It turns out that men aren't the only ones who can't stand being told they're incapable. Women are exactly the same!
Dark Tiger, the tiger general, felt his face twitch. A bead of sweat the size of a bean hung on his forehead, refusing to fall...
"My Lord, I am not speaking out of turn. That man is truly powerful. He calls himself 'Emperor' and was likely an Immortal Emperor of the Cangming Realm in the past. Furthermore, He has deep ties with the Spirit-Devouring Tribe, and the three subordinates under Him were likely at the Immortal King stage as well..."
Upon hearing this, the black-clad woman's anger dissipated. She pondered silently for a moment before turning around and heading back the way she came.
"Let's go!"
She left without a moment's hesitation.
Face? Anger?
Those were all vanity; only one's life truly mattered.
If this man, who had extinguished six life lamps in the Spirit Lord Hall, really was the reincarnation or host of a former Immortal Emperor of Cangming...
Then she was indeed no match for him.
Even if it was only a possibility, she had no desire to take the risk.
Besides, Dark Tiger had said the party was heading west, out of the territory of Jianzhou, so it was no longer her concern.
Even if the Ancestral Spirits above questioned her later, they couldn't blame her.
In that case, why look for trouble when she could avoid it?
As for the fall of the Small Spirit Lords, she would go back and write a spirit report to be sent through the Spirit Tower back to the Extinguished Soil to inform the Spirit Hall. She would then use the spirit source accumulated in the Spirit Tower to promote a few of her own dark spirit associates to take over the positions.
That way, there was no risk.
It was just that this bitter pill was hard to swallow.
Dark Tiger said nothing more, rising to follow her.
On the way back, Dark Tiger reported other pieces of intelligence to the Great Spirit Lord one by one.
He had learned from the surviving Grey Spirits that a few days ago, the Sky Gate of a lower realm had opened in a corner of this region. These people had ascended from a lower plane of Jianzhou.
At that time, Lingxi had immediately awakened the Death Spirits within ten thousand miles to launch a spirit tide against the opening Sky Gate.
There were more than just those four ascenders; word was there were several hundred.
The black-clad woman frowned, confirming again, "Truly several hundred?"
Since over fifteen thousand years ago, when the three Ancestral Spirit Forefathers broke the seal of the Boundary Sea and led the dark creatures to sweep through the Boundary Sea, the Nine Heavens, the Ten Lands, and the 3,000 Great Provinces...
They had advanced all the way to the banks of the spirit river, where they had stood in a stalemate against the Immortal Land for over eight thousand years.
The land beneath her feet had been fallen to darkness for nearly ten thousand years.
She knew nothing of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands; those places were too far from the 3,000 Great Provinces for her to have visited. But she was well-acquainted with the affairs of the 3,000 Great Provinces.
For nearly ten thousand years, while the upper planes had fallen to darkness, remnants of Cangming still hid in other planes—some in grotto-heavens, others in high-level spaces of Daoist resonance. Of course, some remnants had fled to the lower realms and sealed the Sky Gates to escape the dark reckoning.
Regarding this, the Ancestral Spirits' stance was clear: let nature take its course.
Wait for the Breath of Darkness to erode and consume them, then let the Spirit Lords of those jurisdictions finish the job.
As the Spirit Lord of the former Jianzhou, she had done this many times.
Every few hundred years or so, some living beings would inexplicably emerge beneath the grey Sky Gates.
Whether ascending from a lower realm or emerging from a grotto-heaven...
Without exception, these fellows became nourishment for the dark wasteland. Their life source returned to the Spirit Tower, serving as bricks and mortar for the Spirit-Devouring Tribe's dark cause of cosmic domination.
Yet, in nearly ten thousand years, there had never been a single place that produced so many people at once.
Especially from a lower realm.
For a world with its Sky Gate sealed for ten thousand years, even if it exhausted all its fortune, it could never produce several hundred immortals.
Not to mention the four who were already at the Heaven Immortal stage upon ascension.
This matter was far too bizarre and illogical.
Dark Tiger confirmed, "Yes, several hundred. That's what they all said. I investigated the scene, and the reports are fairly accurate."
The black-clad woman pondered to herself, "So, beneath my territory, there is a lower realm where living souls exist and the darkness has not reached? But for ten thousand years, how did they manage that?"
Dark Tiger remained silent. He didn't know the answer; it was one of his own perplexities.
The black-clad woman's eyes shifted as she realized something was wrong. She questioned, "Wait, if what you say is true, what about that lower realm? With several hundred people ascending, the Sky Gate must have opened. If it opens and doesn't close, the Breath of Darkness enters, and intelligence would be sent back. It's been almost half a month, yet the Spirit Tower hasn't shown a single sign. How do you explain that?"
Facing the interrogation, Dark Tiger replied calmly, "I found that suspicious at first as well. However, they said that after the ascension, before the Death Spirit tide could arrive, the Grey Spirits saw from a distance a youth shatter the Sky Gate with a sword of thunder."
Hearing this, it seemed plausible to her. If the Sky Gate was shattered from the outside, the lower realm would be like a doorway blocked by bricks.
As for the 'wall,' the Breath of Darkness had been undetected for ten thousand years, so it had clearly existed all along.
She thought that perhaps those four were indeed remnants of the old Cangming who had entered the lower realm. They must have been extremely powerful, using grand methods to hide a piece of the mortal world for ten thousand years.
Those who ascended today were likely not their true bodies, but clones or spirit bodies.
As for why they ascended and headed west?
Surely they couldn't be thinking of crossing the 3,000 Great Provinces, the Ten Lands, and the Nine Heavens to reach the Boundary Sea and restart the seal?
The Ancestral Spirit Forefathers were stationed there.
Even if they did think that, it was nothing but a fool's dream.
She continued her musings...
However, she soon noticed something off. Dark Tiger had mentioned a youth—not one of the four, but someone else. That meant there was another expert.
"A youth?"
Dark Tiger understood and explained, "Yes, a youth. Not any of the four."
The black-clad woman cut to the chase and asked, "Dead?"
Dark Tiger paused, then shook his head blankly.
The black-clad woman was no longer calm. She continued, "Then where is he?"
Dark Tiger looked in the direction they were heading and composed his words. "At that time, the four headed west, while the others followed the youth to the east. Several hundred Grey Spirits pursued them for tens of thousands of miles..."
The black-clad woman grew impatient and interrupted, "I want the result."
Dark Tiger's eyes shifted, and he said in a raspy voice, "Over twenty people survived, and that youth was one of them."
The black-clad woman's eyes narrowed, sharp as blades. "Over twenty people? Are they also at the Heaven Immortal stage?"
She asked a question that even she found preposterous.
Dark Tiger shook his head. "No. Aside from the youth who is a Mortal Immortal, the rest are all below the immortal stage."
Ascending below the immortal stage?
Several hundred Grey Spirits plus endless Death Spirits pursued them for tens of thousands of miles, yet twenty people escaped?
She understood the words, but when put together, she was baffled.
She didn't understand! She couldn't wrap her head around it!
She asked again in a fury, "Where is he?"
Dark Tiger swallowed hard and said deeply, "He hasn't been found yet."
The black-clad woman's cold eyes glared. "Useless!"
Dark Tiger lowered his head in shame. He truly was useless.
One group of four killed their way out of Jianzhou, and you didn't stop them?
Another group of twenty, whose strongest was only a match for a mere Grey Spirit, was charging straight toward their home base in the east, and you couldn't find them?
The black-clad woman lost her patience. She ordered, "Search! Dig three feet into the ground if you must, but find those twenty people. I want them found, dead or alive..."
She paused, then added with emphasis, "Preferably alive..."
Dark Tiger took the order. "Yes!"
The black-clad woman flew off in a rage. This time, she didn't bother to slow down for the newly recovered Dark Tiger.
After watching the Spirit Lord depart, Dark Tiger looked up at the surrounding Cangming. He gritted his teeth, a murderous intent flickering in the depths of his eyes.
"Damn it!"
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