Chapter 728: Chapter 728

However, Immortal Lord Tai'an was an old hand at this. Even though the situation was unfavorable, he maintained a calm demeanor, greeting Qingyuan Holy Son with a smile, "I, an old man, pay my respects to Your Highness, the Holy Son."

Qingyuan Holy Son waved his sleeve indifferently, looking ready to dismiss him at any moment, "Immortal Lord Tai'an, both you and I have reached the True Immortal Realm; there's no need for such formalities as 'paying respects.'"

"How can it be the same?" Immortal Lord Tai'an's smile remained unchanged, as if he hadn't noticed Qingyuan Holy Son's lack of welcome. He shamelessly continued, "I'm just an ordinary Immortal Lord, and my cultivation has almost reached its peak in this life. But Your Highness has mastered the [Cloud Sea Sacred Diagram], and your bloodline has awakened to the twelfth level of the Immaculate Immortal Body. It's only a matter of time before you ascend to become the Da Luo Holy Sovereign."

In fact, even now, he was far from being a match for Qingyuan Holy Son.

Awakening an additional layer of bloodline greatly enhances one's combat power.

"Are you done?" Qingyuan Holy Son said coldly, "If so, you may leave."

Such a dismissal truly gave no face to the Sima Clan. However, Qingyuan Holy Son indeed had the qualifications, as he was the heir of the transcendent power, Cloud Sea Cave Heaven.

Moreover, since Holy Sovereign Hongrui had largely withdrawn from affairs, Qingyuan Holy Son's attitude often sufficed to represent Cloud Sea Cave Heaven.

Immortal Lord Tai'an's expression stiffened slightly, his eyes flickering with various emotions, but he ultimately held back, forcing a smile, "Your Highness, you jest. I know some of our younger generation were ignorant and angered Lici. This time, we are here under the orders of our Ancestor to apologize to Lici, with no other intentions."

At this point, Immortal Lord Tai'an no longer dared to think about bringing Wang Lici back to recognize her ancestors. It was better to first make amends and resolve the conflict, then slowly plan.

As he spoke, Immortal Lord Tai'an took out a large pile of top-grade ingredients from his storage ring, including dragon liver and phoenix marrow, rare fruits, and even a treasured thirteenth-level true dragon hind leg, weighing tens of thousands of pounds.

Even Qingyuan Holy Son couldn't help but twitch his eyelids at the sight.

The Sima Clan was indeed willing to spend lavishly to please the little junior sister, hitting right at the heart. These ingredients, especially the true dragon hind leg alone, were worth several Immortal Spirit Stones, and altogether, they could barely purchase a common Immortal Artifact.

Seeing this, Qingyuan Holy Son, though still displeased, dared not casually dismiss them. Otherwise, if the little junior sister lost a large amount of food, she would surely hold him accountable. By then, the spiritual beasts and exotic fruits he raised in his Immortal Pavilion might not be safe.

Perhaps drawn by the aroma of the delicacies, Wang Lici, dressed in an ethereal immortal gown, appeared in the guest pavilion without waiting for Qingyuan Holy Son's notification.

Gazing at the various precious ingredients, she couldn't help but swallow, "I'll accept the gifts. As for the matter of you wrongfully expelling me back then, I'll reluctantly forgive you for now."

Immortal Lord Tai'an was overjoyed, immediately putting on a warm smile, "Lici, it was Wuchou's fault earlier. To make up for the damage to your reputation, our Sima Clan has announced to the entire Tianrui Holy Dynasty and surrounding Immortal Dynasties to clear your name. How about coming back with us this time to handle the clan registry and recognition of your ancestors?"

"No way. I've said many times, I'm not of Sima bloodline." Wang Lici shook her head like a rattle, but her hands moved swiftly, sweeping all the ingredients into her storage ring with a wave of her sleeve.

Taking the gifts was one thing, but casually recognizing other ancestors was out of the question. Otherwise, if Fourth Uncle found out, she might be beaten to death.

Immortal Lord Tai'an's face stiffened.

However, he was not an ordinary person. He quickly adjusted and said with a smile, "No problem, no problem. If you don't want to return, that's fine. Just cultivate well in Cloud Sea Cave Heaven. If you need anything, the family will send it to you. Whenever you're in a good mood, come back and visit the Ancestor. The Ancestor misses you."

"I'm not of Sima bloodline; I'm a member of the Changning Wang's Clan." Wang Lici frowned slightly, puzzled.

Why couldn't these people understand human language?

"It doesn't matter. Our Sima Clan has a long history, and many branches have changed their surnames due to time, historical changes, or other factors. It's quite normal," Immortal Lord Tai'an said.

In fact, he was telling the truth.

In just a few hundred years, a family could change beyond recognition, let alone after tens of thousands of years. Anything could happen over such a long period.

Not having the surname Sima didn't necessarily mean one wasn't of Sima bloodline. He had encountered similar situations countless times.

Even if, by some chance, the ancestors of the Changning Wang's Clan weren't originally from the Sima Clan, so what?

Marriages between families were common. For an ancient bloodline like the Sima Clan, which had been passed down for countless millennia, the marital ties were so complex that they couldn't be unraveled. Who could guarantee that the ancestors of the Changning Wang's Clan hadn't married into the Sima Clan?

Pausing, Immortal Lord Tai'an put on a sincere expression, looking at Wang Lici, "The Ancestor said that if you don't want to return, that's fine, but you should have someone to take care of you. How about letting Wuchou stay by your side to serve you? If you need anything, just tell Wuchou, and he will ask the family for it."

Sima Wuchou, who had been silent, suddenly widened his eyes, as if struck by a bolt from the blue, his mind buzzing.

He was a dignified True Immortal Seed, a future pillar of the family, and now he was to become Wang Lici's little follower? On what grounds?

"What? You don't want to?" Immortal Lord Tai'an saw through his thoughts at a glance, his face darkening as he said sternly, "Whether you want to or not, you have to. You caused a big mess and angered your sister Lici. The Ancestor said the family owes Lici too much, so you will stay by her side from now on, protect her diligently, and make amends."

Hearing Immortal Lord Tai'an's tone, Sima Wuchou knew there was no room for negotiation, so he reluctantly agreed with a bitter face.

Seeing that he was sensible, Immortal Lord Tai'an was relieved and immediately bid farewell to Qingyuan Holy Son and Wang Lici before leaving Cloud Sea Cave Heaven.

Left alone, Sima Wuchou looked at Qingyuan Holy Son and then at Wang Lici, feeling like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, lonely and helpless, at the mercy of others.

Alas~ If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have foolishly driven Wang Lici away. So what if she ate a little more? What did it have to do with him?

Qingyuan Holy Son saw that Wang Lici still had that adorable and silly look, and immediately made a decision for his junior sister, "Someone, please escort Young Master Sima down and teach him the rules of our Cloud Sea Cave Heaven."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Two Divine Realm guards appeared upon hearing the order and escorted Sima Wuchou out of the guest pavilion.

"Little junior sister, what are your thoughts?" Qingyuan Holy Son asked Wang Lici with a smile when no one else was around.

"What do you mean by my thoughts?" Wang Lici said with a naive look, "Anyway, recognizing ancestors is impossible, but if they want to give me food, I can't refuse~"

"That's the way it is." Qingyuan Holy Son agreed, "However, as long as you accept these things, with this bond of support, even if you don't acknowledge your ancestors, they will still publicize it, tying you to them. Of course, you won't lose out. After all, the Sima Clan is a Holy Clan, powerful and wealthy. It's better to befriend them than to make enemies."

"Little junior sister, our Cloud Sea Cave Heaven only has one Cloud Sea Sacred Diagram. Not to mention that I've already inherited it, even if I hadn't, this path might not suit you. I think Master plans to take you to the Primordial Dao Palace to explore. By then, with the support of both Cloud Sea Cave Heaven and the Sima Clan, you'll have an advantage in terms of background."

"But..." Wang Lici hesitated, "I'm really not of Sima bloodline. Wouldn't this be inappropriate?"

"There's nothing inappropriate." Qingyuan Holy Son blinked, looking radiant, "Little junior sister, you just need to adhere to three principles: don't admit, don't deny, don't refuse! At worst, when you soar to great heights, you can repay the Sima Clan for their investment."

"This..." Wang Lici blinked at Qingyuan Holy Son, looking as if she had discovered a new continent, "But senior brother, you sound like a scoundrel."

"..." Qingyuan Holy Son.

In the outer demon realm.

Under the vast expanse of the blood moon, the land stretched endlessly, seemingly boundless, but it ultimately had an end.

In a remote borderland far from the territories of the Nether Fiend and Yincha Demon Gods, beyond a chaotic void storm area, lay a hidden ancient battlefield relic.

Strictly speaking, the location of this ancient battlefield relic could no longer be considered part of the demon realm.

It was situated in a void.

Countless millennia had passed, and this void had long become a wasteland, with only the occasional drifting remnants of walls, shattered palace walls, and broken columns hinting at its past.

At the center of this wasteland floated an energy core with a diameter of several miles.

It continuously emitted terrifying energy, which transformed into black and red light, creating a ribbon-like effect in the twisted space, appearing both eerie and magnificent.

This was a [World Core].

A [World Core] refers to the spatial core left behind after a world collapses, containing extremely terrifying energy.

Such world cores are often used as power cores.

The one here was evidently once used as the driving force for some large creation, but now this place had become a desolate wasteland, with only this world core, serving as an energy source, still emitting vast and boundless energy fluctuations day and night.

Under the intense energy released by the world core, the space of this wasteland relic was extremely distorted, completely different from normal space.

In such an extremely distorted space, spatial movements and teleportation methods would be disrupted and restricted.

Moreover, within this twisted space, there were hidden fragmented space shards and creation fragments, constantly shuttling through the twisted space under the influence of immense energy, like hidden assassins ready to stab intruders at any moment.

If a weaker demon entered this area, they might not even know how they died.

Due to its danger, for countless millennia, this place had seen few demons, and even if a Demon King or Demon God occasionally passed by, they would detour far around it, never approaching, naturally failing to discover this relic.

But now, this wasteland, untouched by demons for tens of thousands of years, had welcomed visitors.

Amidst angry curses, a Demon God with silver hair and golden eyes, whose form closely resembled a human, appeared in the twisted space.

Judging by its appearance, it was the Nether Fiend Demon God.

Its massive demon wings flapped continuously, its form rapidly darting, dodging the swift attacks of artificial creations and space shards.

Dense Nether Fiend energy surged around it, repelling any space shards or artificial creations that came too close.

Yet, despite this, it still appeared very battered, with its clothes in tatters and its body covered in bruises and cuts, as if it had just escaped from a refugee camp.

There was no helping it; these artificial creations and space shards played by no rules. Sometimes, a creation shard seemed to be heading straight for it, only to be sent elsewhere by the twisted space midway. Similarly, some creation shards would suddenly appear nearby, seemingly out of nowhere, due to the effects of the twisted space.

Even with all its efforts to intercept them, injuries were inevitable.

After barely enduring several creation shard attacks, it flapped its demon wings, swiftly passing through a twisted space, and hid inside a relatively intact tower-shaped creation, finally letting out a slight sigh of relief.

The materials of these artificial creations, having survived in this twisted and chaotic space until now, were undoubtedly strong, and hiding inside provided relative safety.

However, even so, recalling the recent dangers, it couldn't help but curse, "Yincha, this damned place is unbearable for this Demon God."

"Nether Fiend, your willpower is growing weaker and weaker." In another broken tower-shaped creation nearby, the Yincha Demon God was curled up inside, and upon hearing this, it scolded discontentedly, "If you can't even endure this little risk, it's no wonder your strength has been declining over the years, with your territory shrinking again and again."

"I ****!" The Nether Fiend Demon God cursed, "I've been on your damn ship all these years, and now you want me to do this job?!!"

"Nether Fiend, Yincha, calm down, let's talk this over."

Seeing them about to argue again, another voice came from a nearby broken pipe-like creation.

It was a Demon God covered in black and red scales, with massive dragon horns on its head, exuding a fierce and domineering aura—the Dragonblood Demon God, Yuntai An.

At this moment, Yuntai An also looked somewhat battered. The hard black and red scales on its body were covered in scratches, with several places even dented, and a small piece of its dragon horn had been shaved off, clearly having suffered much from this space.

However, relying on its thick demon armor and fast recovery speed, it didn't mind much and even had the leisure to play peacemaker, "Nether Fiend, we've been working on this plan for over a hundred years. If you give up now, all our efforts will be in vain." Google seaʀᴄh ɴovelfire.net

"Dragonblood, it's not that I want to give up, but this task is simply thankless." The Nether Fiend Demon God said indignantly, "Look at this ancient battlefield relic, full of deadly dangers, with a void insect nest and a void dark crow flock entrenched here. I was just exploring that area and got chased by a flock of dark crows with no way up or down."

"This damned place is indeed dangerous." The Dragonblood Demon God nodded, clearly feeling the same, "But if we can bring back the Great Demon Lord, we can easily unify the demon realm, and then the three of us will surely be valued. With the Great Demon Lord's power, he can naturally help you re-condense the Nether Fiend True Demon Seed, and your lineage won't be cut off."

The Yincha Demon God also changed its tone, persuading kindly, "Nether Fiend, we've spent so much effort finding this lost ancient battlefield and so much time and energy figuring out the situation here. If we give up now... I'm afraid even if you go to join the Nine Hells, it will be too late."

The Nether Fiend Demon God's face showed a struggle, muttering, "Yincha, I really got on your damn ship, and if you can't bring back the Great Demon Lord, we'll be at odds."

"Don't worry, we will succeed."

The Yincha Demon God's expression was firm, its eyes burning with fervent light, its tone extremely fanatical.

Seeing this, the Dragonblood Demon God Yuntai An also howled a few words like a chicken being injected with adrenaline, but in his heart, he was filled with emotion.

Wang Shouzhe was truly wicked to the core, actually thinking of using Wu Mingyan to deceive the Yincha Demon God, making Yincha and the Nether Fiend Demon Gods willingly run a dungeon for him to find the Immortal Scripture.

Of course, to make the Yincha Demon God so convinced, it wasn't that simple.

As far as he knew, Wang Shouzhe had transmitted information to the Yincha Demon God many times, meticulously describing how "Wu Mingyan" controlled Wang Shouzhe, how he brought the Wang Clan under control through Wang Shouzhe, and what preparations had been made over the years to bring back the Great Demon Lord...

The level of detail in the information was such that it even matched the specific details of a particular action, including the resources and funds consumed.

Honestly, if he didn't know it was all a lie, even he would have believed it.

As for this ancient battlefield, the Dragonblood Demon God's memory was somewhat vague and distant.

He only vaguely remembered that a [Hyperspace Corridor] was built in this void, serving as a lifeline between the demon realm and the demon race's main base.

When the Great Demon Lord Chilong invaded the Shenwu World, he found that the human resistance was growing stronger and couldn't be subdued for a long time, so he contacted the demon race's main base for reinforcements.

A large wave of reinforcements arrived in the demon realm through this [Hyperspace Corridor], effectively suppressing the humans.

However, when the Holy Emperor of Shenwu discovered the demon realm's reinforcements, he tried every means to find out the reason and organized and mobilized three expeditionary armies to enter the demon realm, attacking the hyperspace corridor in the rear through flanking maneuvers.

Among them, the first and third expeditionary armies never reached the [Hyperspace Corridor], perishing along the way.

Only the second expeditionary army, after overcoming countless hardships, finally reached the hyperspace corridor and, after a desperate battle with no regard for life, successfully destroyed the demon race's hyperspace corridor.

As a result, a huge rift and conflict arose between the reinforcements' Great Demon Lord and Chilong Great Demon Lord, leading to a series of subsequent defeats for the demon race.

After experiencing a series of upheavals, defeats, and a break in civilization, that period of history in the demon realm had long been buried in dust, and there were probably no demons left who knew there was an ancient battlefield relic in such a remote and dangerous void.

Otherwise, no Demon God would have come to explore this relic for so many years.

Of course, perhaps some Demon God still had records of this place but dared not come to explore casually.

For a single Demon God force to explore here was too dangerous. Not only was the environment dangerous, but at some point, void insect nests and void dark crows had also settled here, both dangerous void creatures. The elite subordinates brought by the three major Demon Gods had been exhausted in repeated explorations.

"Strange, even the demon race knows little about this ancient battlefield relic. How did Shouzhe know its relatively precise location?" Yuntai An wondered to himself, "If not for this, this operation wouldn't have been so 'smooth.'"

In fact, Yuntai An was unaware of something.

Wang Shouzhe actually received a mission from the Spirit Artifact of the [Shenwu Army Officer Training Academy], named [Retrieve the Lost Relics of the Second Expeditionary Army].

Of course, this was just one of the tasks.

Any manual or Immortal Scripture that left the Officer Training Academy, after the owner's death, was customarily to be retrieved. However, the battlefield situation was ever-changing, and occasionally some legion commanders or marshals would fall outside, and the manuals or Immortal Scriptures couldn't be retrieved in time.

In such cases, the academy would issue [Retrieval] tasks, allowing students to retrieve them. Naturally, the academy would provide relevant information for retrieving manuals and Immortal Scriptures. However, with so much time having passed, the clues provided by the academy were not very useful now.

This task, named [Retrieve the Lost Relics of the Second Expeditionary Army], was also one of the most difficult tasks on the list.

Such an epic task, coupled with the task location being in the demon race's rear void, would have required the Wang Clan to complete it only after unifying the demon realm. Therefore, Wang Shouzhe thought it over and decided to "entrust" it to the Yincha Demon God.

Time quietly passed again.

The "task" of the three major Demon Gods reached a bottleneck.

The reason was simple: the place where the Second Expeditionary Army Marshal fell was near the core of the wasteland, now the fiercest competition ground between the void insect nests and the void dark crows.

The Yincha Demon God received intelligence from the Demon God projection left at the base camp.

After reading it, the Yincha Demon God slapped the table in anger, "Damn it, I don't want to do this either. Who does that Wang Shouzhe think he is? Isn't he just a 'puppet' controlled by my clone's great charm technique? How dare he criticize our actions as too slow, saying that if we don't hurry up, the yellow flowers will be cold."

That kid Shouzhe was really arrogant.

Wasn't he worried about his lies being exposed?

But at this moment, he could only continue to play the peacemaker, "Yincha, calm down. What exactly happened?"

"Something unusual happened again at the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss. The Great Demon Lord tried to break through but was slashed by that bitch Yun Tiange and retreated to the core of the Shenwu Heavenly Abyss." The Yincha Demon God said angrily.

"How could this be? The Great Demon Lord was too hasty." Yuntai An immediately showed a worried expression, pretending to be concerned, "But Wang Shouzhe is right. Since Yun Tiange has discovered the Great Demon Lord, if we don't act quickly, the situation will become very dangerous. If the Great Demon Lord's remnant soul is slain, everything will be over."

"How can we act quickly?" The Nether Fiend Demon God said irritably, "Our forces have been exhausted. Are we supposed to fight the insects and crows head-on? Don't forget, the insect queen and crow leader occupying the core position are both Demon God-level in strength. Once surrounded, in such an extremely twisted and chaotic space, we won't even be able to escape."

"No matter what, we must obtain the lost Immortal Scripture." The Yincha Demon God's mood also settled down, saying fiercely, "Otherwise, if Wang Shouzhe's bloodline aptitude doesn't improve, even if the Great Demon Lord returns, his strength will be diminished and unable to return to its peak."

"I have a plan..." Yuntai An said, "Why don't we take a risk and provoke both sides, using a strategy of driving wolves to devour tigers, letting the insects and crows completely tear each other apart."

With that, Yuntai An detailed the plan.

"Isn't this too dangerous?" The Nether Fiend Demon God felt a bit apprehensive.

"It is indeed risky, but it also has a high feasibility." The Yincha Demon God said fiercely, "Time waits for no one. For the sake of the Great Demon Lord, let's go for it!"

Several months later.

Amidst the pursuit of a group of void insects and void dark crows, the three major Demon Gods fought desperately and finally managed to escape the ancient battlefield relic, shaking off their pursuers.

At this moment, they were already in a sorry state.

The Nether Fiend Demon God had lost two arms, the wounds bloody as if gnawed by something. The Yincha Demon God had lost half a wing and a leg, while Yuntai An was bitten all over by insects, with hardly a piece of intact flesh, all in a miserable state.

Fortunately, their plan succeeded. Not only did they obtain the lost [Red Mist Immortal Scripture], but they also acquired an Immortal Artifact [Sun Shooting Immortal Bow], as well as several manuals and Dao artifacts from the army corps commanders.

With the powerful self-healing abilities of Demon Gods, although their injuries looked severe, they could recover with some time.

However, for the beauty-loving Yincha Demon God, such losses had already exceeded its psychological limit. Dragging its remaining half-leg, the Yincha Demon God gnashed its teeth, almost roaring with fury, "If Wang Shouzhe can't complete the task smoothly, I'll personally skin him!"

Unknowingly, another year passed.

In Shouzhe's Small Courtyard.

Wang Shouzhe leisurely sipped spiritual tea, and on the table in front of him were neatly arranged a [Red Mist Immortal Scripture], a Sun Shooting Immortal Bow, three manuals, four Dao artifacts, and a tattered army corps flag.

Any of these treasures would be enough to make people drool, yet they were all crowded on a single table, their shimmering treasures dazzling to behold.

Clearly, these were all sent back from the Yincha Demon God.

Reflecting on this mission, Wang Shouzhe felt a mix of emotions.

The planning for this mission was truly not easy, taking him over a hundred and fifty years. To make the Yincha Demon God completely believe in him, he had spun so many lies that he almost believed them himself.

But the harvest was good, and it was all worth it.