Earth, Hua Nation.
Inside a scenic mountain.
The mountain itself did not have an impressive name. Located at the Shaan-Gan region, it was once a Hua Nation forbidden zone, with one Feral King and multiple Ferals of various ranks. While the Feral King was not killed when the Hua Nation executed a purge on all Feral Kings, it did manage to make it out of Hua Nation borders.
Be that as it may, high-ranked Ferals that dwelled deep within the mountains were not to be underestimated even in the absence of a Feral King. The mountains here stretched for hundreds of miles without a single person living there, which was why no martial artist would usually enter those mountains.
Still, luxurious palaces had suddenly been raised deep in these very mountains.
They would either be built atop mountaintops or within ravines, and every palace would be shining with faint immortal light without exception.
The first batch of immortals who returned to Earth had their own legacies on Earth, and naturally had a place to go when they returned. The second batch of immortals, however, belonged to sects that either moved to the celestial battlefield or had since been wiped out, which was why they had to look for a place to build their own residences.
The weakest immortals who had returned this time were Heavenly Immortals, which made it very easy since even the weakest Heavenly Immortals would have such mystic treasures. They just had to flatten a piece of land and put it on top.
Moreover, since the Eight Immortals decided to live at these mountains for the time being, there were many other Golden Immortals, True Immortals, and Heavenly Immortals with them.
All that was left were stragglers who would live among commoners, find another mountain, or directly head overseas.
And at the moment, inside an immortal palace which was shining with faint immortal light, the Eight Immortals were gathered with a dozen other Golden Immortals.
Iron Crutch Li was the senior amongst Eight Immortals, though Lü Dongbin was the one who presided over the immortals this time.
He was a full-fledged Golden Immortal and an immortal swordsman at that. His sheer power is only next to Modolo and the White Sky God King’s among all the Golden Immortals in all the different worlds.
And when it comes to status and identity, Lü Dongbin had once served the Jade Emperor and was on good terms with various deities of the Celestial Court—even various Grand Luo had to give him face.
“Brothers.”
Grinning broadly, Lü Dongbin said, “I have sent a Golden Immortal back to the celestial battlefield and send word of the Hundred Races Alliance’s defeat. We would receive a reply soon, and the reason I’ve asked everyone to gather here is to discuss our legacies here on the homeworld.”
Many Golden Immortals had a twitch in their gaze, and one Golden Immortal who was dressed in Daoist robes and was white in both beard and hair rose to his feet, coldly saying, “The commoners of present are too arrogant. I myself had passed a city days ago and found a talented child. I intended to accept him as a disciple, but within minutes, a group calling themselves agents of the Martial Arts Department (MAD) or whatnot stopped me, and even mentioned Jiang He and Wang Hou to threaten me.”
Rage showed all over the Golden Immortal’s face, and a look of coldness flashed through his eyes.
Lü Dongbin’s gaze darkened then, and he asked somberly, “You did not attack them, did you?”
The Golden Immortal snorted coldly. “I am a Golden Immortal. Would a few mere commoners be anything important in my perspective?”
It was only then that Lü Dongbin breathed a long sigh of relief while laughing quietly inwardly… it seemed that Jiang He’s name did hold intimidation.
Looking around at the immortals, Lü Dongbin smiled, “The Alliance’s legion was already repelled by Jiang He’s power alone. The threat to the homeworld is over for the time being and there is no hurry for us to return to the celestial battlefield. Therefore, there would be some among us who would be thinking about accepting disciples on our homeworld, as the revival of Dao on the planet has brought about a prosperous Fortune Qi. The people of this age are blessed by it, and there would definitely a large group of elites birthed in the future… there are only benefits to be gained by recruiting disciples.”
“Even so…”
Lü Dongbin’s voice changed and he said, “I have heard that commoners now are different from before. They are promoting martial arts and immortal arts, and basically all citizens are cultivating. Moreover, Jiang He and Wang Hou had mentioned before that all who wish to spread their teachings inside Hua Nation borders must receive their consent or be killed!”
The many Golden Immortals became furious at those words.
Someone even accused Jiang He and Wang Hou of being exceedingly overbearing, while one even sneered. “We are Golden Immortals, and we are not weak even in the celestial battlefield. Do we have do suffer like others just because we want to recruit disciples?”
Lü Dongbin, however, ignored their reaction and flatly said, “I have learned that even though Wang Hou has been overshadowed by Jiang He, he is himself a devil who carries profound Fortune Qi. It has been less than eleven years since he has cultivated, and he has even forged a brand-new Dao for martial arts at its very edge. On that day, the Dao of this planet was hence revived and his body is blessed by the Fortune Qi… if he did not fall by unnatural circumstances, his future would be immeasurably bright.”
“As for Jiang He, I naturally do not have to elaborate on him. Either way, if any of you intends to recruit disciples, it is best if you speak with those two gentlemen.”
The immortal palace turned quiet at once.
Discussing their actions with Jiang He and Wang Hou?
Did that not mean lowering themselves before those two?
It would have been fine if those two were veteran Golden Immortals who cultivated for thousands of years or dozen thousands of years. However, every last one of the Golden Immortals here were tenfold older than Jiang He and Wang Hou put together. How could they be pleased about this?
Most importantly, these two fellows who, in the perspective of the Golden Immortals had yet to grown hair in all the right places, possessed the ability to kill them.
That was when Lü Dongbin suddenly turned to look outside his palace, gasping in surprise, “Our brother who returned to the celestial battlefield to report has returned so quickly?”
There was a look of confusion in his eyes.
How many days had it only been?
Even if he had warped through portals without end and rushed all the way without regard for exhaustion and the light… it would have taken him two more days to complete the round trip to and from the celestial battlefield.
Still, Lü Dongbin soon understood the reason.
Out in the horizons beyond, a curious Dao presence was spreading.
Grand Luo!
A Grand Luo had returned to the homeworld and he must have been carrying along that Golden Immortal on his return trip, which explained how they had moved so quickly.
In that very moment, Iron Crutch Li and several other Golden Immortals all reacted, their faces twitching upon sensing the same thing. Still, just as they were about to rise and speak, a voice spoke beside their ear, “Alert not the others.”
***
A huge ship emanating immortal light across all directions was sailing along the waves upon an endless ocean.
Jiang He was sitting on the deck and grilling meat.
Wang Hou, who was skewering the meat and then oiling them, suddenly changed his expression as he looked up in the skies. An ocean of stars swirled within his eyes, and one could faintly see a meteor darting past in a flash in said ocean.
“What is it, Minister Wang?”
“A Golden Immortal has just entered Earth…”
Wang Hou spoke, though there was a look of uncertainty in his eyes.
Did he not sense another aura just now?
Still, he found nothing after a closer look.
“Could I be imagining things?”
“No, would such things happen to me after I’ve cultivated martial arts to this level?”
As the thought occurred to Wang Hou, he mused to himself for a while before saying, “Another elite might have entered Earth just now as well, Jiang He.”
Being able to fool himself even though he had control over the Star Map to monitor outer space… it was mostly likely a Grand Luo.
