Immortal Road.

A great battle has finally come to a slow end.

"Lord Haoran, this is not the end. I will never rest until you have finished with me."

With the fall of the last Nascent Soul expert of the Black Lotus Sect, the people of the Vast Holy Land breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally over.

The Holy Lord Haoran withdrew his Mountain and River Brush and spoke calmly to the several void vortexes above his head.

"Everyone, disperse. Your avatars falling is a matter of factional conflict, and your true forms dare not descend. Who are you trying to scare here?"

Several cold snorts came from over there, and then the vortexes dissipated unwillingly.

Each primordial spirit incarnation, aside from the one that comes with the primordial spirit, requires at least several hundred years of accumulation to create each additional one, taking immense human and material resources. They are the representatives of the primordial spirit as they walk in the world.

In this era where the true self is absent and avatars reign supreme, whoever has the most primordial avatars is the boss!

Having just joined the Black Lotus Cult, the loss of one of their avatars was like a piece of their heart being torn apart; it would be strange if they weren't in pain.

Especially for those who have recently broken through to the Nascent Soul stage, having only one avatar means that once they perish outside, they will become completely alone!

Unless the original body comes out to fight desperately, it will miss the golden age after the end of this Wan Hui year, when there will be an opportunity to 'ascend'.

Watching others rise to prominence and dominate the world, while he, a cultivator at the Great Spirit Realm, could only hide in a corner like a rat in a sewer, living in darkness and obscurity.

Who can bear this?
Not only that, some of them even hated the leader of the Xun Gu Cult who refused to help them in their time of need!
This person is asking for exorbitant prices and has an ugly face. If he really falls on hard times in the future, many people will definitely kick him while he's down.

"My Lord, news has come from over there: the entire Ice and Snow Alliance of the Inhumans has been wiped out."

A scout reported that, as expected, the two sides moved in sync perfectly, one in front and one behind.

"The incarnation of the Northern Star God Lord Yuan Nian was unable to escape and dragged the old demon ghost on the other side down with him. The scene was extremely tragic. The Black Lotus Sect probably suffered considerable losses as well."

Lord Haoran stroked his beard and nodded.

"What about the other two routes?"

"They were all great victories, with countless heads taken and the enemy severely wounded!"

"Well, if you look at it that way, we only lost the Ice and Snow Alliance, and the Black Lotus Sect didn't gain much advantage overall, so it's not a loss."

On the surface, it appears that one of our fingers has been severed, but the opponent has all four fingers injured!

Therefore, victory and defeat cannot be visualized. Moreover, some Nascent Soul stage cultivators have profound foundations and multiple avatars of their primordial thoughts, which may be dispatched to participate in the battle again.

As for the lower-ranking disciples, there are even more!
If that's not enough, just requisition from behind; there's as much as you need. The Holy Land's influence is no joke.

"What should be done with these people?"

This battle also captured many people, not to mention the Foundation Establishment cultivators, there were as many as three great supernatural beings!

"Lord Haoran, I beg you to give me a chance. I am willing to repent and atone for my sins!"

"I was blinded by evil spirits before, and I was deceived by the Fairy Qinglian. Now I finally know that the might of Heaven cannot be resisted. I am willing to repent and atone for my sins!"

"I know many secrets of the Black Lotus Cult, and I'm willing to tell you them all, just to save my life. If I could work under the Immortal Envoy, that would be even better."

Those in the Celestial Envoy camp laughed incessantly upon hearing this.

"A prisoner like you dares to dream of turning things around, negotiating with us, and working for the Celestial Envoy? You must be dreaming!"

"Hahahaha, how laughable! If you had died on the spot, we might have respected you more. Why would someone so afraid of death participate in a factional struggle? Don't you have any awareness of the possibility of dying?"

"Such opportunists are unreliable fair-weather friends. If they see the situation turning against us in the future, they might turn around and betray us again. Let's kill them quickly!"

"Yes, once an affiliation is established, it cannot be changed. Keeping them around is useless, and letting them go might be like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. It's better to kill them!"

Lord Haoran actually felt it was unnecessary, but since no one accepted surrender, he could only sigh inwardly.

This is understandable, because Layman Jinglian has performance indicators.

For every additional powerful cultivator killed, that's three Earth Spirit Pills!

The Earth Spirit Pill is a sixth-grade spiritual pill, and each one is priceless in the world. Who wouldn't want to obtain it?

These powerful beings won't thank us for saving us anyway. Instead, they'll join the Immortal Envoy's camp and compete with us for battle merits. There are far more monks than porridge to begin with. Didn't you see those people scrambling to kill everyone, slaughtering every last Nascent Soul cultivator, not even sparing those who surrendered?

It's because for every Nascent Soul cultivator from the Black Lotus Cult you kill, you get a Earth Spirit Pill!

Therefore, they are quite xenophobic, and for their own benefit, none of them are willing to let new people join.

The cake is only so big, how can it be enough for one more person?

"Fellow Daoists, our Haoran Holy Land is, after all, a Confucian school. If word gets out that we have killed prisoners, it will have a bad influence."

“We understand, then there’s no need for Holy Lord Haoran to take action personally; we are willing to do it for him!”

"no."

The Holy Lord Haoran quickly stopped them, finally shedding his hypocritical facade in the face of self-interest.

"What I mean is that it would be better to distribute the lives and deaths of these people!"

The three men were finally devastated, knowing they were doomed. They regretted not fighting to the death back then, and now they were fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others, feeling extremely aggrieved.

After a quick cleanup, the Holy Lord Haoran brushed the blood off the tip of his brush without leaving a trace and then informed the other two allied forces.

The Supreme Elder of the Shangxiao Sword Sect and the Scorpion Venerable of the Hunshan Sands have already led people to provide support, rescuing and assisting some of the low-level cultivators of the Alien Race. The main force of the Black Lotus Sect has already retreated.

“I basically wiped out the entire enemy force on my side. Only the leader of the Xun Gu Sect escaped with three primordial spirits. He has the Cangkun territory of the Ghost Valley Holy Land, so I couldn’t stop him.”

"The Seeking Ancient Master? This person is indeed quite powerful. On the other side, he is second only to the old monsters like the Scattered Demon Old Ghost and the Qinghe River Demon. It is said that Fairy Qinglian offered a high price of 600 incense offerings to invite him. He is highly valued!"

"I don't know why this boy collects incense offerings. I only discovered this when I was investigating his past. Over the years, he has been secretly sending people to search for antiques around the State of Lu in order to purify the scattered bits of faith power within them!"

Ok?
The Holy Lord Haoran was quite surprised, not expecting that the Ancient Searching Sect had this background.

"What is he collecting faith for? Will it bring disaster and harm to the world? Should we report this to the Celestial Envoy?"

"No need for now. He is merely collecting information and has not spread it among the common people. He has not triggered any Heavenly decrees, so I estimate that Layman Jinglian will not interfere."

"I heard that this boy has had a falling out with the Black Lotus Cult's Holy Maiden, You Meiji. This was reported by our inside source this morning."

Lord Haoran nodded slightly. He had also noticed something during the battle just now. Lin Shan had clearly been able to save the army from disaster many times, but he turned a blind eye and watched from the sidelines.

Finally, they dragged their feet on rescuing him, as if negotiating terms and demanding exorbitant prices. Anyone with eyes could see that they didn't get along with Chi Hong; rescuing him was probably just to get rid of him, otherwise they would have definitely just left.

"Internal strife within the Black Lotus Sect is the best outcome. The three of us must stand together and never repeat the mistakes of the Inhumans!"

"Haha, that's right, that's right."

"Once we get back, we'll see if Lord Beichen is willing to send another Yuan Nian avatar to join the battle."

"It's hard to say. Even if they come, they'll probably have to rebuild their army. By then, we might have already wiped out the Black Lotus Cult."

"Haha, that's great!"

Lin Shan led his men back to the Black Lotus Sect. At this time, the sect was deserted, as most of its members were still fighting outside.

When asked about the situation on the other routes, the guards did not know either.

"Master Lin, why don't we wait here for now? We should receive news soon."

"Okay, when Youmeiji returns with the team in a little while, you know what to do."

"I know, I know, I understand."

Chi Hong bowed and scraped, a complete change from his usual demeanor, as if he had been tamed into Lin Shan's dog on the road.

The other two Nascent Soul stage cultivators were similar; after witnessing Lin Shan's strength, they both held him in high esteem. After all, no one could say for sure that they might encounter danger in the future and would have to beg him for help.

"Don't be too obvious, just be yourself."

Lin Shan sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his attitude neither warm nor cold.

These people are just opportunists; they're doing this on a whim. Saving them is a way to impress the Black Lotus Cult, at least it looks respectable on the surface.

If I'm the only one who escapes back, Youmeiji will definitely take the opportunity to cause trouble, and I won't be able to explain it to Qinglian Fairy.

He was clutching something in his hand, something that Chi Hong had given him on the way, as a reward for saving his only primordial avatar.

Green lotus root

Quality: Tier 6 Spirit Item

Introduction: The root of a sixth-grade blue lotus was brought to the mortal realm by the immortal envoy, Pure Lotus Hermit, who was sent to grow and transform into a reincarnated form.

This item can currently be used medicinally to refine pills for breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage or for prolonging life. If a place with spiritual energy can be found, there is a chance that it can be replanted and survive.

Enhancement required: 256 points

Chi Hong told him that when he first obtained this item, he actually wanted to refine it into an elixir to help him break through to the Nascent Soul stage. However, no matter how much he searched and pulled strings, he couldn't find a grandmaster alchemist to refine medicine for him!
Most of the top alchemists in this world are located in the Pill Cauldron Sacred Land, and even Nascent Soul stage cultivators who want to have medicine refined by them have to wait in line! Not to mention Chi Hong, who only had the cultivation of a Great Divine Power at that time.

Seeing that the spiritual tide was about to erupt, Chi Hong could neither wait nor delay. After weighing the pros and cons, he finally joined the Black Lotus Sect and followed the Green Lotus Fairy to reach the primordial spirit stage.

He originally intended to keep this item as his trump card, to be his last bargaining chip in the struggle between the two immortals!

However, in order to survive, they have no choice but to hand it over as a condition.

Otherwise, after this Yuan Nian avatar perished, he would truly be left with no one to command, only able to hide in the shadows and unable to participate in this grand event, a thought that would only inspire despair!

As for the true form appearing
He didn't even dare to think about it, having seen wave after wave of primordial spirits and great supernatural beings perish on the battlefield.
If he were to encounter a ruthless opponent like the Holy Lord Haoran or Lin Shan when he reveals his true form, he would definitely not survive!
As for why the Pure Lotus Hermit deliberately left this half of a lotus root before leaving Bitter Beard Island, he was not quite sure of the reason.

However, it is certain that the enhancement panel has been verified, and there was no tampering or the presence of any fragmented souls of the Pure Lotus Hermit.

And because this object and its reincarnated Azure Lotus clone share the same origin, if it is cursed...
One curse and you're guaranteed to be caught!
"What a treasure! I never imagined that such a mere Chi Hong would hold such a secret, even Qinglian Fairy was kept in the dark."

He, Lin, will accept it without hesitation!

Pure Lotus Hermit.
He doesn't have any ideas yet, but what about the future? Who can say for sure?
Half a day later.

Youmeiji led the main force back, and also went to the other two routes to rescue many cultivators who were being chased.

It was only through the people who returned that they learned that the other two routes had also suffered heavy losses, but some managed to escape and were not completely wiped out.

Compared to Linshan, everyone's about the same, so no one should laugh at anyone else.

The path of Youmeiji was a resounding victory!
They gathered more than half of the Black Lotus Sect's main force, completely eradicated the Ice and Snow Alliance, and severed one finger from the Immortal Envoy camp.

The only drawback was that, as a pillar of the late-stage Nascent Soul realm, the Scattered Demon Old Ghost was dragged down by the opposing Beichen Divine Lord before his death, and they perished together.

"It's alright. Fellow Daoist Scattered Demon has already sent me a message saying that his other primordial spirit incarnation will arrive in a few days, so there's no need for anyone to worry."

Upon hearing this, everyone's spirits were lifted!

Clearly, in that battle, the old demon displayed great power and was able to kill the opponent's Holy Lord, which shows that he has become a figure of great importance!
"Upon hearing of this, the World-Honored One issued a special decree that any fellow Daoist who has sacrificed themselves once and then sends their primordial spirit incarnation to participate in the battle will have their reward doubled as an encouragement!"

Youmeiji surveyed the entire scene with a smile on her face.

"So everyone, don't be afraid of dying. The World Honored One will not let us sacrifice in vain. All of this has been seen. Several fellow Daoists who died in battle have also contacted me, saying that they will send new avatars to join the battle."

That's a good point, but whether the final payment will be made if a new incarnation isn't sent after someone dies in battle is anyone's guess.
Everyone's eyes flickered, but no one echoed or applauded, because another rumor about 'ascension' had quietly stirred up a huge uproar among the crowd!
"Master Lin, your army suffered a crushing defeat and heavy losses. Logically, with your Heaven-Reaching Treasure, you should have been able to cover your allies' retreat. Why did this tragedy occur?"

As expected, Youmeiji didn't say a word and took the initiative from the start!

It wasn't even a questioning anymore; they started accusing each other on the spot!
Lin Shan glanced at her disdainfully, as if the Heavenly Treasure had been given to him by her or something, and closed his eyes to rest without saying a word.

Chi Hong stepped forward first.

"Holy Maiden, you are mistaken. After all, the Haoran Holy Land also brought the Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure Mountain and River Brush, making it the most difficult force to deal with in the opposing camp! Leader Lin risked his life for us, returning time and time again to rescue us from the hands of the Haoran Holy Lord. The details of this are difficult to explain in a short time. We hope you will understand the situation better before assigning responsibility."

The other two, grateful for Lin Shan's life-saving grace, naturally chimed in to help.

All three were deeply grateful to Lin Shan and supported everything he did outside.

Upon hearing this, Youmei Ji flew into a rage!
"Chi Hong! Don't forget that you are now a protector of the Black Lotus Sect. How can you side with outsiders?"

“Holy Maiden, you’re wrong again. I’m not siding with outsiders. Leader Lin is one of us now. I’m just speaking out for what’s right.”

Chi Hong's unusual challenge left You Meiji bewildered.

"enough!"

At this moment, Lin Shan finally spoke, speaking slowly and lazily.

"You Meiji, you should first explain to us the secret behind the fact that there are only three ascension slots. What exactly is going on?" (End of Chapter)