realm.

In the eyes of the Demon Clan, the Buzhou Immortal Court was a much easier target than the Numinous Sword Sect that had become the sole hegemon of an immortal-rank realm. Naturally, the Numinous Sword Sect was happy to watch the Demon Clan weaken the Buzhou Immortal Court.

“Had it not been for the need to lower the Eight Pillar Sect and Saintly Scholar School’s guard, how could a mere demon emperor cause so much trouble?” Minister Vastlight asked. The disdain was obvious, but what wasn’t obvious was the target of the disdain. Was it for the Demon Clan or the Eight Pillar Sect?

“Before hashing out the details of a possible cooperation, I need to verify the truth of your words,” Sovereign Yanxu said.

“And how do you propose to do that?”

“A competition between our immortal monarchs and emperors,” Sovereign Yanxu said. “I want to see if the Buzhou Immortal Court possesses the power you said, or if it’s just a paper tiger.”

Despite Sovereign Yanxu’s provocation, Minister Vastlight smiled. “What a coincidence. I also want to see if the years of peace have made the Numinous Sword Sect weak and soft-hearted.”

Sparks flashed between Sovereign Yanxu and Minister Vastlight’s gazes, ready to ignite an explosion at any minute.

And like this, the competition between the two hegemon forces began.

“Since the Vast Void is inhospitable to true immortals, you will battle within the confines of Shangri-La. You can think of it as a pseudo-realm, and within it, you will not have to worry about running out of qi to absorb. Immortal monarchs will fight in the Vast Void.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it.

Sovereign Yanxu stared at the paradisal land. “This landmass isn’t as simple as a pseudo-realm, is it? Are you going to use it as a fortress against the Demon Clan?”

“Yes,” Minister Vastlight admitted. “Unless you’ve become a divinity, it’s impossible to fight constantly in the Vast Void, as there is hardly any spiritual qi to absorb. The Immortal Court prepared this fortress specifically for this war.”

“It seems that you have already planned for this war eons ago,” Sovereign Yanxu said. “This fortress isn’t something that can be created without a massive amount of preparation.”

Minister Vastlight only smiled. He clapped his hand, and the grand hall expanded over ten times in size. A barrier with a diameter a thousand meters large appeared at the center. A thousand meters for mortals might be a vast distance, but for immortals, a thousand meters was an incredibly short distance.

This was an informal competition. The only rule was no killing.

Two true immortals stepped into the barrier. Upon entering, they felt the gravity intensify by over a thousand times. Even their qi was affected. Although the sudden shift in pressure didn’t bring them to their knees, the two immortals felt as if their cultivation base had regressed back to the Unity or Nascent Soul Realm.

Still, it only took a few seconds for the two true immortals to adjust their state and walk normally to the center.

“Immortal Court’s Riptide, please advise,” a true immortal with wavy blue hair said.

“Numinous Sword Sect’s Rainsword.” Unlike Riptide, Rainsword’s eyes were filled with fighting intent. He didn’t bother with any pleasantries and silently shouted to start the fight already.

“Since you are so eager, let’s begin.”

Rainsword made the first move. He stabbed forward with a sword covered in a watery sheen. The tip of his sword seemed to multiply and transform into a hundred stabs that resembled falling raindrops.

In response, Riptide jumped back. He could fly, but the unique environment made his flight speed far slower than his jump speed. Still, a few stabs hit the edge of his silhouette. Even if his robe artifact protected him, he still felt the chilling cold penetrate into his body and stab him like icicles.

Riptide didn’t panic. He formed a single hand seal and pointed at Rainsword. The chill in his body returned to clumps of energy and traveled to his finger. From his finger, crescent-shaped blades of water flew towards Rainsword.

They weren’t haphazard shots, but followed a certain pattern. When Rainsword destroyed one crescent blade, he would discover another blade right behind. They were waves, continuously buffeting him without end. Still, Rainsword wasn’t chosen as the first representative of the Numinous Sword Sect without reason.

Rainsword changed his attack pattern. If his original attack resembled a net that didn’t allow any escape, now it resembled a thin needle that pierced everything in its way. It didn’t matter if the crescent blades continued to buffet him without end, a single thrust was all that was needed to break every one of them.

The audience watched with relish. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but both Riptide and Rainsword majored in the Law of Water, but focused on different aspects of it. Riptide focused on the Concept of Waves, while Rainsword specialized in the Concept of Raindrop. Both of them were just one step away from mastering the complete Law of Water, making them immortal lords.

Onlookers watched the performance with relish, while experts analyzed the technical details.

Ba Shifang was no different. Although he had embarked on comprehending the Law of Five Phases, progress was slow. He knew that Tianyi was also at the same step, but Tianyi’s attention had been occupied by ascending the Huang Realm and the Law of Yin-Yang.

Both Riptide and Rainsword’s usage inspired him. Ideas flowed into Ba Shifang’s mind. It might not improve his comprehension immediately, but it would allow him to use his current mastery of the laws more efficiently and with greater output than before.

Hu Landie glanced at Ba Shifang. She turned to the battle again before closing her eyes. Unlike Ba Shifang, she didn’t glean much from the battle between the two immortal lords. She could settle down and focus on laying the foundation to comprehend the Law of Water, but she focused on the power that regulated the time flow of Shangri-La.

Those whose cultivation bases were too low or didn’t embark on the paths of space or time wouldn’t be able to sense it, but Hu Landie could sense the abundant power of spacetime circulating the landmass. To cultivators that focused on the Law of Time like her, it was a precious opportunity.

Although Hu Landie was considered an immortal lord, that was only in terms of pure offense. Her understanding of the Law of Time was not as complete as other immortal lords’ comprehension of the basic laws. It was thanks to the esoteric means from the Law of Time that allowed her to become an immortal lord.

Just as she was immersing herself in comprehending the Law of Time, Hu Landie noticed someone walking toward her. She hid her displeasure and stared at the man who walked toward her.

“Greetings, I am Peak Lord Meng Tingfeng. You can also call me the Seven Star Sword King,” Meng Tingfeng said.

“What do you want?” Ba Shifang asked. He stepped forward, so he blocked half of Hu Landie.

Meng Tingfeng blinked and then chuckled. “It’s nothing. I just wanted to say hello. I get the feeling that we should know each other, don’t you have the same feeling?”

‘He’s another one of Tianyi’s clones, is he? I know Tianyi has many split souls. Perhaps one infiltrated the Numinous Sword Sect like the Divine Beast Pseudo-System?’ Ba Shifang wondered. However, he immediately dispelled the notion. No way Tianyi’s clone would risk exposing his identity by interacting like this.

“Oh, where are my manners? Since this is our first meeting, I have a greeting gift,” Meng Tingfeng said.

Ba Shifang stared at the two spatial rings in Meng Tingfeng’s palm. No matter how you spliced it, it was suspicious. What Ba Shifang didn’t expect was for a white hand to reach out and take both the rings.

He turned and just stared at Hu Landie.

Hu Landie didn’t even look at him and said, “Thank you.”