Immortality begins with meditation puppets

Mediation is a difficult task.

It takes a position that can convince both sides of the situation, the power to resist it, and the ability to fairly coordinate the interests of both parties to achieve this.

In the cultivation world, various forces are intertwined, interests are entangled in countless ways, grudges and killings are numerous, and conflicts and disputes are commonplace.

If left unchecked, not only will all realms unite to fight against the evil forces, but they will also start fighting amongst themselves, repeating the mistakes of the ancient eons.

Thus, after the ancient demonic calamity, the Yuanshi Sect stepped forward. With its status as one of the three major sects of the Dao lineage, its unparalleled strength, and its at least superficially fair approach to dealing with matters, it acted as a mediator for various disputes in the heavens and earth. In this way, it eliminated or suppressed the conflicts between the heavens and the realms, allowing the heavens and earth to maintain a semblance of stability and peace, so that they could concentrate their power to fight against evil.

The fact that Yuanshizong acts as a mediator is one of the reasons why he enjoys unparalleled prestige throughout the myriad realms; it is a testament to his ability and sense of responsibility.

This time, however, the mediator, Yuanshizong, was somewhat overwhelmed by the chaotic battle that took place in the Penglai Immortal Kingdom.

Within the Penglai Immortal Realm, the Heavenly Lord Guangxian, who had returned after leaving, was in a state of great anxiety.

He had just returned to the sect when the sect elders reprimanded him again, ordering him to quell the dispute as soon as possible, no matter what means or measures he used.

He understood the elders' meaning. Considering the bigger picture, both the Eastern King Sect and the Tianyuan Cultivation World were important forces in the fight against evil. Unnecessarily losing power to the other side would be a loss to all living beings. Moreover, if the war continued, the enmity between the two sides would deepen, and the relationship between the various forces under the Eastern King Sect and the Tianyuan Cultivation World would become even more irreconcilable. The originally united forces of the heavens might split from this point on, thus causing a great mistake. Therefore, someone had to stand up and stop them, and the Yuanshi Sect had no choice but to take on this responsibility.

The elders only gave instructions, but didn't tell him exactly what to do.

Furthermore, there is a major matter to be done within the Yuanshi Sect: the team that went on an expedition to the land of Dao's destruction has returned, bringing back their sect's most treasured artifact—the Pangu Banner!

This treasure is a primordial treasure that existed before the creation of heaven and earth. In ancient times, it was renowned for its unparalleled power in warfare. After it fell into the hands of their Primordial Ancestor, it accompanied him in subduing demons and monsters, laying the foundation for the sect's orthodox Xuanmen lineage and its majestic upper sect status. It suppressed the sect's fortune for many years, ensuring that the Primordial Ancestor's prestige endured. In terms of status, this treasure is even slightly superior to the Primordial Bell within the Primordial Sect.

Because the ancient demonic calamity was too devastating, even the Primordial Ancestor could not escape it. The Pangu Banner he held could not be preserved either, and it was lost in the Land of Dao Fall for many years. Generations of Primordial disciples organized teams to search for it in the Land of Dao Fall, but they all returned disappointed. It was not until the current Yuan Dynasty was restored and opportunities appeared frequently that all kinds of ancient gods appeared. Only then did the Pangu Banner fall back into the hands of their Primordial Sect.

This Pangu Banner cannot be compared to its complete form in ancient times. Its banner surface is now damaged to the point that only a few lines remain, and the banner pole is only one-fifth the length of its former self. Its power is incomparable to what it once was, but in the eyes of the disciples of Yuanshi, it is still a treasure of the world.

After obtaining this treasure, the sect activated the mountain-protecting formation, refusing entry to any outsiders on Kunlun Mountain. Led by several seventh-level weapon masters, all weapon refiners worked together to open the Heaven and Earth Furnace and melt all kinds of precious materials in an attempt to reforge the Pangu Banner. They dared not say that they could restore it to its former glory, but at least they wanted to prevent this treasure of the sect from being in such a desolate and miserable state.

We are willing to do anything to rebuild our sect's treasures and restore the glory of the Primordial Era. There are priorities, and while we must stop this great war in the Penglai Immortal Kingdom, can we just stop refining our sect's treasures?
Therefore, although the sect issued instructions to mediate the dispute, it was unable to allocate manpower to him.

With no soldiers or generals at his disposal, and only empty words, he, Guangxian Tianjun, dared not guarantee how convincing his arguments would be.

"By order of the leader of the Anti-Demon Alliance, you shall immediately cease hostilities and refrain from further fighting. Otherwise, the Alliance will severely punish you. At best, you will be expelled from the Alliance and stripped of all your rights within it. At worst, your sect will be destroyed and your lineage severed, as a warning to others!"

As the leader of the Anti-Demon Alliance, Guangxian Tianjun exerted pressure on both sides in the battle.

To his disappointment, his threatening words had no effect on the fighting sides, who were blinded by rage and ignored him completely.

Both the Eastern King Sect and the Tianyuan cultivation world understand that the Anti-Demon Alliance cannot do without them and is even more reluctant to expel them. As for things like destroying sects and severing lineages, even if the Anti-Demon Alliance had the ability to do so, it would never do it. The law does not punish the masses or the strong. These two groups are not easily punished by the Anti-Demon Alliance, so they no longer take their threat seriously.

Of course, it did have some use, though. At least the two sides stopped attacking Guangxian Tianjun, allowing him to safely observe the battle from the front lines.

The closer he got to the front, the more Guangxian Tianjun felt like he was being boiled on a hot pan, like an ant on a hot pan, anxiously pacing around in circles, but completely helpless.

The only solution that Guangxian Tianjun could think of at this moment, which was to ask Lingbao Sect and Taishang Sect for help, was to seek their assistance.

In his view, among all the heavens in the mortal world, only the Lingbao Sect and the Taishang Sect, which are on par with his Yuanshi Sect, are qualified to mediate disputes of this level. If they combine the strength of the three sects of their lineage and put pressure on the two sides fighting on Penglai Immortal Island, they may be able to suppress this dispute.

It's just a possibility, not entirely certain, because just now, Guangxian Heavenly Lord saw that Qinghe Marshal of Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom killed another Wu family Heavenly Lord after Wu Liang Heavenly Lord.

For the Eastern King Sect, the Refining Void Heavenly Lord was not some nameless nobody who could be easily discarded. He was a core member of the sect. If one of them was killed, the hatred would run deep, and if two were killed, it would truly be a fight to the death.

Meanwhile, the Penglai Immortal Kingdom, as the host, suffered immeasurable losses as its own kingdom became the battlefield. The other immortal kingdoms in the Western Sea, which were among the first to arrive to join the battle, were also slaughtered by the Eastern King Sect's immortal zombie army, their deaths as swift as cutting grass. They fell wave after wave on the road to charge, their eyes bloodshot with rage, and they could not be easily appeased! When the newly built Lingxiao Palace Puppet of the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom was remotely attacked by a seventh-level Dao Lord from the Eastern King Sect in the Purple Mansion Realm, who unleashed a Great Annihilation Divine Light, splitting the ship in two.

Guangxian Tianjun, who was waiting for the people from Lingbao Sect and Taishang Sect to arrive, felt a jolt in his heart, knowing that he was completely doomed.

Offending the Eastern King Sect and other immortal kingdoms of Tianyuan still allowed for some leniency, but the Kaiyuan Immortal Kingdom, known for its pettiness and inability to tolerate even the slightest loss, suffered such a great loss. After Su Qing emerged from seclusion, would he still forgive the Eastern King Sect?
"The chaos caused by the demons has not yet subsided, and now internal strife among cultivators has arisen. Over the years, our Yuanshi Sect has devoted itself to mediating conflicts among various parties, which has led to our current stalemate with the demons, and even a slight advantage, allowing these people to enjoy the opportunity of the Tianyuan Restoration. It is hateful that these people do not understand the will of Heaven and are not concerned with the big picture. They still want to fight over trivial matters and petty gains. This is something that our Yuanshi Sect cannot save, nor is it our fault!"

Seeing that mediation was hopeless, Guangxian Tianjun, who had been influenced by the sect and was well-versed in the philosophy of life of a major sect, immediately began to shift the blame, saying that the fault of the Penglai Immortal Kingdom war lay with both parties involved, and that they should also bear the consequences. He said that the Yuanshi Sect was watching with great anxiety, but they were powerless to reverse the situation and could not blame them in the slightest.

After shifting the blame, the world seemed much brighter. Having completely given up on resolving the conflict, the Heavenly Lord Guangxian put aside his anxiety and chose to be an emotionless bystander. Let them fight until the sky darkened and the sun and moon lost their light. He released the puppet fairy Qinse, played the zither and made music, and idly watched the clouds drift by.

When the Three Sheep Heavenly Lord of the Lingbao Sect (who, for his meritorious service in teaching his disciple, the wielder of the Immortal Sword—Tiger Might Heavenly Lord, was bestowed with a great elixir by the Lingbao Sect, and who, amidst the surge of spiritual energy during the Tianyuan Resurgence, consumed the elixir and broke through his cultivation bottleneck decades ago, advancing from the True Lord of the Transformation Realm to the Void Refining Heavenly Venerable, is another typical example of one person attaining enlightenment and all their relatives and friends ascending to heaven in the present world), and the Ancient Music Heavenly Lord of the Supreme Sect rushed over, what they saw was the completely lying Guangxian Heavenly Lord.

"How did things escalate like this? This won't do! If the fighting gets this intense now, what will happen if it continues? We have to intervene! If we don't, the intensity will be on par with the ancient Dragon and Phoenix Calamity!"

Even the usually indifferent Gu Le Tianjun, upon witnessing the scene in Penglai Immortal Kingdom, could not remain calm. He urged Guangxian Tianjun to hurry up and get things done, saying that the Yuanshi Sect usually handled these matters, but now that things had become serious, they could not simply abandon their responsibilities.

"Hey, does Wu Renxin have any humanity left? He dares to send the Immortal Zombie Legion to kill cultivators! I'll immediately send a message to the sect and dispatch Sword Sect disciples to teach this scoundrel a lesson!"

When the Three Sheep Heavenly Lord saw Wu Renxin of the Eastern King Sect fighting with his disciple Hu Dan, he immediately turned to the side. The sword cultivator was also quite decisive. Since the two sides could not defeat each other in the short term, the Lingbao Sect might as well take up their swords and step in to help the Tianyuan cultivation world defeat the Eastern King Sect. In this way, they could also reduce some of their losses!

Guangxian Tianjun, who had initially held some hope for these two sects, was unsurprisingly disappointed to see that they, like himself, had come alone without bringing any of their sect's manpower. However, he felt even more at ease and lay down, thinking, "If he doesn't care, and you don't care, then I won't care either!"

"Let them stir things up, let them stir things up, let them stir up all the heavens and myriad worlds to be in turmoil, let them let evil spirits run rampant in the world, then they will be happy, then they will be well-behaved!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Letianjun and Sanyang Tianjun looked at each other, unsure of what to do.

Anyone with a brain knows that this great war in the Penglai Immortal Kingdom should not be allowed to continue. The sooner it is mediated, the less damage will be done to the living beings. The longer it lasts, the more unfavorable it will be for the anti-demon situation in all the heavens and myriad realms.

Before they received the news, they thought that according to past practice, their two sects would come to support the Yuanshi Sect and stand up for them, and the Yuanshi Sect would then resolve the matter. However, to their surprise, the Yuanshi Sect chose to abandon its responsibilities today. The dispute mediation mechanism that has existed in the cultivation world from ancient times to the present has stopped operating, and they were immediately dumbfounded, and could only stare blankly at Guangxian Tianjun.

The fact that these three sects were helpless greatly disappointed the various non-participating forces who had been paying close attention to the situation of this great war, worried about the future of all the heavens and myriad realms, and hoped that the three sects of the Dao lineage could mediate.

"It's over, it's over, even the three major sects of the Dao lineage can't control it anymore?"

"What's so difficult about managing this? The Eastern King Sect was in the wrong first. Just punish them severely with three to five hundred billion spirit stones to quell the anger of the Penglai Immortal Kingdom and the Tianyuan cultivators, and the matter will be settled!"

"Easy for you to say. The Eastern King Sect is no less powerful than the three major sects of the Dao lineage, and they are notoriously stubborn. Getting them to admit their mistakes is harder than climbing to heaven. They have already suffered a great loss. Forget about paying compensation to the Penglai Immortal Kingdom; they probably want the Penglai Immortal Kingdom to compensate them with something!"

"Sigh, I really don't understand these great powers. They were living peacefully for only a few years, and before the evil spirits came out to cause trouble, they started making a ruckus themselves. Now, even if my Five Tigers Broken Blade Sect were to step in, we wouldn't be able to mediate this situation!"

"If this continues, I don't know how it will end. Do we have to let the Eastern King Sect destroy the Tianyuan Cultivation World, or let the Tianyuan Cultivation World destroy the Eastern King Sect before we stop? But no matter who wins or loses, the other side will be severely weakened. Without these two forces, how will we deal with the evil forces in the future!"

"In ancient times, due to the great calamities of the Dragon and Phoenix, the great calamity of the Witch and the Demon, and other similar calamities, the power of living beings was greatly diminished. When the demonic calamity arose, they tasted the consequences, resulting in rampant and uncontrollable evil spirits, the fall of saints and immortals, and the devastation of living beings. This lesson is undoubtedly profound. Why do these people not know to be alarmed and repeat the events of ancient times, allowing the evil spirits to have their fun!"

Many forces throughout the myriad realms are aware that this great war is extremely detrimental to the overall situation. Like the three major Daoist sects, namely the Yuanshi Sect and the Lingbao Sect, they all wish for the two sides to stop fighting quickly. However, they lack the power to mediate, and seeing that the three major Daoist sects have given up on mediation, they can only shake their heads and sigh with worry.

This is not the time for each to mind their own business. Now is a critical time when the evil forces have not been eliminated and the heavens are not yet out of danger. Any loss of power will require others to step up. The loss of these two forces, the Eastern King Sect and the Tianyuan Cultivation World, can affect the balance of power between the living beings and the evil forces. Therefore, they cannot help but worry and fear.

But worrying is useless and solves nothing. The fighting below continues, and both sides are constantly redeploying troops, resulting in increasingly heavy casualties and the situation becoming increasingly uncontrollable.

And just when everyone was in despair.

Above the Penglai Immortal Kingdom, five-colored rays of light suddenly filled the sky, auspicious spiritual light dispelled the bloodshed of the battlefield, and a divine being riding a Qilin descended to earth, intending to single-handedly end this great war that encompassed hundreds of sects and involved billions of lives. (End of Chapter)