Chapter 1167: Again in Advance

The Feather Demon King remained as impressive as ever, with almost no spiritual fluctuations emanating from him, yet possessing great majesty.

In such a place, using investigative methods was prohibited.

Yet, facing the Feather Demon King, Qin Sang felt a subtle, almost imperceptible pressure, which sparked a sense of vigilance within him.

The Feather Demon King was rumored to be in the mid-stage of transformation, slightly weaker than Old Ancestor Scarlet Hair and Daoist Master True One in the past.

So many years had passed, and the Feather Demon King rarely took action, so no one could say for certain what his current strength was.

The accumulated legacy left by successive Feather Demon Kings was a vast fortune, and it was certain that the Feather Demon King's true strength was far greater than it appeared.

Facing such a regional overlord, Qin Sang showed no trace of disrespect.

"Greetings, King Yu."

The Red-tailed Demon King cupped his hands and bowed, and Qin Sang followed suit.

"Fellow Daoists, please be seated."

The Feather Demon King gestured with a raised hand, his gaze settling on Qin Sang. With a smile, he asked, "This fellow Daoist looks quite unfamiliar. You must be Fellow Daoist Mingyue, whom Lihong mentioned?"

"My Daoist name is Mingyue," Qin Sang replied, nodding and cupping his hands to everyone. "I hope King Yu and all fellow Daoists will offer much guidance in the future." This served as his greeting to the other demon kings.

The moment he entered, Qin Sang felt numerous gazes of inquiry and scrutiny fall upon him. Fortunately, he didn't detect any obvious hostility.

This suggested that Wanderer Yun had maintained decent relations in the past.

Those qualified to sit there were all great demons of the transformation stage, and they all cupped their hands in return.

However, not all of these great demons were in human form.

Some, like the Red-tailed Demon King, retained their most distinctive features. Others, despite being at the transformation stage, remained in their beast forms because their bloodlines prevented full transformation.

Overall, these demon kings varied greatly in appearance, displaying strange and peculiar forms.

Qin Sang had inquired in detail with the Red-tailed Demon King and could roughly identify them.

The Traction Demon King was not present.

However, Qin Sang noticed a half-human, half-snake demon seated to the Feather Demon King's left.

This demon's title was simple: the Snake King.

This was enough to explain everything.

The Snake King's prestige and strength were second only to the Feather Demon King, and he had recently broken through to the mid-stage of transformation. However, the Snake King was rumored to be very tactful and had never openly opposed the Feather Demon King.

In addition, the Snake King had another identity: he was the Traction Demon King's father-in-law.

Qin Sang sat beside the Red-tailed Demon King, his gaze inadvertently meeting the Snake King's. He saw the Snake King nod to him with a smile, seemingly not recognizing the thief who had infiltrated his son-in-law's cave dwelling.

Once they were seated, the Feather Demon King nodded slightly and said, "Almost all fellow Daoists attending this discussion have arrived. Let's get straight to business."

The demon kings' expressions became serious.

The Feather Demon King paused and spoke frankly: "I have convened all fellow Daoists mainly for a few matters. Firstly, and most importantly, is the Ziwei Palace, which concerns all of you. Because the timing of the Ziwei Palace's appearance has been repeatedly abnormal, we and the human cultivators have been closely observing the changes deep within the Ancient Immortal Battlefield over the years. And sure enough, something unusual was discovered recently."

"What's unusual?" a burly man with the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear asked impatiently, his voice booming. "The Ancient Immortal Battlefield doesn't have a spiritual tide yet, does it?"

He called himself the Black Wind Demon King, a black bear demon in human form with short, coarse black fur covering his head and face, still resembling a bear.

The Feather Demon King, though interrupted, did not take offense. He explained, "Although the Ancient Immortal Battlefield does not yet have a spiritual tide, a short while ago, a human Nascent Soul cultivator and I personally went there and discovered that the immortal formation of the Ziwei Palace had begun to show abnormal fluctuations."

The demon kings immediately understood his meaning.

Fluctuations in the immortal formation were also a precursor to the Ziwei Palace's appearance.

The Red-tailed Demon King interjected, "The intervals between the Ziwei Palace's appearances are getting shorter each time. Last time was just over a hundred years. Could it be even shorter this time, appearing within the next few years?"

"Fellow Daoists, I presume you also have a premonition, just like Fellow Daoist Red Tail," the Feather Demon King replied. "However, this time it probably won't be that quick..."

The Feather Demon King shook his head. "After all, there are no signs of a spiritual tide yet, so we should still wait. However, it will definitely appear earlier again. I speculate that even if the interval this time is longer than previous shortened ones, it will absolutely not exceed a hundred years, and it's highly probable it will be even shorter."

Hearing these words, the demon kings exchanged glances.

A female demon sighed, "If it's shorter again, will it be fifty years, or seventy? About forty years have passed since its last appearance. By my calculations, it's not many years away now."

"If this continues," one demon king mused, "the Ziwei Palace will appear more and more frequently. Could it be that in the future, the Ziwei Palace will be completely exposed, allowing us free entry and exit to search for treasures?"

The thought of such a possibility made not only this demon king, but others too, feel their blood boil with excitement.

The Ziwei Palace was an undoubtedly treasure-rich land, within which countless ancient secrets were buried.

Over so many years, countless masters had entered.

But each time, their stay inside was very limited. Many immortal formations and ancient restrictions were not entirely without hope of being deciphered, but time did not permit them to study them carefully.

To this day, the areas they had explored were merely the tip of the iceberg of the entire Ziwei Palace.

Especially the inner hall!

The Palm Imprint, the Ancient Medicine Garden, Mount Tian...

Each place was incredibly mysterious and captivating.

All signs indicated that the Ziwei Palace far surpassed the Nascent Soul level; even understanding one or two tenths of it was something none of the demon kings present dared to hope for.

Qin Sang listened on, not uttering a word.

He was thinking about something else.

The Ziwei Palace connected to the Canglang Sea, and even the Demon Sea.

If the Ziwei Palace could be freely entered and exited in the future, this sole passage would be in his hands. Anyone could see the immense benefits hidden within.

How to monetize these benefits without becoming a target for everyone required careful consideration.

"Don't get too excited too soon," the female demon interjected calmly, pouring cold water on their excitement. "An anomaly isn't necessarily a good thing. What if this anomaly is occurring because the Ziwei Palace's immortal formation is failing and on the verge of collapse?"

"At that time, if the Ziwei Palace merely self-destructs, that would be acceptable. At worst, we'd lose a treasure-hunting secret realm, as the easily accessible treasures have long been taken after so many visits. However, the Ziwei Palace has intricate connections with the spiritual tide. What if it impacts the entire Ancient Immortal Battlefield, or even the barrier outside it? Imagine the consequences."

The great hall fell into silence.

They understood that the Ziwei Palace might not be immune to self-destruction.

The cracks appearing in the immortal formation of the Ziwei Palace's inner hall were clear evidence.

This barrier protected billions of living beings in the Northern Star Realm. If the barrier were torn apart, it was unknown how much pure land would remain. They might be able to migrate to the other three realms, but other beings would find it difficult to survive here.

"Heh heh, Fellow Daoist, your words are a bit alarmist," the Red-tailed Demon King broke the silence and turned to Qin Sang. "If the barrier were so easy to destroy, it wouldn't have stood here for countless years, still intact. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Mingyue?"

Qin Sang nodded in agreement.

He reminded himself not to get carried away. Only by strengthening himself would he be able to firmly grasp what belonged to him.