Chapter 80

"Compared to the Seventh Prince, I am far inferior." Guchen Sha knew that although he had received the Heavenly Sacrifice Talisman, and had encountered many fortuitous events, he was not invincible. Many ancient emperors had received this talisman but did not become truly invincible, and many of them eventually fell. On the contrary, some deities have existed since ancient times, like the Maha God of the Barbarian tribes, who has witnessed the fall of countless emperors.

True strength lies within oneself, not in the Heavenly Sacrifice Talisman.

He had long understood this truth.

The sky was bright, and the sun rose in the east. On the square, all the princes had gathered except for the First and Second Princes.

"Imperial edict arrives, all princes kneel to receive it."

Lou Baiyue appeared, holding the imperial edict and reading it aloud.

All the princes, even the Seventh Prince who had cultivated the Crystal Jade Body, knelt down.

"Imperial decree: Today, you will emerge from seclusion and attack the Barbarian tribes to avenge the bloodshed of ten thousand years for the people. If you succeed, the merit will be immeasurable. I hereby decree that whoever conquers the territory, that territory will be their fief. Each of you has a military route map and must not fight among yourselves." The edict was concise and straightforward, spoken by the Heavenly Talisman Emperor himself.

The edict was put away, and Lou Baiyue waved his hand. "Everyone, set out."

Immediately, the armies of the princes, like long dragons, left the Heavenly Gate, then dispersed, advancing in all directions into the vast wilderness, thus beginning the grand curtain.

At the same time, deep in the wilderness, on a mountain thousands of miles away from the Heavenly Gate, a man and a woman stood and gazed into the distance, able to see everything at the Heavenly Gate clearly from such a distance.

"Senior Sister, Gu Tashen really sent his son to fight the Barbarian tribes. The Barbarian tribes have many experts and are aided by the demon races. Isn't he afraid his son will be harmed?" The man was dressed in ancient attire but was quite young, only in his early twenties.

"He wants to force out the forces behind his son. In recent years, he has allowed the princes to form factions and connect with both internal and external forces. Each prince has built a vast and intricate network of power. Without this opportunity to cleanse them, there would be unrest both inside and outside the court. I have long known his methods; this is just a minor strategy." The woman was wrapped in a plain white robe, with a cloud of mist floating beneath her feet, allowing her to stand in the air. No matter how fierce the wind on the mountain top, it could not even ruffle her clothes.

"Senior Sister, decades ago, Gu Tashen once went to the Eastern Wasteland to learn from our Heavenly Dao Sect. I heard that when he came, his cultivation was shallow. How did he reach such a level in just a few decades?" The man played with a jade pendant in his hand.

"Our Heavenly Dao Sect has led the way in the Dao of Immortals for ten thousand years, with ancient traditions. Every thirty-six years, we go into the secular world to find a large number of disciples with good fortune and excellent talent to enter the mountain as laborers, gradually advancing." The woman seemed to be recalling: "Gu Tashen entered the sect at that time. In the first year, he stood out and became an outer sect disciple. In the second year, he became an inner sect disciple. In the third year, he became a true disciple, a speed rarely seen in ancient and modern times. By the fourth year, he had cultivated the Thirteenth Transformation of the Dao and achieved the state of soul separation, becoming an outstanding true disciple. By the fifth year, he could match the elders of the sect. At that time, he was hailed as the greatest genius in the history of our Heavenly Dao Sect. By the sixth year, he had achieved immortality."

"He cultivated for six years, and some ancient demons and devils could not reach this level even after six thousand years." The man was shocked. "Senior Sister, Gu Tashen once studied under you. What kind of fortuitous event did he encounter? Even the direct descendants of gods could not cultivate to this level."

"I know him quite well." The woman's eyes were distant, but her aura grew more formidable. "But what he wants to do is to overturn the established order of the Dao of Immortals that has lasted for tens of thousands of years, to make these ordinary people equal to us immortals. The world has wise and foolish people, emperors and generals, all determined by karma and the laws of heaven. If this is overturned, the consequences will be unimaginable. Currently, he is fighting against the evil gods of the Barbarian tribes and has no time to interfere with the Dao of Immortals. But if he deals with the Barbarian tribes, it will be a great calamity for the Dao of Immortals."

"But, our Heavenly Dao Sect, along with the seventy-two orthodox sects that have been passed down since ancient times, have countless experts. Can they not deal with just one person?" The man frowned.

"His cultivation has reached the highest level of the Thirty-Six Transformations, the Self-Transforming State, surpassing many deities." The woman looked at the sky. "With his cultivation, becoming the leader of the seventy-two orthodox sects is not impossible, but he chose to be an emperor in the secular world. I don't know what he is thinking. The leaders of the seventy-two orthodox sects are thousands of times more noble than secular emperors. Even the small disciples of the sects are treated as immortals in the secular world, with the highest respect."

"These are all past events." The man said, "Senior Sister, this time we came out, the sect's intention is to prevent Gu Tashen from expanding his power. But now he has sent the princes to fight the Barbarian tribes, which is a righteous cause. All the sects of the Dao of Immortals are fighting demons and evil gods, which is the righteous path. We cannot possibly help the demons and evil gods of the Barbarian tribes to resist the armies of the secular world."

"Of course, we are not helping the evil gods. The sect's intention is to choose one of the princes and make him our own, to cultivate him as our representative in the secular world to oppose Gu Tashen." The woman said, "That person must have the same ideals as our Dao of Immortals."

"Who should we choose?" The man asked, "There are many princes. We must not choose a white-eyed wolf. This matter is entirely up to Senior Sister. I have only been in the sect for ten years, and I have never left the mountain. This time, Senior Sister brought me out, and I will follow your lead."

"You are quite obedient and not arrogant. You are more steady than he was." The woman nodded.

"These are the 'seeds' of the young generation of the Heavenly Dao Sect? Compared to Gu Tashen, they are a million times inferior." Just as the two were discussing, a voice came softly, "Qingyao, you have been the scripture elder of the Heavenly Dao Sect for hundreds of years. How could the seed you found be so poor?"

"Hmm?" The woman was on high alert, her face tense, as if she knew who was coming, "Li Wanlong, you actually emerged from seclusion."

Crack!

A piece of space in the air seemed to tear open, and a person walked out. He was young-looking, with arched eyebrows, wearing a golden robe, his hair flowing, tall and imposing, like a demon god.

"You are the master of the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, the holy land of the demon race, Li Wanlong?" The young man of the Heavenly Dao Sect stepped forward, "I have heard of your reputation. Do you want to break the agreement and attack me before the seed battle?"

"You? Child, you don't even have the qualifications to make me act." Li Wanlong smiled contemptuously, "Qingyao, in the seed battle years ago, your Heavenly Dao Sect had Gu Tashen, who alone killed thousands of our outstanding demon seeds. If your seed is at this level this time, it might be the end of your lineage."

"You!" The young man was filled with killing intent but did not dare to act.

"Li Wanlong, because of that incident, you violated the ancient agreement and pursued Gu Tashen, but he escaped. Later, when his cultivation was complete, he came to the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest to kill you. You fought a great battle but were defeated. If not for your daughter Kongque's plea, you might not have escaped death." Qingyao stated the facts.

"Your son, the son of the leader of the Heavenly Dao Sect, also died at the hands of Gu Tashen. It seems your loss was even greater." Li Wanlong surprisingly did not get angry, "Your leader could only endure the humiliation and did not dare to retaliate."

"Li Wanlong, you came here in this form not to reopen old wounds, right?" Qingyao lost her patience, "Do you want to ally with our Heavenly Dao Sect to deal with Gu Tashen? Don't even mention it. Good and evil cannot coexist. You are a demon, we are immortals. There has never been a possibility of cooperation."

"I came to tell you that while your Heavenly Dao Sect wants to support a prince, our demon race has already started to support one. We agreed not to confront each other directly to avoid being defeated one by one by Gu Tashen. We also don't want to have another seed battle. Let's preserve our strength, what do you think?" Li Wanlong said.

"This is a major matter. The seed battle is a rule established by the Dao of Immortals and the demon race for tens of thousands of years." Qingyao thought for a moment, "I need to report this to the leader of the sect."

"Very well, I will wait for your news." Li Wanlong's body exploded, turning into stardust, scattering like rain.

"Senior Sister, what level of cultivation has this demon reached?" The man's killing intent had not subsided.

"Don't ask too much." Qingyao's tone turned cold, "This time, I brought you out to train. We have chosen a reliable prince. You will stay by his side. You are the most outstanding seed of our sect in the past ten years. Don't you want to match Gu Tashen? Don't you want to prove that you are not a million times inferior to him, as Li Wanlong said?"

"Senior Sister, rest assured." The young man swore, "I swear I will surpass Gu Tashen, capture him, and hand him over to the sect for punishment."

"Very good, having such a lofty goal is the driving force for your growth." Qingyao took out a scroll, "This contains the latest information on the princes. I will test your judgment. Which prince is the most suitable for us. Understanding human nature is also a form of cultivation. Gu Tashen could cultivate to such a level in a short time, possibly because he has comprehended many profound truths in the secular world."

"Let me take a look." The man opened the scroll, his finger moving, and finally pointed to a prince's portrait...

In the depths of the vast forest, where there was no path, a group of over two hundred people was moving through the dense, humid jungle.

Rustle!

Liu Yu, who was walking in front, seemed to have touched something, and a rain of small, dense things fell from the trees, sticking to his armor.

It turned out they were blood-sucking lice.

These lice were only the size of grains of rice, able to find any tiny gap to enter, burrowing into the flesh and sucking blood fiercely. They also spread diseases, and many experts had died from these annoying lice.

Unfortunately, the Jiaojiao armor had no gaps, not even allowing moisture to penetrate. Wearing the armor, one was immune to all poisons, water, and fire. Even if the lice were ten times smaller, they could not get through.

Liu Yu's body trembled, and the blood-sucking lice were all repelled by the armor.

This movement was a bit large, and in the surrounding forest, many scorpions, centipedes, spiders, and even venomous snakes fell into the group, landing on people's heads.

In such a situation, even if the group consisted entirely of Dao Realm experts, they would be in a panic, but this group of people wearing Jiaojiao armor remained unharmed.

---

In the depths of the dense forest, where there was no path, a group of over two hundred people was moving through the humid jungle.

Rustle!

Liu Yu, who was walking in front, seemed to have touched something, and a rain of small, dense things fell from the trees, sticking to his armor.

It turned out they were blood-sucking lice.

These lice were only the size of grains of rice, able to find any tiny gap to enter, burrowing into the flesh and sucking blood fiercely. They also spread diseases, and many experts had died from these annoying lice.

Unfortunately, the Jiaojiao armor had no gaps, not even allowing moisture to penetrate. Wearing the armor, one was immune to all poisons, water, and fire. Even if the lice were ten times smaller, they could not get through.

Liu Yu's body trembled, and the blood-sucking lice were all repelled by the armor.

This movement was a bit large, and in the surrounding forest, many scorpions, centipedes, spiders, and even venomous snakes fell into the group, landing on people's heads.

In such a situation, even if the group consisted entirely of Dao Realm experts, they would be in a panic, but this group of people wearing Jiaojiao armor remained unharmed.