Chapter 3976: Resolving Doubts

When Ning Hao celebrated his three-millionth birthday, the Cao family only sent one Golden Immortal cultivator to offer congratulations. Now, for the Green Lotus Immortal Couple's Golden Immortal Grand Ceremony, the Cao family has sent core Golden Immortal cultivators to congratulate them? What does this signify?

Does this mean the Cao family intends to prioritize supporting the Wang family? What has the Wang family done to merit such treatment?

Ye Guangxue's eyes flashed with surprise when she saw Cao Jingxia and Cao Yuanxing. She then looked at Wang Changsheng, secretly astonished.

Wang Changsheng's divine sense was significantly stronger than hers, allowing him to detect Cao Jingxia and Cao Yuanxing ahead of time.

"We heard Fellow Daoist Wang has advanced to the Golden Immortal stage," Cao Yuanxing said, cupping his fist and smiling, "so my wife and I came to request a cup of celebratory wine."

"Fellow Daoist Cao, you are too kind," Wang Changsheng replied, "please come in."

Wang Changsheng then invited them into Green Lotus Island.

Wang Yongqian was tasked with settling the True Immortal cultivators from the Nine Immortal Sect, the Cao family, and the Ye family. Meanwhile, Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, Ye Guangxue, Cao Jingxia, Cao Yuanxing, and Jiang Tianfeng went to the reception hall, where they enjoyed tea and conversed on a wide variety of topics. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Ye Guangxue and the other three guests went to rest.

"Husband, it seems your strategy was very effective," Wang Ruyan said. "The Ye family and Cao family have indeed sent Golden Immortal cultivators."

The Cao and Ye families sent Golden Immortal cultivators to attend their Golden Immortal Grand Ceremony, not because of their personal influence, but because Wang Changsheng had sent people to purchase cultivation resources from them using pure two-color crystal cores. They were likely drawn by the allure of these pure crystal cores.

"I didn't expect this either," Wang Changsheng said, his face full of confusion. "But the Cao family actually sent Cao Jingxia and Cao Yuanxing. Do pure two-color crystal cores really have such immense appeal?"

He could understand the Cao family sending Golden Immortal cultivators, but to dispatch Cao Jingxia and Cao Yuanxing, who are core Golden Immortals of the Cao family, was truly unexpected.

"Perhaps they came to patrol the Sky Morning Sea?" Wang Ruyan speculated, "or they might have other matters to attend to."

"Perhaps so!" Wang Changsheng said. "Regardless, their attendance at our Golden Immortal Grand Ceremony brings great honor to us. In the future, other forces considering actions against our Wang family will surely show some apprehension."

The outside world is unaware of the true relationship between the Wang family and the Cao and Ye families, which will cause other powers to hesitate before acting against them. This is a form of leveraging their influence.

"This is also a good opportunity to consult them about purifying crystal cores, the general situation in the Immortal Realm, and Dao artifacts," Wang Ruyan added.

Having been in the Immortal Realm for hundreds of thousands of years, they only knew it was vast, but they lacked precise knowledge about its full extent, the locations of various immortal domains, and their resources.

As core members of the Cao family, Cao Jingxia and Cao Yuanxing surely knew many elite disciples from major powers and possessed a far deeper understanding of the Immortal Realm than they did.

Wang Changsheng nodded, expressing his strong agreement.

The scene shifts to a vast estate, featuring pavilions, towers, and gardens adorned with exotic rocks.

Jiang Tianfeng sat in a blue stone pavilion, holding a blue transmission mirror that displayed Du Tianhe's image.

"What?" Du Tianhe exclaimed. "Cao Jingxia and Cao Yuanxing personally came to attend their Golden Immortal Grand Ceremony?"

When a Golden Immortal cultivator from the Nine Immortal Sect holds a grand ceremony, the Cao family is typically content to send merely a True Immortal cultivator, even after receiving an invitation. For Ning Hao's three-millionth birthday, which featured a wide array of guests, the Cao family only sent a single Golden Immortal cultivator, who was not even a core clan member. Yet now, Cao Jingxia and Cao Yuanxing are personally attending the Green Lotus Immortal Couple's Golden Immortal Grand Ceremony. Who would believe that the Wang family has no special relationship with the Cao family?

"It seems Fellow Daoist Wang has concealed quite a bit," Jiang Tianfeng said, frowning. "His relationship with the Cao family is not as simple as it appears."

"Keep a close watch," Du Tianhe instructed. "It's best if you can thoroughly investigate their relationship. I'm concerned that the Wang family might be the Cao family's intelligence planted within the Sky Morning Sea."

Jiang Tianfeng nodded in agreement, then put away the transmission mirror.

In an estate filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers, Cao Jingxia and Cao Yuanxing sat in a blue stone pavilion, sipping tea and chatting.

"After the Golden Immortal celebration, we'll take the opportunity to patrol the Sky Morning Sea," Cao Yuanxing said. "We need to see if we can locate that innate immortal artifact."

Their primary purpose for coming to the Sky Morning Sea this time was not to attend the Green Lotus Immortal Couple's Golden Immortal Grand Ceremony, but rather to search for heavenly materials and earthly treasures as instructed.

The Nangong Immortal Clan had suddenly issued an order for several powers, including the Cao family, Yang family, Tianming clan, Ye family, and Nine Yuan Palace, to search for an innate immortal artifact that possessed a spirit. This treasure was rumored to have the power to seize the fortune of heaven and earth, though the Nangong Immortal Clan had not specified its appearance or grade.

"An innate immortal artifact with the great divine power to seize the fortune of heaven and earth?" Cao Jingxia asked, her face full of confusion.

"It must be a very special innate immortal artifact!" Cao Yuanxing replied. "It might have a miraculous effect against Chaos Beasts, or perhaps it can assist high-level immortals in breaking through major realms. We paid a hefty sum to have Old Man Jinlin divine for us, and he said our destiny is linked to a place containing the character 'Chen' (morning), which strongly suggests the Sky Morning Sea."

Anything so highly valued by the Nangong Immortal Clan must be truly extraordinary.

"The Nangong Immortal Clan didn't specify the grade of this innate immortal artifact," Cao Jingxia mused. "It couldn't be a supreme-grade immortal artifact, could it? No, if it were, the Nangong Immortal Clan would have been more specific to facilitate the search. Could it possibly be a Dao artifact?"

"You're overthinking it," Cao Yuanxing analyzed. "The Nangong Immortal Clan doesn't have a Dao Ancestor; how could they possibly deduce the whereabouts of a Dao artifact? If they had that ability, they would have been able to deduce the three Dao artifacts that appeared in the Blazing Sun Sea last time. It must be a special type of innate immortal artifact!"

Cao Jingxia nodded, saying nothing further.

Three days later, at Green Lotus Peak.

Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, Ye Guangxue, Cao Jingxia, Cao Yuanxing, and Jiang Tianfeng sat together in a blue stone pavilion, enjoying tea and conversation. After a few cups of spirit tea, the conversation flowed freely.

"Fellow Daoist Cao," Wang Changsheng asked, curious, "are there many immortal domains in the Immortal Realm? And how vast is the North Sea Immortal Domain? I've also heard that the Chaos Continent is enormous; how large is it exactly, and how many immortal domains would it be equivalent to?"

Cao Yuanxing dipped a finger into his tea and drew a large circle on the tea table. "I've heard our old ancestor discuss the geographical layout of the Immortal Realm," he explained. "If we imagine the Immortal Realm as this tea table, then this large circle represents the Chaos Continent. The North Sea Immortal Domain is located somewhere outside this large circle. I'm not entirely sure how many immortal domains there are in total, as each varies in size and strength. The North Sea Immortal Domain, with its Grand Luo Golden Immortals, is considered a medium-sized immortal domain. There are also numerous smaller immortal domains, whose cultivation resources are far inferior to those of the North Sea Immortal Domain."

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan suddenly understood, finding his explanation much clearer.

"The Chaos Continent is actually that vast?" Wang Ruyan asked. "Did the Chaos Beasts occupy such an enormous territory from the very beginning?"

"When chaos first emerged, Chaos Beasts already existed," Cao Yuanxing slowly explained. "At that time, there weren't many high-level immortals. I've heard that immortals fought a great war against the Chaos Beasts, and many Dao Ancestors perished, leading to the current world structure. This left behind an ancient battlefield, which is rumored to contain countless treasures and numerous powerful restrictions, even capable of slaying Grand Luo Golden Immortals. As for the exact truth, I'm not entirely certain; I've only heard these accounts."

"An ancient battlefield!" Wang Changsheng asked casually. "Fellow Daoist Cao, I once heard a fellow daoist mention the Qiankun Ruins. Could the Qiankun Ruins be that ancient battlefield?"

"No," Cao Yuanxing explained, "the Qiankun Ruins is also an ancient battlefield, but strictly speaking, it's a 'Heaven' City. It was once guarded by a Grand Luo Golden Immortal. However, the city was later breached by Chaos Beasts, and all the immortals within were slaughtered. It's somewhat similar to Tianji City, but the difference is that Tianji City appears randomly and at irregular intervals, whereas the Qiankun Ruins' location is fixed and never changes. Only every few million years, when its restrictions enter a period of weakness, does it become convenient to enter and search for treasures."

"A Heaven City! And a Grand Luo Golden Immortal..." Wang Changsheng murmured, his expression hardening. No wonder his clan members couldn't find any information about the Qiankun Ruins; it turned out to be a Heaven City.