Chapter 4538

In the Immortal Realm, on the Chaos Continent, lay Myriad Beast City.

Within it, a serene manor featured pavilions, towers, waterside kiosks, and long corridors. Inside a blue stone pavilion, a tall, silver-robed young man and Liu Qian were engaged in conversation.

"Excellent! Our Myriad Beast Palace has gained another Grand Immortal Golden Immortal. This is truly a double blessing." Liu Qian's face beamed with joy.

The silver-robed youth was Xu Xing, Myriad Beast Palace's newly promoted Grand Immortal Golden Immortal, who had mastered the Law of Karma.

"Double blessing? What's the other good news?" Xu Xing asked, his curiosity piqued.

Liu Qian briefly recounted the events, and Xu Xing, enlightened, smiled and said, "If I could acquire the Karma Bead, it would significantly boost my strength."

"I've already dispatched people to the lower realm to search for Qian Qingzi. He no longer has his physical body, and even if he's possessed another, he won't be able to recover his cultivation in a short time. As soon as we find him, we're sure to retrieve the Karma Bead," Liu Qian stated confidently.

"The Wang family's Nine Palace Immortal Lord is skilled in divination. Surely, he could also divine Qian Qingzi's whereabouts?" Xu Xing said with some concern.

"He hasn't appeared for many years. Even if he were to act, the Wang family wouldn't be able to reach the Golden Rock Realm instantly. We have an affiliated force there, the Heavenly Beast Palace, which will dispatch personnel to cooperate with our operation. I'm confident we'll receive good news soon," Liu Qian explained. With their advantageous position, and given that Heavenly Beast Palace is one of the top forces in the Golden Rock Realm, Liu Qian was certain they would swiftly locate Qian Qingzi and reclaim the Karma Bead.

"Even if, by some chance, the Wang family's disciples encounter Senior Nephew Yang and his group, our people won't be outmatched by the Wang family's cultivators. They'll definitely bring the Karma Bead back." Liu Qian exuded full confidence.

"That's good then. I just hope the Wang family doesn't get there first," Xu Xing commented.

"Last time, the Taiyi Creation Gourd was simply good fortune for the Nangong family. But this time, Qian Qingzi's exact location is in the Golden Rock Realm. I refuse to believe the Wang family can beat us to it." Liu Qian's face was alight with confidence.

The Nangong Immortal Clan had indeed gotten the Taiyi Creation Gourd first, having intercepted it when Myriad Beast Palace was a step behind. But this time was different. After receiving the information, Myriad Beast Palace had immediately investigated Qian Qingzi's innate immortal artifact and divine abilities, and had even consulted the Heavenly Oracle Immortaless for divination. Their response had been swift. Furthermore, Qian Qingzi was currently in the Golden Rock Realm. If the Wang family still managed to get ahead this time, Liu Qian would be truly speechless.

Xu Xing nodded. "Has Senior Brother Yang not returned yet?" he asked.

"No, he's stuck at a bottleneck and left to gain experience. We don't know when he'll be back," Liu Qian replied. The Senior Brother Yang they referred to was the Myriad Beast Immortal Lord, Palace Master of Myriad Beast Palace, who had left to seek a breakthrough after reaching a bottleneck and had not yet returned. For a Grand Immortal Golden Immortal, being stuck at a bottleneck was extremely tricky. Even with good luck, it could take millions of years to resolve, and it wouldn't be surprising to be stuck for hundreds of millions of years with bad luck.

"Since you've just achieved the Grand Immortal Golden Immortal realm, you should first focus on recuperating and striving to master the Law of Karma to perfection as soon as possible," Liu Qian advised.

Xu Xing acknowledged her words and agreed.

***

East Profound Continent Cluster, Golden Rock Realm.

The Golden Flame Ruins, located in the central part of the Golden Rock Realm, were an ancient battlefield. The area was riddled with powerful restrictions, posing a fatal risk even to Mahayana cultivators who dared to trespass.

Deep within the Golden Flame Ruins, in a hidden underground cave, a tall, golden-robed young man sat cross-legged on the ground. This golden-robed youth was none other than Qian Qingzi. After being pursued by Sky River Sword Lord and several other Taiyi Golden Immortals, he had stumbled upon a realm crack. He then self-detonated his physical body, allowing his remnant soul to hide within a treasure and escape into the lower realm through the fissure. His luck had been considerable; the treasure he inhabited had survived the dimensional storm, successfully landing in a lower realm. It was no easy feat for a remnant soul to escape to a lower realm, with failures being far more common.

Qian Qingzi had landed in the Golden Flame Ruins. Unable to find a human cultivator, he had been forced to possess the body of a Golden Flame Python. After a period of secluded cultivation, during which he devoured the corpses of high-level demon pythons to purify his bloodline, he had finally managed to transform into human form. The numerous restrictions in the area made it difficult for Qian Qingzi to recover his cultivation, as he was currently only at the Body Integration stage. Like a phoenix stripped of its plumage, he possessed many powerful secret techniques, but his current cultivation level was insufficient to employ any of them. He had no intention of aimlessly wandering; with the cultivation resources he possessed, reaching the Mahayana stage would not be an issue. His priority was to ascend to the Immortal Realm.

A deafening roar echoed, startling Qian Qingzi and causing him to adopt a wary expression. His eyes glowed with a golden light, allowing him to see massive bolts of golden lightning tear across the sky and strike downwards.

A giant ship, shimmering with blue light, emerged from the golden lightning, moving at a leisurely pace. A team of cultivators stood on the ship's deck. A blue lotus motif adorned their sleeves and also decorated the ship's sails.

"The Blue Lotus Wang family!" Qian Qingzi exclaimed in surprise. The fact that Blood River Divine Lord had sought the Nine Palace Immortal Lord Wang Qiulin's help in divining a fortuitous encounter, and that the divination had predicted a grand opportunity which subsequently led to Blood River Divine Lord's advancement to Taiyi Golden Immortal, was widely known, and Qian Qingzi was aware of it. How could the Blue Lotus Wang family be here? This was too much of a coincidence! Qian Qingzi's brows furrowed deeply, his face filled with confusion.

The blue giant ship slowly approached Qian Qingzi's hiding place. After a moment of contemplation, Qian Qingzi performed a hand seal, his body blurred, and he vanished from his spot. He had no usable treasures on hand. At his current cultivation level, he couldn't even utilize immortal artifacts, and as for "Profound Heaven Treasures," which he considered mere junk, he truly didn't possess any. To a Taiyi Golden Immortal, Profound Heaven Treasures were indeed just junk.

The blue giant ship halted directly above the cave. Wang Xiaolong spoke up, "Is that you, Qian Qingzi? We are here under orders to find you. We invite you to cooperate with us; we assure you, you will not be treated unfairly." They had rushed to the Golden Rock Realm with the utmost speed. There were many places with "Golden Flame" in their names, but the Golden Flame Ruins were by far the most renowned. After searching numerous locations without success, they had finally come to the Golden Flame Ruins.

"Blood River Divine Lord is your friend, isn't he? Our patriarch sent us to find you. If you come with us, we won't treat you poorly," Wang Xiaolong's voice was loud and clear.

Qian Qingzi flew out from the cave. His gaze was somber, realizing that the other party had clearly come for him, and that continued concealment would likely be impossible.

"What is your relationship with Blood River Divine Lord?" Qian Qingzi inquired.

"Blood River Divine Lord was severely injured, and our family took him in. He has already informed our family of the entire situation, and our patriarch has dispatched us to find you," Wang Xiaolong replied.

"How did you find this place?" Qian Qingzi asked, bewildered.

"Senior, have you forgotten? Patriarch Qiulin is a diviner. He used his abilities to deduce your whereabouts, and that's how we finally found you. This is the Blue Lotus Forbidden Tome; I can make an oath with you on it, swearing that we will absolutely not harm you." Wang Xiaolong produced a shimmering blue page from a book and said. The Wang family had refined many Blue Lotus Forbidden Tomes, which varied significantly in grade, ranging from Sky-Reaching Spirit Treasures to true immortal artifacts. Wang Xiaolong's offer to make an oath in person demonstrated his sincerity.

Qian Qingzi felt slightly reassured. "Can you help me return to the Immortal Realm?" he asked.

"Of course, we can. Our patriarch will also greatly reward you, Senior. But first, please hand over the Karma Bead to me," Wang Xiaolong said courteously.