Chapter 726: Chapter 726

Amidst the roars, the space around the demonic energy suddenly trembled violently, and a massive shadow abruptly rose from the demonic aura.

It was a colossal demon body, resembling both a dragon and a human.

Its body was incredibly robust, covered entirely in black scales, and its enormous dragon wings seemed to blot out the sky, exuding an overwhelming oppressive force.

Especially those blood-red eyes, which radiated a fierce hostility that made one's heart shiver involuntarily, even from a great distance.

In an instant, this massive demonic shadow was already fiercely battling with the green tree shadow, waves of violent energy shockwaves sweeping out one after another.

Under the terrifying shockwaves, the surrounding space was continuously torn apart, shattered, and transformed into a dreadful space storm that swept further away.

For a moment, the entire Shenwu Heavenly Abyss was in turmoil, with terrifying energy storms raging madly, as if the end of the world had arrived.

The "Scavenger Squad" looked at each other in disbelief.

They hadn't expected that their persistence in scavenging would lead them to witness such a scene.

Everyone had long known that the Great Demon Lord Chilong wasn't dead and had prepared for it.

But they never imagined that the Holy Emperor's Reincarnation Tree was still clinging to life.

In shock, they suddenly realized that the sporadic energy upheavals in the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss over the years were likely related to them.

"Historical records state that the Holy Emperor's life-bound spirit plant, the [Reincarnation Tree], had a potential of fifteen tiers," Immortal Emperor Mu Yun said gravely. "However, the records never clearly stated whether the Reincarnation Tree ultimately reached the fifteenth tier, but it seems that it likely did at that time."

However, even if both the Great Demon Lord and the Reincarnation Tree were alive, their conditions were extremely poor. The current state of the Great Demon Lord Chilong was likely that of a remnant soul, and the Reincarnation Tree was probably not much better off.

After all, the Shenwu Royal Dynasty had been destroyed for a hundred thousand years.

They could hardly imagine that throughout these long years, the Reincarnation Tree had remained in the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss.

If it weren't for Immortal Emperor Mu Yun advancing to the mid-True Immortal Realm, allowing the four True Immortal Realm experts to venture deep into the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss, and if they hadn't lingered a bit longer during this exploration, they might never have known the truth when the Reincarnation Tree's divine soul finally gave out.

As they spoke, in the distance, the vast demonic energy suddenly erupted like a tidal wave.

Everyone's attention was immediately drawn to it, witnessing the unprecedentedly powerful demonic energy suppressing the strong green light.

At the same time, the voice of the Great Demon Lord Chilong emerged from the surging demonic energy: "Old thing, your remnant soul's source power is exhausted and can no longer suppress this Holy Master. Just you wait, this Holy Master will regroup and utterly destroy your Shenwu World."

Taking advantage of the moment when the Reincarnation Tree was suppressed, it immediately transformed back into a mass of dark demonic energy, desperately fleeing outward.

From afar, everyone saw a dark shadow weaving through the space storm, tearing open the space in an attempt to escape the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss.

"Your Majesties, Immortal Monarchs," Wang Fugui frowned, "it's time for you to act."

His Ancestor Grandfather seemed to have anticipated the possibility of the Great Demon Lord Chilong attempting to escape, so over the years, he had entrusted the Immortal Emperor, Demon Emperor, and Immortal Monarchs to take turns exploring the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss, ready to handle any sudden changes.

"Don't worry, Fugui," Immortal Emperor Mu Yun said with some excitement, "even if it's the Great Demon Lord Chilong, it's just a remnant soul now. Red Abyss, protect the children."

As she spoke, she gracefully grasped a celestial sword, its material resembling cold jade, which rose into the air.

It was the Transcendent Sword of the Immortal Dynasty—the Cold Moon Immortal Sword.

Like the Immortal Sword Niyue, this celestial sword was also born during the Shenwu Royal Dynasty, held by the Yun's Clan of the Han Yue Immortal Dynasty, and passed down to this day.

Not only was it a symbol of the Immortal Emperor's power, but it was also an immensely powerful celestial sword. When paired with the Han Yue Immortal Dynasty's royal family's [Han Yue Immortal Scripture], its power was far from simple addition.

With the Cold Moon Immortal Sword in hand, a cold moon rose behind the Immortal Emperor, casting a myriad of silver lights, making her appear like a celestial goddess, majestic and imposing.

In the next moment, Immortal Emperor Mu Yun flicked her wrist, merging with the celestial sword, and shot toward the Great Demon Lord Chilong like a meteor.

The overwhelming sword intent surged into the sky, and the silver light spanned the heavens and earth.

Wherever the sword light reached, even the space storms along the way were swept aside by the sword intent, tearing open deep, dark space rifts.

The terrifying might made the Red Abyss Demon Emperor's scalp tingle.

The mid-True Immortal Realm was indeed formidable.

Fortunately, Chao Qianchuo hadn't obtained the Nether Fiend True Demon Seed and advanced to the mid-True Demon Realm; otherwise, given his domineering nature, the Demon Emperor's title might have become nominal.

"A human True Immortal?"

Feeling the astonishing might, the Great Demon Lord Chilong's remnant soul's movements faltered, suddenly becoming somewhat panicked.

It never expected that after finally escaping the suppression of the Holy Emperor's remnant soul and the Reincarnation Tree, a human True Immortal would suddenly appear.

If it were during the Great Demon Lord Chilong's prime, this human True Immortal wouldn't have been worth mentioning. But at this moment, it was in a remnant soul state, having expended significant energy to temporarily suppress the Reincarnation Tree and the Holy Emperor's old dog. A human True Immortal Realm expert was already extremely deadly to it.

However, the Great Demon Lord Chilong was still the Great Demon Lord Chilong.

Admitting defeat was not an option.

In this critical moment, it still mobilized its remnant soul power, stirring up the surrounding space storm to counterattack Immortal Emperor Mu Yun.

The two intense energies collided violently, and the terrifying shockwave instantly swept out, the dazzling light nearly engulfing the entire void.

Where the shockwave passed, the already unstable space collapsed, and the already intense space storm suddenly became even more violent.

Under such a terrifying energy collision, in just an instant, the black demonic energy that the Great Demon Lord Chilong had transformed into was blasted away, its demonic energy dispersing. It took a while to recondense.

But even so, it had become extremely weak, like a candle in the wind, barely holding on.

Seeing this, Immortal Emperor Mu Yun, who had also been blasted away, had her eyes light up.

She had initially been worried that she couldn't withstand the remnant soul's power, but now it seemed that the remnant soul was indeed weak, even slightly weaker than herself.

She immediately shook her celestial sword, pressing on with renewed vigor.

At the same time, Enlightenment Immortal Monarch and Di Xiu Immortal Monarch each wielded their Enlightenment Tree branches and Wu Jin Wooden Staff, advancing.

Before they even arrived, Enlightenment Immortal Monarch had already thrown out a [Enlightenment Immortal Leaf].

The immortal leaf floated gently above Immortal Emperor Mu Yun's head, the delicate golden lines on the leaf emitting mysterious golden light, enveloping her.

In an instant, Immortal Emperor Mu Yun's already formidable presence began to soar, rising significantly.

Immortal Emperor Mu Yun laughed heartily, her sword intent surging, her attacks becoming even more fierce.

On the other side, Di Xiu Immortal Monarch was surrounded by clear energy, accompanied by the gentle sound of wind chimes, as pale green light spread from him, cleansing the surrounding demonic energy.

The green light spread, transforming into countless strands of breeze that brushed against the Great Demon Lord Chilong, continuously passing over it.

Although each strand of breeze could only weaken a trace of the Great Demon Lord Chilong's demonic energy, the countless strands of breeze were like thousands of scythes, forcibly thinning the demonic energy on the Great Demon Lord Chilong.

It must be said that the innate ability of the Di Xiu Tree was truly a bane to the demon race.

Though a wood-type spirit plant, its offensive means were limited, but when in a supportive attack position, it could often torment the demon race to the point of despair.

"Retreat, retreat, retreat!"

The Great Demon Lord Chilong began to doubt its existence after just a brief skirmish.

Seeing that three True Immortal combatants had blocked its path, forcing a breakthrough was hopeless. It had no choice but to grit its teeth and charge back to the core of the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss, only to be pinned down again by the ambushing Reincarnation Tree's shadow and given a thorough beating.

After a long while, the turmoil finally subsided.

"Thank you, friends, for your assistance," the voice of the Reincarnation Tree echoed, filled with endless fatigue. "The remnant soul of the Great Demon Lord Chilong has been suppressed again and won't cause trouble for a while. The Haotian Sword you just saw, consider it a gift from me."

It turned out that the final treasure from the Treasure Gathering Fruit, the celestial Haotian Sword, was secretly aided by the Reincarnation Tree.

"Senior Reincarnation," Immortal Emperor Mu Yun took the opportunity to say sweetly, "our remaining human race is still in a stalemate with the demon realm, and we need some [Immortal Scriptures]."

She felt that she used to be quite thin-skinned, but after encountering Wang Shouzhe and repeatedly witnessing Wang Ningxi's shamelessness, she felt her skin had thickened considerably.

"Sorry, I would like to help, but most treasures of the level of scriptures, semi-immortal artifacts, celestial artifacts, and immortal scriptures have strong self-awareness," the Reincarnation Tree sighed. "Moreover, after that great battle, they all suffered some damage. Haotian was close to me, so I could help send it out."

"The space tides are getting stronger, you should leave quickly," the Reincarnation Tree urged.

As it spoke, the Reincarnation Tree's voice grew increasingly weary, as if the previous battle had taken a significant toll on it. As soon as it finished speaking, the towering shadow of the giant tree in the distance swiftly withdrew.

Soon, the core of the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss returned to tranquility.

However, the surrounding tidal space storm grew increasingly fierce.

Immortal Emperor Mu Yun activated her vast immortal spirit energy, forming an energy shield that enveloped everyone as they left.

At that moment, another violent space storm swept over the Immortal Emperor's energy shield. Within the storm, a shiny object pierced through the shield at high speed, heading straight for Wang Anye.

Wang Anye remained calm, not even drawing his sword. He simply raised his sleeve and waved it lightly, and a thick wave of profound energy transformed into a large energy hand that reached forward and caught the shiny object.

Instinctively glancing at it, he found it was a transparent crystal the size of a millstone, its surface crystal clear, refracting subtle colorful halos under the light.

Moreover, the crystal emitted strong spatial fluctuations, distorting the surrounding space into beautiful ripples.

"This is..." Wang Fugui gasped, "Grandfather, this seems to be a large piece of high-grade spatial crystal, doesn't it?"

"Uh... it seems so," Wang Anye weighed it through the profound energy, "it weighs about a few hundred pounds and should theoretically be enough to repair the [Large Space Transfer Array Disk]."

Wang Fugui was speechless.

Grandfather truly was the world's favored child, casually solving a problem that had troubled the family for a long time.

The four True Immortal-level big shots were also silent.

To be honest, to become a True Immortal big shot, their own fortunes were naturally quite good. But compared to Wang Anye, they seemed a bit lacking. The rıghtful source is novelFɪre.net

Wang Anye's gain this time had already surpassed the total harvest of this scavenging trip. If they had Wang Anye's luck, they might have already advanced further, challenging the heavens, the earth, and the air.

The return journey was smooth, with hardly any major obstacles encountered. Naturally, with four True Immortals and two space-savvy Kun present, there wouldn't be many surprises.

Before long, the group returned to the Immortal Emperor's palace, the [Moonlight Palace].

The Moonlight Palace always had attendants on duty, and seeing the group's return, they immediately served spiritual tea and spiritual fruits to help everyone recover their strength and profound energy.

The scavenging trip to the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss was quite fruitful, and Immortal Emperor Mu Yun was very pleased, even bringing out the rare Moon Laurel Immortal Tea to share with everyone, including the Demon Emperor.

The Yun's Clan's Moon Laurel Immortal Tea, though still stuck at the high twelfth tier, produced tea that was fragrant and rich, with excellent nourishing and invigorating effects, quickly replenishing vitality and spirit with just a sip.

As everyone sat together to tally the day's gains, smiles appeared on their faces.

"Based on my rough assessment, the Haotian Sword should be a mid-grade celestial artifact," Immortal Emperor Mu Yun said. "According to Holy Domain prices, it's worth about thirty to forty immortal spirit stones. However, it's slightly damaged and will require time for nurturing and repair, so let's discount it to thirty immortal spirit stones."

"I'll state my position first, this price is prioritized for you all. If you don't want the Haotian Sword, then we'll take it for thirty immortal spirit stones."

"I'm not interested in the Haotian Sword; it doesn't match our Shentu Clan's attributes," the Red Abyss Demon Emperor said with a smile.

As he spoke, he was also calculating the gains from this trip. His plan was similar to Immortal Emperor Mu Yun's, to save up money and resources to go on a shopping spree when the Holy Domain instance, no, the Holy Domain passage opened.

The term "instance" was also influenced by Wang Shouzhe and the younger generation of the Wang's Clan, who loved to call certain areas "instances."

For example, the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss ruins were often referred to as the "Heavenly Abyss Instance" by Wang Fugui. Who knows what strange terms Wang Shouzhe came up with.

However, the distribution system created by Wang Shouzhe was quite good, allowing everyone to share in the spoils and freely bid on any treasures they fancied.

Enlightenment Immortal Monarch and Di Xiu Immortal Monarch had no need for the Haotian Sword either, as they were focused on saving up immortal spirit stones to see if they could buy some Chaos Essence from the Holy Domain.

However, it's said that Chaos Essence is also a very rare treasure in the Holy Domain, only available at some auctions, with starting prices often at ten to eight immortal spirit stones for a small bottle.

If they managed to gather a large bottle, it would likely be valued at the price of a top-grade celestial artifact.

Therefore, Enlightenment and Di Xiu decided to continue being diligent workers, with no demands other than working hard for their boss and saving up to buy Chaos Essence.

"Since no one wants it, we'll take it," Wang Fugui said. "My grandfather's sword formation still lacks a celestial sword as the main sword."

As the direct line of the Wang's Clan, Fugui could largely represent the Wang's Clan. With the assets he held, acquiring a celestial sword was no problem.

"Fugui, my Wanwan is doing just fine; I don't need a celestial sword for now," Wang Anye declined.

"Grandfather, you're already in the mid-Divine Realm," Wang Fugui persuaded. "With your current strength, while you can handle ordinary Void Realm opponents, facing mid to late Void Realm ones is more challenging. If you have the Haotian Celestial Sword as the main sword, even late Void Realm opponents can be dealt with. Most importantly, with the high-grade spatial crystal discovered today, the Holy Domain instance is about to open, and that's a place where Void Realms are everywhere, and Divine Realms are like dogs. It's time to enhance our combat power."

"Fugui makes a good point," Wang Anye nodded slightly, having come to terms with it. "Then we'll take the Haotian Sword, but if Your Majesty the Immortal Emperor is willing to bid higher, you can also compete."

"I'll pass," Immortal Emperor Mu Yun waved her hand. "Although my Cold Moon Celestial Sword is slightly inferior to the Haotian Celestial Sword, I'm used to it, and its attributes are more compatible. Switching to the Haotian Sword wouldn't significantly enhance my combat power."

After some back and forth, the Haotian Sword ended up in the Wang's Clan's possession.

However, since the Wang's Clan could take fifty percent of the spoils, they only needed to pay fifteen immortal spirit stones.

Seeing this, Wang Anye's current main sword, "Wanwan," was so aggrieved that it shed tears.

Boohoo, now it's my turn to step back~

Everyone discussed the earlier events.

The situation in the core of the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss had far exceeded their expectations. Although the Reincarnation Tree claimed to have suppressed the Great Demon Lord Chilong's remnant soul again, its condition seemed quite poor, and no one knew how long this suppression would last. They still needed to strengthen patrols and defenses around the area and monitor the entire Shenwu Heavenly Abyss.

Under no circumstances could the Great Demon Lord Chilong's remnant soul be allowed to escape, as it would be a disaster.

In the summer of the 3520th year of the Longchang Era of the Great Qian.

Changning Wang's Clan.

Stay Immortal Valley.

After years of growth, Wang Lixian's main body had become increasingly formidable, having reached the peak of the tenth tier. When her tree crown fully expanded, it was already so vast that it blotted out the sky, appearing incredibly majestic, far surpassing the Longevity Tree of the past.

In the sunlight, her broad leaves were translucent and vibrant, like jade, exceptionally pleasing to the eye.

Under the protection of the Life Celestial Tree, Stay Immortal Valley and its surroundings were filled with rich life-type immortal spirit energy.

The life-type immortal spirit energy had the effect of nourishing the body and prolonging life, making residing in Stay Immortal Valley or its vicinity beneficial for longevity.

As a result, Stay Immortal Valley and its surrounding areas had been expanded several times, yet it remained overcrowded. Now, only those with excellent relations with the Wang's Clan or Purple Mansion Realm cultivators who had made significant contributions to the human race were eligible to come to the Wang's Clan for convalescence or retirement.

For example, Tianhe Daoist of Longzuo Academy, Changchun Immortal, and Yuanshui Ascetic were all now retired in Stay Immortal Valley.

Among them, the Stay Immortal Residence, which housed Void Realm cultivators, had been expanded to eighteen buildings.

Stay Immortal Valley had become a retirement home.

Due to Lixian's enormous size, a large open space had been cleared beneath her tree shade. In the height of summer, while the surroundings were scorching, the shade remained as cool as autumn, very comfortable.

At this time, a group of semi-retired or fully retired elders were holding senior activities in this open space.

These senior activities also included Purple Mansion Realm and Divine Realm cultivators who were older and had come to retire.

However, the mahjong tables were almost always divided by realm: Void Realm with Void Realm, Divine Realm with Divine Realm.

This wasn't due to discrimination based on cultivation level, but rather because the personal wealth and earning abilities of cultivators at different levels varied significantly, making it difficult for everyone to play together.

Compared to Liu Ruolan's frequent "visits" to retired cadres, Wang Shouzhe came less often, only visiting when Emperor Longchang pestered him to play a few games of chess to make him happy.

Under the tree shade, Wang Shouzhe and Emperor Longchang were leisurely playing chess.

A hundred and fifty years had passed, and Emperor Longchang looked older than before, with hair so white that not a single black strand could be found, and more age spots on his body and face. However, his spirits were still quite good.

As for Wang Shouzhe, although he was now three hundred and ninety-four years old, his cultivation had advanced so rapidly that he still appeared to be a young man in his twenties or thirties. Time seemed to have left no trace on him.

Casually placing a chess piece, Wang Shouzhe chatted idly, "Your Majesty, have you lost interest in mahjong lately? Why do you keep dragging me to play chess?"

Emperor Longchang glanced guiltily at the Jade Talisman Immortal sitting nearby, watching the game, and chuckled awkwardly, "Isn't it because playing chess with Shouzhe is quite enjoyable?"

"Ancestor Grandfather, can you stop boasting?" Prince Deshun, who was also white-bearded and elderly, unceremoniously exposed him, "Isn't it because the new Ancestor Grandmother is too strict, and you can't play Void Realm-level mahjong, and you find mixing with the Divine Realm mahjong crowd boring?"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding Divine Realm cultivators couldn't help but burst into laughter. As Emperor Longchang had become less formal with age, those who had been in Stay Immortal Valley for a long time were already familiar with him and naturally weren't afraid of him.

"Deshun, you dog!" Emperor Longchang cursed in embarrassment, "Watch me beat you!"

"Ancestor Grandfather, I've lived over two thousand years, and I've only survived this long thanks to Lixian and Master Wang Shouzhe extending my life," Prince Deshun laughed heartily, unconcerned. "If you want to beat me, go ahead. I've already seen the Great Qian flourish in my lifetime, and that's enough."

Nowadays, the Great Qian's national tax revenue had exceeded 150 billion Qian gold, more than ten times stronger than before, and the Universal Qi Refining Plan was progressing smoothly, with a qi refining rate of seventy to eighty percent.

Although this rate wasn't as high as that of the Immortal Dynasty, it was already the highest among the empires of the Immortal and Demon Dynasties.

Currently, the entire Great Qian, from commoners to noble families to the royal family, took pride in being part of the Great Qian.

Hearing this, Emperor Longchang was also in a good mood, feeling gratified, "Prince An has done well, not disappointing my teachings."

Most importantly, all of this happened during his reign in the Longchang Era.

According to the Great Qian's ancestral system, as long as he, the Emperor, hadn't fallen, Prince An couldn't officially ascend the throne and establish a new era name.

To leave a mark in history, Emperor Longchang felt he could endure a few more years, especially since he was "only" just over four thousand years old. He still hoped to visit the Holy Domain with Sister Jade Talisman and see more sights~

"Snap!" Wang Shouzhe placed a piece, "Your Majesty, you've lost."

Emperor Longchang's face darkened, "Wang Shouzhe, how dare you take advantage of my distraction to cheat! This game doesn't count, let's play again."

Initially, Wang Shouzhe intended to let him win a few games, but seeing the Emperor getting a bit too complacent, he decided to curb his enthusiasm. After all, with such vitality, the Emperor likely had many years left to live.

As a result, in the following games, Emperor Longchang lost by a few points each time.

In the end, Emperor Longchang was so frustrated that he flipped the chessboard, "Hmph, chess is no fun. Ruolan, save me a spot over there."

The Divine Realm cultivators watching were speechless.

At that moment, Wang Anye and Wang Fugui returned to the Wang's Clan.

Wang Shouzhe met with them in the courtyard.

Seeing Anye made Wang Shouzhe happy, but upon seeing Wang Fugui, his face immediately darkened, and he couldn't help but snort.

Already over two hundred years old, and still leaving the "Treasure" generation of the direct line hanging, truly a scoundrel.

"Great-grandfather, please calm down," Wang Anye hurriedly advised, "I've already severely criticized Fugui, and he promised to work harder and strive to continue the direct line within ten years."

Wang Fugui's heart trembled. How hard would he have to work?

Sure enough, Wang Shouzhe's expression softened slightly, "How did the scavenging operation in the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss go this time?"

Wang Anye recounted the events in detail.

"I see. It's commendable that the Reincarnation Tree has persisted for so long," Wang Shouzhe was also surprised that the Reincarnation Tree was still in the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss, feeling a sense of awe. "This complicates matters, but it's not entirely bad. We can use this to put pressure on the Yincha Demon God, urging her to double her efforts in finding the immortal scriptures left by the Third Expeditionary Army in the demon realm."

"Yes, Great-grandfather, Fugui will handle this," Wang Anye agreed and added, "Additionally, we were fortunate enough to obtain enough high-grade spatial crystals."

Such good news even lifted Wang Shouzhe's spirits.

With these high-grade spatial crystals, the passage to the Holy Domain could be prioritized.

Wang Shouzhe had no choice.

The Wang's Clan had a significant shortage of immortal scriptures.

Including Wang Fugui, Wang Anye, and himself, the Wang's Clan had about a dozen people with Heavenly Son or Heavenly Daughter qualifications, and their cultivation had reached the Divine Realm. However, only Ancestor Long Yan and his wife Liu Ruolan had obtained cultivation methods above the level of immortal scriptures.

As everyone knew, the Divine Realm was the most suitable realm for inheriting immortal scriptures. If they waited until the Void Realm, the effect of purifying bloodlines with the essence of heaven and earth would be greatly reduced.

Currently, Wang Shouzhe's cultivation had already reached the late Divine Realm.

Although Luo Qiu and Ying Xuan's cultivation speed wasn't as fast as his, they weren't far behind, with most of them already in the mid-Divine Realm.

Considering the difficulty of acquiring immortal scriptures, he had to start planning in advance.

The outer demon realm was one aspect, but the Holy Domain was also a primary target.

The Holy Domain was vast, with far more True Immortal Realm experts and immortal scriptures than the Shenwu World, offering more opportunities than blindly searching in the Shenwu World.

Of course, he was eager to open the space passage for another very important reason.

His niece, Li Ci, had been out of contact in the Holy Domain for far too long, and there was no way to communicate between the two sides. How could Wang Shouzhe not be worried about her?

If she encountered any trouble in the Holy Domain, he wouldn't even be able to find out, let alone offer support.