Chapter 416: The Human Immortal List Battle Begins Early
East of the city.
The Foundation Establishment duels had already been temporarily suspended—at a time like this, no one cared about such small matters anymore.
The two Six Gate Bureau Golden Ranked members in charge of the matches here, Night Crow and Xuan Ming, were already hurrying toward the northern part of the city.
They had just received word from their good colleague Kirin: they were needed to help activate the formation related to the Trial of Ascension Platform, which would soon descend from the heavens.
"The formation on the Ascension Platform seems to be personally opened by Her Majesty…"
Night Crow spoke in a steady tone while flashing and darting through the air.
Xuan Ming pondered for a moment.
"…We still don't know what that mysterious figure really is. Wasn't Her Majesty's hasty decision a little too risky? Even if that figure seemed hostile to the black flood dragon in the vision we saw earlier, that doesn't guarantee he won't turn against our Immortal Nation."
Night Crow shook his head.
"Her Majesty went with Elder Yun of the Daoist Sect's Thunder-and-Cloud duo. Nothing should go wrong."
Behind the tortoise-shell patterned mask, Xuan Ming's pupils contracted.
That flood dragon was definitely on the Tribulation Crossing Realm.
And if the mysterious figure could capture it and beat the black dragon into submission, then he was likely an old, established cultivator at that very level as well.
Now Elder Yun had gone too—someone they were far from unfamiliar with.
The Tribulation Crossing Realm… beings at the very pinnacle of the world, who almost never appeared before ordinary folk—yet here, above the royal capital, three of them had gathered at once?
"This is really going to blow up into something huge…"
Xuan Ming gave a wry smile, an expression that clashed badly with his flashy "shamate" style of dress.
"Indeed, something huge…"
Night Crow echoed, then sighed.
"I had thought that Demon Sect's Holy Saint was already troublesome enough. Just earlier on he killed a late stage Nascent Soul realm chicken Netherkin, and that alone scared plenty of people silly… But this time, even Tribulation Crossing Realm beings have shown up."
"It seems the Netherkin Race's movements won't be small this time."
"But for now, the situation doesn't look too bad. Given our nation's current relations with the Netherkin Race, that black flood dragon is certainly an enemy. And since it took the greatest loss, the outcome may very well develop in our favor… Still, who exactly is that mysterious person, showing up at such a time?"
"Most of the old Tribulation Crossing Realm cultivators are elusive, rarely showing themselves. Hard to say which one this could be."
"But this kind of high-profile, world-shaking style of entrance reminds me of the Demon Sect's Holy Saint."
"Heh, impossible. That's a Tribulation Crossing Realm cultivator we're talking about."
"True enough. The Holy Saint only barely managed to beat you in a single move—he's still far, far from beating someone at the Tribulation Crossing Realm."
"…Why do I feel like there's some jab in your tone?"
The two Six Gate Bureau Golden Ranked members traded words half idly as they flew ever closer to the northern city limits.
"But honestly, I kind of wish it were the Demon Sect's Holy Saint."
Night Crow suddenly let slip.
Xuan Ming blinked.
"Huh? Why?"
"Come on, don't you remember how the ministers tried to press Her Majesty into marriage, and how she dodged the topic? Those few big shots were blocking the way, demanding even higher standards than Her Majesty himself. Just one glare from them, and the whole court didn't dare breathe too loudly… If they also look down on the Holy Saint and chase him off, then all the effort I've put in will have been for nothing."
"…That won't happen. He is, after all, the Holy Saint of the Demon Sect. And besides, he has a marri—"
Xuan Ming suddenly cut himself off.
Because at that very moment, the two of them had just stepped into the northern district.
Someone had been waiting for them there all along.
From her figure, she looked like a young girl—thin, almost malnourished, with a lazy air about her.
A spiderweb-patterned mask covered her face. She was lounging on the rooftop of a pavilion, but when she saw Night Crow and Xuan Ming flicker into view before her, she finally showed a spark of energy. Raising one hand, she spoke in a soft, languid voice:
"Ah… little Crow, little Turtle, you're finally here?"
Night Crow and Xuan Ming exchanged a glance. Seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes, they answered in turn.
"Tian Zhu, when will you ever call me Brother Night Crow properly?"
"Tian Zhu, why are you waiting here? Where are Wutong and Kirin?"
The Six Gate Bureau Golden Ranked member known as Tian Zhu shook her head, seeming a little more alert, and spoke with mock seriousness.
"My task is complete. Sister Wutong told me to swap out with you two, and then I can go back and rest… Mm, since you're here, I'll be heading off now."
As she spoke, Tian Zhu rose lightly to her feet, patted the dust off her clothes, and looked ready to walk away.
But she suddenly noticed that the two colleagues before her were still standing where they were, giving her rather strange looks.
And then, a voice came from behind her.
"Go on. I'm listening."
Tian Zhu stiffly turned her head.
The moment she saw the withered-leaf patterned mask, she snapped to attention.
"Sis–Sister Wutong, weren't you supposed to be— No, wait, I—I didn't just say anything at all—"
"Enough. You really thought you could hide those little schemes from me? Get back at once. There isn't enough time—you have to activate the Heavenly Net formation."
"Um, about that… Sister Wutong, my spiritual energy was kind of drained earlier… Ah! Sister Wutong, don't drag me! Wuwuwu, I don't want to go back! I'm not going ba— wuwuwu, Sister Wutong, you're a devil! A devil!"
...
On the Ascension Platform.
"There are no other presences left?"
The young Empress spoke calmly, her gaze sweeping the surroundings.
At this moment, the only figures within sight were herself and the old woman in Daoist robes beside her. Even the colorful mists around them had thinned greatly.
The green radiance faded from Elder Yun's eyes.
"Indeed. The one from before has completely vanished. No trace was left upon the Ascension Platform. Other than the early descent and the Ancient Heavenly Gate aura dissipating slightly faster than usual, I found nothing out of place."
The Daoist Sect Tribulation Crossing Realm cultivator's expression was faintly grave.
"It is not much different from past descents of the Trial of Ascension Platform. It is as if nothing at all had happened."
Hearing this, the young Empress closed her eyes in silence for a moment before gently opening them again.
"Begin the formation."
Her tone remained calm.
With a flick of her sleeve, the Ascension Platform that had just fallen back into tranquility suddenly lit up with nearly a hundred formation-lights, one after another, as if linked together in a chain.
Elder Yun nodded with satisfaction.
Unflustered, poised—as expected of the junior she had truly acknowledged.
Look, just look—who in this world could possibly be worthy of her? What kind of person could ever catch her eye?
While this thought lingered, she suddenly heard the young Empress's voice again, spoken as if in passing.
"…That indistinct figure just now—was he truly of Tribulation Crossing Realm cultivation?"
"Hm? To so effortlessly deal with the dragon nether soul, the likelihood that he was Tribulation Crossing Realm is high. His cultivation might even surpass that of this old woman… though not necessarily. With the right Artifact that is able to restrain nether souls, it could be done. But from what we saw, he wasn't using any Artifact—he directly seized the dragon with one hand. Of all the soul-restraining artifacts I know of, not one is capable of such a feat."
Elder Yun didn't know why the girl at her side suddenly brought this up.
From what she had witnessed, that figure being a mysterious Tribulation Crossing Realm cultivator was beyond doubt. Otherwise, she herself wouldn't have failed to see through his depth.
The young Empress's eyes flickered at the answer but she said nothing, merely adopting the appearance of full concentration on controlling the formation.
She couldn't explain why, but when she had faced that shadowy figure directly, she had felt a strange, inexplicable sense of familiarity.
And before the figure vanished, he had spoken a single word… The voice seemed disguised by some mysterious power, but it only made that sense of familiarity stronger.
Unbidden, she recalled a certain someone who, of late, had shown nothing but enmity toward the Netherkin Race.
Yet the person she knew simply didn't have that level of strength.
Moreover, that person had never once concealed his identity when striking against the Netherkin Race.
The young Empress fell into deep thought.
...
Wandering Immortal Inn.
"Urgh—cough, cough… What the hell, not even a hangover's ever made me this dizzy. What's going on this time? Can't even get a moment's peace after stirring up trouble…"
Luo Wusheng's face looked a little ashen, his eyes barely able to open as he muttered under his breath.
In his haze, he thought he saw something, but all he wanted was to rub his temples and ease the throbbing dizziness.
He raised both hands gently… but couldn't move them.
"Huh? So heavy?"
And soft.
And fragrant.
And… making sounds.
?
Making sounds?
Yes—he seemed to hear soft murmurs, the kind of mumbled hums a girl makes when unwilling to get out of bed.
Luo Wusheng thought carefully.
Recently, the number of times he'd had women lying on him wasn't exactly small… The main one was of course his wife, Ling Shuangxue. But given their activities schedule, his wife almost never actually fell asleep by his side.
Maybe just that very first time? But even then, when he woke, Ling Shuangxue had already been pretending to be asleep.
Hmm… Next time, he should try waking her up himself…
Wait—no!
The Demon Sect's Holy Saint snapped his eyes open.
But the sight before him drained the color from his face faster than if he'd seen a ghost.
No, that had to be the wrong way of looking at it!
So Luo Wusheng squeezed his eyes shut and reopened them after forcing them tight for several moments.
This time, his face went even whiter.
The first time he opened his eyes, he saw two breathtakingly beautiful girls with their eyes still closed.
The second time—
Their radiant gazes locked directly with his.
At that moment, he finally remembered what had happened earlier.
But… this still wasn't right!
Hadn't he already arranged what would happen afterward…?
Where were his trusted teammates?
Where was that Immortal Spirit?
Why was he waking up to this scene in front of him?
Luo Wusheng realized the truth. Judging by the tangible softness he was feeling, he must have already released his Immortal Aura true spirit state and was touching actual flesh and blood.
But how had he suddenly come back?
And most importantly… why were Little Yuli and Bai Xiaoyao still lying on top of him?!
Luo Wusheng felt the chill beneath his back.
There's no mistaking it—it was the ground.
Which meant that after collapsing unconscious earlier, he hadn't been moved an inch.
He'd been played!
Now what was he supposed to do?
He didn't dare meet the eyes of the girls lying atop him anymore. With a look of utter despair, he turned his gaze up to the ceiling.
What else could he do? Tighten his belt, run for it, bail before it all blew up?
But just then, the door was pounded on furiously.
"Holy Saint—Holy Saint! Something's happened! The Human Immortal List has been moved up to tomorrow! The Immortal Nation has already sent people to invite the Holy Maiden and Miss Lu downstairs to finalize the arrangements!"
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Note: Link to the character Illustration:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1lkIcPnCxeyuyZA4Kkb621dPC05UvWjhD
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Tn: I updated the story daily, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 571: To See or Not to See?[1]
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/u93297024/posts/chapter-571-to-163855664
[2] https://www.patreon.com/u93297024/posts/chapter-571-to-163855664