Immortality begins with meditation puppets

"Brother Li, we still need to be cautious. Although the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom and the Yuanshi Sect are having some unpleasantness, we both know that the Yuanshi Sect has been gradually shifting its power to the Tianyuan Realm in recent years. With Su Qing's accumulated power in the Tianyuan Realm, it will be difficult for any matter in Tianyuan to bypass him and the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom."

If the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom wants to conduct trade with the myriad realms, it cannot afford to offend the Yuanshi Sect.

Both sides have ways to manipulate each other and each has something to ask of the other. This intertwined relationship makes it unrealistic to easily sever ties, especially since the threat of evil still exists. Before the evil is completely eliminated, the possibility of these two forces going to war is almost nonexistent.

I estimate that the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom and the Yuanshi Sect will eventually compromise and back down. Once they sit down to talk again, we've already offended the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom to the point of no return. In the future, we'll be disliked by both sides, and the Yuanshi Sect might even use us as a scapegoat for the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom!

Li Jingze, the leader of the Ziwei Sect, was extremely clear and firm in his attitude. Out of his own interests and for the sake of the face of the Yuanshi Sect, the leader of the Ziwei Sect, he and the Feihong Realm were determined to fight Su Qing and his affiliated forces of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom to the bitter end. However, Liu Sanpao, the leader of the Hongquan Sect, another major sect in the Feihong Realm, advised him to remain calm and restrained.

"Old Liu, what's wrong with you? Have you gotten so used to living a life of luxury these past few years that you've forgotten the days of living on the edge? It's just a dog, why are you being so fussy!"

Li Jingze said to Liu Sanpao with dissatisfaction. He was extremely unhappy with Liu Sanpao's hesitant and fearful attitude, because in their Feihong Realm, the division of labor between their Ziwei Sect and Hongquan Realm had always been very clear.

Their Ziwei Sect is responsible for making dirty money and maintaining good relations with other major sects in the heavens, such as the Yuanshi Sect.

Their Hongquan Sect is responsible for using underhanded tactics to forcefully suppress all sorts of people within the realm, preventing the lowly from rising up, and carrying out bloody revenge against any forces or individuals that threaten the interests of the Ziwei Sect, killing their entire families without hesitation.

In short, Hongquan Sect was nothing more than a dog raised by their Ziwei Sect, a knife that stabbed and a dog that bit.

It was with the support of the Ziwei Sect that the Hongquan Sect was able to grow from a small sect in the Feihong Realm with only Nascent Soul cultivators to a large and powerful sect that has gained prominence in the myriad realms.

Even so, they showed no gratitude. Now that they were asked to do something, they were still dawdling and making excuses. Li Jingze, the leader of the Ziwei Sect, was naturally unhappy and dissatisfied. He felt that this dog, which had been raised to be docile, was not as easy to use as before. He couldn't help but wonder if he should get a new dog.

Liu Sanpao did indeed have his difficulties. Admittedly, over the years, they had relied on the Ziwei Sect, and their disciples had been able to live a life of luxury and prosperity by committing all sorts of evil deeds. Now, their sect had even produced two sixth-level Heavenly Lords, making them quite a figure in the myriad realms.

However, times are changing, and sects need to progress. The path of relying on the Ziwei Sect to engage in shady dealings has come to an end for them. With their current size, they are already close to the size of the Ziwei Sect. At this point, it is clear that the Ziwei Sect can no longer continue to cede benefits to them, and may even have to be wary of them and take precautions.

Their Hongquan Sect was clearly not content to remain subordinate to the Ziwei Sect, and they understood that the development of the heavens in the present world was leaving them, the black cultivators, with less and less room to survive.

In the past, the operating logic of the myriad realms followed the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak. Although the various realms and sects could unite against evil, it did not prevent them from deceiving and scheming against each other for profit. After all, the myriad realms were originally just a projection of the Tianyuan Realm. Although the void seemed infinite, there were only a few places with abundant resources, and most of them were occupied by the three major sects of the Dao lineage, such as the Yuanshi Sect and the Lingbao Sect. The remaining resources depended on everyone's ability. After all, only those with ability deserved to enjoy the resources and could contribute more to the cause of resisting evil.

For example, the Hongquan Sect has been cracking down on cultivators from all walks of life in recent years, colluding with the Ziwei Sect and acting in concert. They do bad things without regard for their future, but they have also spared no effort in fighting against the Twelve Demon Realms and made great contributions. This may be the reason why the Yuanshi Sect turns a blind eye to their actions. In the eyes of the Yuanshi Sect, they are the kind of people who are flawed in minor matters but have a strong sense of righteousness, and can be completely forgiven and understood.

However, this operating logic of the myriad worlds did not work after the Tianyuan Realm was revived. As the only original world in the myriad worlds, when the Tianyuan Realm returned to its former glory, all the forces that had fled from Tianyuan into the myriad worlds wanted to return to Tianyuan.

Because there, there will be the most advanced and scarce resources for attaining enlightenment that will never be found in any of the myriad realms, the only opportunity in the myriad realms to prove the existence of an eighth-order Dao Ancestor, and the resources for attaining enlightenment that can support the cultivation of all living beings.

That place is the origin of the Dao, the center of all realms, and the future of all sects and forces!

The pulse of the times beats in the Tianyuan Realm. The Tianyuan Realm after its revival is the greatest opportunity for all the myriad realms and all living beings. Even the elder brother of the Ziwei Sect, the Yuanshi Sect, could not resist this trend of the times and chose to cater to the Tianyuan Realm, transferring its power and industries to the Tianyuan Realm for development.

This is a principle that even some minor rogue cultivators know, so naturally the Hongquan Sect would not be unaware of it either. In fact, during the first wave of the Tianyuan Realm's revival, when Su Qing opened the boundary barrier and allowed fourth and fifth-level cultivators to enter the Tianyuan Realm, the Hongquan Sect followed the trend, leading a group of disciples and carrying the black money they had accumulated over the years, and striding towards the Tianyuan Realm.

At that time, in Hongquanzong's view, every single one of the local forces in Tianyuan was incompetent and a bunch of poor devils. But if you gave them some good stuff, they might be able to buy their ancestral homesteads, so that Hongquanzong could easily buy up real estate in Tianyuan.

They dared not compete with the three major Daoist sects like the Yuanshi Sect and the Lingbao Sect for the prosperous lands of the Immortal Qin Martial Kingdom and the Xuanyuan Immortal Kingdom, nor could they compete with the Dongwang Sect, so they settled down in the Penglai Immortal Kingdom.

While they couldn't afford luxury villas, they could still afford to upgrade to a modest apartment complex. Before going, their sect had already planned ahead. The Five Poisons Sect of the Southern Wilderness, the Yin-Yang Sect of the Eastern Lands, and the Desire Demon Sect of the Western Sea—these sects were of average strength and had weak backers. Although their territories weren't top-tier blessed lands, they were still hundreds or even thousands of times more fertile than their own territory in the Flying Phoenix Realm. Therefore, they would have to use some means to either subjugate them or make them leave. Yes, that's how ruthless the Hongquan Sect was when dealing with those weaker than themselves. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned; there were even more ruthless sects in the Tianyuan Realm.

With Su Qing's order, all the forces in Tianyuan responded, and a decree supported by Tianyuan Heaven and Earth was issued, instantly shattering the grand dream of Hongquan Sect.

The Tianyuan Realm actually conducts a scoring and assessment system for forces entering Tianyuan. Those with high scores can be assigned to prosperous and thriving places such as the Immortal Qin Martial Kingdom, the Xuanyuan Immortal Kingdom, the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, the Penglai Immortal Kingdom, and the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom. As long as they obtain approval from the local authorities, they can settle down in Tianyuan. Those with low scores can only go to some barren and cold lands that have just been developed in the Tianyuan Realm, or to some dangerous areas that have been polluted by demons or are adjacent to places where demons are rampant.

What's infuriating is that their Hongquan Sect, a sect with upright roots and always fighting on the front lines against demons, was branded as a criminal by the Tianyuan Realm simply because they bullied some nobody in the myriad realms. On a scale of 100, they were given a paltry twelve points. What can such a score do? They don't even qualify to be exiled to the most remote part of the Eastern Wilderness and Southern Frontier. They are only fit to go to Wanfo Mountain and live among the demons near the Demon Cave.

The Hongquan Sect came to the Tianyuan Realm to share in the benefits of Tianyuan's revival, not to fight against evil forces. Therefore, after repeated protests proved ineffective, the Hongquan Sect chose not to enter Tianyuan for the time being and to continue waiting for an opportunity in the Feihong Realm.

In comparison, the Ziwei Sect received far better treatment in the Tianyuan Realm. Their only crime over the years was selling beast food, and crucially, they didn't admit to it, nor did anyone provide concrete evidence. As they were affiliated with the Yuanshi Sect, they had the advantage of having a powerful backer. When the Yuanshi Sect's forces were evaluated, they all gave them high scores. Even the forces representing the demon race and those representing small and medium-sized sects gave them low scores. Overall, they still had a passing score of over seventy points. Although they couldn't enter the second-rate blessed lands controlled by forces like the Yumo Sect or the Wanyao Kingdom, they could still make a living on a spirit island in the Western Sea cultivation world and cooperate with a martial kingdom in the Tianyuan Central Plains.

Without comparison, there is no harm, but once you compare, it is very painful. It was at this moment that everyone in Hongquan Sect realized that being a black glove for others was a dead end, especially being a black glove for Ziwei Sect, which couldn't handle things. It was even more hopeless. The Yuanshi Sect, which they had latched onto, had never said that they would also latch onto it.

In conclusion, Hongquan Sect, which has already cleaned up its act, started anew, and wants to reform itself to obtain normal treatment in the Tianyuan Realm, genuinely does not want to offend Su Qing and Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, who are of great influence in the Tianyuan Realm. They have no intention of getting involved in this operation against the Fire Egg.

What the hell? Your Ziwei Sect's business was stolen by Huodan, what does that have to do with our Hongquan Sect? Do you want our Hongquan Sect to be the scapegoat and take the blame for this mess?

Of course, Liu Sanpao couldn't show these emotions in front of Li Jingze. After all, they were still sharing the same pot of rice. Although they had the intention to part ways, their interests had been intertwined for many years, and it would take time to gradually separate them. They also had to consider the attitude of the Yuanshi Sect and the hidden strength of the Ziwei Sect. If they really turned against them, the Hongquan Sect would have to make full preparations.

"Alright, I'll make the arrangements. We'll follow the usual procedure, find a few interrogators, and thoroughly train everyone at Fire Egg Beast Food Shop to produce irrefutable evidence that they've endangered the safety of my Flying Phoenix Realm. Then, we'll give Fire Egg a strong dose of poison to make it sign and seal this evidence. In this way, we can confiscate all of Fire Egg Beast Food Shop's assets first, and then reserve the right to continue pursuing them, so that they'll never dare to do business in the vicinity of my Flying Phoenix Realm again!"

Liu Sanpao gritted his teeth, seemingly ready to take drastic measures against the Fire Egg Beast Food Shop, but Li Jingze of the Ziwei Sect was still not satisfied:

"That's it? What use are you to me? Why didn't you dare kill that fire egg? You have to nip it in the bud, do I have to teach you that? Besides, its divine beast essence is perfect for my cultivation of a magic technique. Its pelt and core are worth at least some spirit stones..."

"Is it necessary to go to such extremes? In my opinion, a slight punishment would be enough to prevent the Fire Egg Beast Food Shop from interfering with your sect's business in the future. In that case, the goal of returning to the sect would be achieved. Why kill the Fire Egg? If we do, we will have no way to turn back and will become completely hostile to the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom!" Liu Sanpao asked with a frown.

“So what if we’re completely hostile? Are you scared? You’re scared, but my Ziwei Sect isn’t. Su Qing may be able to command the wind and rain in the Tianyuan Realm, but in all the myriad realms, the Yuanshi Sect still reigns supreme. Are you afraid of offending Su Qing and him coming to our door?” Li Jingze glanced at Liu Sanpao and said seriously.

"What if Su Qing really comes knocking on our door?" Liu Sanpao pressed.

"If he really comes to our door, that would be even better. Once he leaves the Tianyuan Realm, Su Qing is just a sixth-order body cultivator and a Void Refining cultivator. Even if he has some sixth-order puppets, with the combined strength of our two sects, how could we not deal with this fiend in our Feihong Realm? We can capture him and send him to the Yuanshi Sect to confess his crimes and accept punishment!"

Li Jingze's eyes gleamed, revealing his true purpose only then.

Fire Egg Beast Food Shop, Fire Egg—these things are neither important nor unimportant.

He only valued Huodan's identity, knowing that it was Su Qing's old dog who had always followed him. If Huodan died, Su Qing would definitely not let it go, given his personality. If Huodan acted impulsively and left Tianyuan Realm, which had always protected him, and came to their Feihong Realm, wouldn't that be the opportunity for Ziwei Realm to make a great contribution to Yuanshi Sect?
Upon hearing this, Liu Sanpao also gasped. He knew that the Ziwei Sect wanted to show off in front of the Yuanshi Sect, but he did not expect that they would be so bold. Killing one fire egg was not enough, they also killed Su Qing, the Heavenly Emperor Walker, Human Emperor Candidate, Leader of All Heavens, and Holy Master of the Witch Clan.

Just hearing that string of names, you know he's not someone you can mess with. The Ziwei Sect must have gone mad. They may be mad, but our Hongquan Sect can't be.

Liu Sanpao secretly pondered to himself, deciding to immediately sever ties with the Ziwei Sect and send a message to the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, distancing himself as cleanly as possible to avoid being implicated by this mad sect. (End of Chapter)