Chapter 1732: Chance Encounter with Fang Mu

The young man in yellow was Huang Yunfei, the grand-disciple of True Monarch Qinghu. He was at the Mid-Nascent Soul stage. Huang Yunfei was responsible for gathering information outside and reporting to True Monarch Qianhu regularly.

"Disciple greets Grand-Master."

Huang Yunfei bowed respectfully, his expression deferential.

All of True Monarch Qianhu's direct disciples had died, with only a few grand-disciples remaining alive. Huang Yunfei's aptitude was ordinary; without True Monarch Qianhu's cultivation, he would not have been able to reach the Nascent Soul stage.

"Dispense with the formalities," True Monarch Qianhu asked in a deep voice. "How is it? Have you contacted the other Transformation Realm old monsters?"

To be honest, it was too difficult for them to overthrow the demon race's rule. As time passed, the demon race's control over the Qianhu Realm grew stronger and stronger.

"Good news," Huang Yunfei said excitedly. "Your disciple has contacted the disciple of True Lord Fengxiao, one of the Twin Sages of Wind and Fire. And there's even better news: Transformation Realm cultivators from the Tianlan Realm have come to our Qianhu Realm. If we can join forces with the Tianlan Realm, we'll have a chance to reclaim the Qianhu Realm."

If they didn't have strong external support, they wouldn't be able to contend with the demon race on their own. After the decisive battle, high-level spirit cultivators suffered heavy casualties. After centuries of rule, their numbers had dwindled, and they were no match for the demon race.

"Don't be careless," True Monarch Qianhu cautioned, clearly uneasy. "Observe those Tianlan Realm cultivators for a while first! If they turn out to be bait from the demon race, it will be troublesome. They've done this kind of thing often over the years." Over these hundreds of years, the demon race had used this method to lure and kill many spirit cultivators.

"Yes, Master."

Huang Yunfei readily agreed. He suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, I heard there's a female cultivator from the Dongli Realm—that's the Dongli Realm where the Four Seasons Sword Sovereign originated."

The Four Seasons Sword Sovereign had once visited the Qianhu Realm. Relying on a set of spirit-treasure-grade flying swords, she had fought three opponents simultaneously without falling behind in the slightest, becoming famous throughout the Qianhu Realm. True Monarch Qianhu's own grand-master had even received guidance from the Four Seasons Sword Sovereign. The Qianhu Realm had initially wanted to seek aid from the Dongli Realm, but just as they were about to open a spatial passage, a traitor emerged from within their ranks. They were ambushed by the demon race, and the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, Heaven-Splitting Spirit Blade, which could open spatial passages, also fell into the demon race's hands.

"The Dongli Realm!" True Monarch Qianhu's tone grew urgent. "How did a cultivator from the Dongli Realm get to the Qianhu Realm?" The Four Seasons Sword Sovereign of the Dongli Realm had fought throughout the Qianhu Realm without a single defeat. She had even fought to a draw with the Supreme Elder of the Myriad Law Palace, Venerable Wanhuo, and was renowned throughout the Qianhu Realm.

"Your disciple is not clear on that," Huang Yunfei said truthfully. "If the Tianlan Realm and Dongli Realm are willing to support us, we have a great hope of annihilating the demon race. From the current situation, the demon race can only increase their numbers through a process of 'True Demon Qi Infusion,' but the success rate is too low; over a dozen individuals have already failed." Spirit cultivators could become demon race members through 'True Demon Qi Infusion'; failure meant death, while success meant transforming into a demon and gaining powerful divine abilities.

"Tianlan Realm, Dongli Realm," True Monarch Qianhu instructed. "Be careful. Find out as soon as possible how they came to the Qianhu Realm, and if we can leave the Qianhu Realm through them." To be honest, he only wanted to leave the Qianhu Realm and find an opportunity to ascend. The Qianhu Realm had been ruled by the demon race for centuries, and the demon race had extensively planted Demonic Heaven Trees, which had already altered the cultivation environment of the Qianhu Realm. Asking the Tianlan and Dongli Realms to help the Qianhu Realm annihilate the demon race was almost impossible. Comparatively, leaving the Qianhu Realm would be easier. With his Mid-Transformation Realm cultivation, he could continue to live freely in other realms; at worst, he could establish his own sect elsewhere.

"Yes, Master."

Huang Yunfei readily agreed.

***

**Tianlan Realm, a certain underground cave.**

Wang Changsheng was covered in a large amount of ice shards, his body enveloped by a blue glow.

After a while, the blue glow around Wang Changsheng's body dispersed. He opened his eyes, a hint of joy in them.

"I've finally refined the Cyan-Blue Snow Crystal," Wang Changsheng murmured to himself. He flipped his palm, and a large patch of blue ice shards suddenly appeared in his palm. The blue ice shards instantly transformed into blue ice cones, emitting a bone-chilling cold.

Having refined the Cyan-Blue Snow Crystal, the power of his Dao techniques had significantly increased.

He stood up and summoned Wang Qiuming and the others.

"Let's go!" Wang Changsheng instructed. "We've delayed long enough; it's time to set off." If they wanted to leave the Tianlan Realm, they had to find Fu Wen, but with so many people, it wouldn't be easy to find him.

They moved towards the surface. Before they even reached it, the ground suddenly shook violently.

"Senior Wang, have the cultivators from the Tianlan Sect discovered us?" Huang Fugui asked nervously.

Wang Changsheng frowned slightly. His divine sense detected over a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators flying past at a very high speed.

"I'll go out and take a look first. You all stay here." Wang Changsheng instructed and moved towards the surface.

Upon reaching the surface, Wang Changsheng saw over a dozen streaks of light disappearing into the horizon in the distance. They seemed to be rushing somewhere.

After a while, a blue streak of light rushed over from afar, its speed exceptionally fast.

Wang Changsheng realized it was only an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator and clapped his right hand towards the sky. The void rippled, and countless blue light particles surged forth, instantly forming a giant blue hand over a hundred zhang in size, which slapped towards the blue streak of light.

A painful scream echoed, and the blue streak of light fell from high above, revealing a blue-robed elder past middle age.

Wang Changsheng's figure flickered, instantly appearing before the blue-robed elder. Countless blue chilling aura surged from his body, enveloping the blue-robed elder. Before the blue-robed elder could react, his body rapidly froze. Wang Changsheng pressed his right palm onto the blue-robed elder's forehead, forcibly performing soul-searching.

The blue-robed elder's face contorted in pain, his features distorted, and he foamed at the mouth.

"A Corpse-Seeking Compass, Fang Mu," Wang Changsheng murmured to himself, a strange expression on his face. "They're actually hunting him." He hadn't expected Fang Mu to be pursued by Tianlan Sect cultivators. Regardless, he was a cultivator from the Dongli Realm, and Wang Changsheng didn't mind helping him; perhaps he could even contact Transformation Realm cultivators from the Eastern Barrens.

He soul-searched the Tianlan Sect cultivator, discovering that the Dongli Realm had sent three teams and that Old Ancestor Qinghua was still alive. If they could rendezvous with Old Ancestor Qinghua, their chances of returning to the Dongli Realm would be much greater.

At this moment, Wang Ruyan emerged from underground. Thanks to the Concordance Worm, she was fully aware of Wang Changsheng's thoughts.

"Husband, let's go help Fellow Daoist Fang!" Wang Ruyan suggested. "I'll have Qiuming and the others stay underground and wait for our return."

Wang Changsheng nodded. He lightly slapped the blue-robed elder with his right hand, and the blue-robed elder let out a scream as his body burst apart, not even his Nascent Soul escaping. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan transformed into a blue streak of light and shot through the air, disappearing into the horizon.

A thousand li away, in an open area, Fang Mu was surrounded by over a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators. There was no fear on his face; nine Heavenly Corpses stood by his side.

"Fang Mu," a pot-bellied man in a golden robe said in a gentle tone, holding a pale golden compass in his hand. "Our Grand Elder considers you a talent. Why not pledge allegiance to our Tianlan Sect? We will let bygones be bygones."