Immortal Road.

"???"

Youmei Ji stopped abruptly, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes, but she remained calm on the surface.

"Ascension slots? What ascension slots? What nonsense are you spouting!"

"Hehe, this is not what I said, but what the Holy Lord Haoran said himself. I am just relaying it and it does not represent my personal opinion."

Lin Shan smiled and subtly shifted the focus of the conflict, so as to avoid being constantly annoyed by You Meiji. Chi Hong and the other two nodded repeatedly, confirming that what he said was true.

Actually, many people present have probably heard about this, and they'll need to find out the truth sooner or later, otherwise everyone will be feeling uneasy.

Why did they risk their lives to join the Black Lotus Cult? Wasn't it all for the sake of ascension?
If there were no gimmick of ascension, wouldn't it be better to just join Layman Jinglian's side, fight on favorable terms, and accumulate merits?

If there were no core interests involved, who would risk going against the patrolling immortal envoy?
Youmei Ji was clearly flustered, but she dared not show any fear on the surface. She could only stubbornly pretend that she knew nothing at all, and even turned around and bit back.

"The Holy Lord Haoran is our enemy. He is clearly trying to sow discord on purpose. Can't he see through such a shallow tactic of alienation?"

As she spoke, she suddenly glared fiercely at Chi Hong with her phoenix eyes.

"The leader of the Xun Gu Sect failed in his duties and returned to escape punishment by spreading rumors about the Holy Lord Hao Ran. Why are you joining in the commotion? Don't forget how the World Honored One nurtured you. How dare you question her?"

Chi Hong was startled; he couldn't accept such a big hat.

“I did not question the World Honored One. Holy Maiden, you should speak from your conscience. I am merely relaying what the Holy Lord Haoran said. He said that anyone who tries to cross over illegally must evade the surveillance of the Celestial Sphere of the Immortal Realm. I am a rogue cultivator, so I don’t understand it. He also said that the number of people cannot exceed the Ascension Platform, and only four people can ascend at the same time in one attempt.”

"enough!"

Youmei Ji immediately stopped her and switched to secretly transmitting her voice.

"Are you crazy? Have you forgotten what I told you before? Do you still want to ascend? Since you know there are limited spots, why did you even say it? Do you want those bastards outside to fight you for a place?"

"No, it's not that I am, it really is."

Chi Hong felt incredibly frustrated. How could he not understand this principle? But Lin Shan was right beside him, and the other two primordial spirits were also eyewitnesses who clearly heard what the Holy Lord Haoran said.

He can't just pretend to be deaf and dumb, can he?

Moreover, the Nascent Soul stage cultivators who were the incarnations of his fallen Yuan Nian were all present and heard about it, and it would soon spread throughout the cultivation world.

Would I lie through my teeth? That would offend Lin Shan a second time. If I were sent out to fight again, I'd be in big trouble!
He knew that Lin Shan could decide the life and death of his avatar, but You Meiji could not.

More importantly, the Black Lotus Sect has four protectors, and there are only three spots available. You Meiji is definitely going to be saved, and the other two are both native members of the Black Lotus Sect. As the only outsider, the probability of being eliminated at the last moment is very high!
So even if it meant offending Youmeiji, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and keep going, feeling incredibly miserable.

"Alright, everyone, don't believe the rumors. The World Honored One will give you an answer about this matter later."

Youmeiji wanted to control the whole situation, but she was still too inexperienced. No one listened to her. If people didn't understand this, how could they be expected to work for the Black Lotus Sect with peace of mind?

Lin Shan openly became a troublemaker, since You Meiji already wanted to destroy him, so he was willing to become the shield chosen by everyone.

"You Meiji, if this matter isn't clarified today, do you really think it's possible for you to keep all of us in the dark any longer?"

"Master Lin, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business!"

"How have I been meddling in other people's business? I'm just trying to get justice for everyone so that they won't be upset and have trouble fighting in the future. Instead of trying to stabilize morale, you're trying to suppress this matter. That's the wrong thing to do."

Upon hearing this, the crowd began to discuss it animatedly, clearly dissatisfied with You Meiji's handling of the situation.

You need to clarify right and wrong, provide evidence, and uncover the truth, instead of telling us to shut up. This makes things even more suspicious, and the internal conflict within the Black Lotus Cult is escalating.

It seems there's a trend that it can't be contained!
The powerful beings at the Nascent Soul stage gathered together, arguing noisily, just like at the Dusk Market. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were haggling over leftovers!

Those powerful individuals were initially timid, but after seeing their predecessors act this way, they simply joined in the commotion.

You Meiji was extremely frustrated. She had talked herself hoarse but no one paid any attention to her. She hated that troublemaker Lin Shan to the core. She had just led the army to a great victory and thought she could gain prestige and merits, but who knew that all her efforts would be in vain!
If it were Fairy Qinglian, perhaps she could forcefully suppress it, but she's just a young girl, and among so many seasoned veterans present, who would listen to her?

"Alright, alright, everyone, there's no need to argue anymore!"

Left with no other choice, she pressed her arms down:
"Since you have questions about this matter, I will invite the World Honored One Yuan Nian out so you can speak with her!"

Sure enough, everyone immediately fell silent upon hearing that Fairy Qinglian was invited.

The point wasn't to argue; the point was to force Fairy Qinglian to show herself and explain things clearly to them.

The green pearl flashed, and a wisp of smoke rose as the Azure Lotus Fairy's primordial spirit awoke from its slumber.

"Venerable One, an urgent matter has occurred here, and I have no choice but to awaken you."

"What is it? My true form is still confronting Layman Jinglian in the outer void. What difficulties have you encountered?"

Ignoring everyone's eager gazes, Youmei Ji first reported on the process and result of the battle.

"The fourth campaign has come to a temporary close. My subordinates led the main force of the sect to a great victory over the Immortal Envoy's camp, annihilating the entire Alien Alliance, killing twelve Nascent Soul stage cultivators, twenty-three Great Divine Power cultivators, and countless Nascent Soul and Golden Core cultivators. This severely dampened the enemy's morale and halted their advance."

Seeing that she only talked about her great victory and never mentioned how many losses she suffered from the feint attacks on all three sides, many people on the field scoffed inwardly, knowing that she was trying to take credit, but they did not expose her.

This was the first time Lin Shan had ever seen You Meiji with such a face!
I've never seen him before, even though he was imprisoned in Xingfu for so long. You really can't judge a book by its cover.

"good."

The Azure Lotus Fairy's two-word comment greatly encouraged You Meiji, but she knew when to stop. After reporting the battle situation, she began to pay attention to the final battle in the heavens.

"I don't know when the conflict between the World Honored One and Layman Jinglian will end, but I have drafted a plan for the fifth counterattack!"

"There's no need to worry about the battle outside the heavens. The two of us will keep each other occupied and neither of us can escape. The real key lies with you. As long as you can achieve a great victory and completely eliminate the celestial envoy's henchmen, bring people up here to help me as soon as possible. If he is trapped in the encirclement, he will surely die."

This statement undoubtedly reveals some clues: the Azure Lotus Fairy and the Pure Lotus Hermit can restrain each other, but they cannot kill each other.

After all, they both possess the lofty and superior knowledge of immortals, controlling two reincarnated bodies at the Nascent Soul stage as if they were toys. It's normal that neither of them can defeat the other when these two little toys clash.

That's why there's a process of gathering powerful figures from this world to fight and compete against each other.

If one side wins, they can fly to the heavens to assist, and then they can surround and attack the enemy together to win. At that time, the winner will take all the spoils and share the spoils of the other side!

"You plan to launch a counterattack in the fifth campaign? Have we surpassed them in overall strength now?"

Faced with Qinglian Fairy's question, Youmei Ji was confident.

"Even if we don't overtake them, we're roughly on par. Moreover, many of our fallen fellow cultivators have expressed their willingness to contribute another Yuan Nian avatar to rejoin us, so our strength is gradually recovering."

"Very well, then do as you say, and don't disappoint me."

"Yes." Seeing that she didn't mention the matter of 'ascension', everyone was so anxious that they were itching to go up and say it themselves.

Some people turned their attention to Lin Shan, hoping that this troublemaker would continue to stand up for everyone and step forward as he did last time.

But to everyone's surprise, Lin Shan learned his lesson this time and remained completely silent, as if it had nothing to do with me.

nonsense!

I'm not ascending to immortality!
It's you who want to ascend to immortality, what does that have to do with me?
This leader only cares about incense offerings; everything else can be sidelined!
As for the previous commotion, it was entirely to stir up everyone's emotions. Did you really think I would help you fight for your interests and offend Fairy Qinglian again?

If anyone dares to challenge her authority again, Fairy Qinglian will definitely make an example of them without hesitation; she knows that much.

He suddenly became a coward, leaving everyone with a full bladder to urinate, which was extremely uncomfortable. They cursed him inwardly for being so slippery and failing them at the crucial moment, proving he was unreliable.

Seeing that Youmei Ji was rambling on and on without ever mentioning ascension, someone finally couldn't help but stand up and interrupt.

"Venerable One, Holy Maiden, there is something I am unsure whether I should say!"

Upon closer inspection, the person who stepped forward was an old woman with blue hair and an indigo face. Her skin was covered in eerie patterns, and looking closely at her would cause a slight dizziness.

With two fierce-looking pupils, and instead of legs, it landed on its tail; it was a powerful pillar on their side.

The Water Demon of the Qing River!

As the leader of the river demons in this realm, at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, even the Azure Lotus Fairy treated him with great respect and valued him highly.

"Fellow Daoist Qinghe, what do you have to say?"

"Fairy, I must ask on behalf of all my fellow Daoists: regarding your promised ascension, is there indeed a limit to the number of people allowed, as rumored?"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their expectant gazes toward him.

The Fairy of Green Lotus was very surprised to hear this.

"A limit on the number of participants? What makes you say that, fellow Daoist?"

Youmei quickly explained.

"Your Majesty, it's like this. It was that same Seeking Ancient Sect Leader who was ordered to delay the Haoran Holy Land's advance. However, the Haoran Holy Lord, in order to undermine morale, casually mentioned that there was a limit to the number of people who could ascend. After returning, he made a big fuss about this and spread it around, which caused panic within the sect. Everyone thought that our Black Lotus Sect was deceiving them and insisted on getting an explanation from you."

Hearing this, Lin Shan, who was paddling in the water nearby, felt a sudden jolt in his heart!
No, how can you blame this on me?
The Demoness's trick of diverting aggro is indeed powerful.

The terrifying gaze of the Azure Lotus Fairy struck again, staring intently at Lin Shan. The spiritual energy deep within her primordial consciousness writhed wildly, as if trying to fly back into the void!
This time was different from the last. He could feel that his avatar was really on the verge of collapse, and would automatically disintegrate if he relaxed!

Is this a warning, or just a show of force?
"Order it for me!"

Lin Shan used the Devouring Soul Prison on himself to firmly lock the spiritual energy of the void and prevent it from escaping.

A surge of power rose from the ground, and Chi Hong and the others, caught off guard, were all blown aside!
"Fairy Qinglian, what do you mean? Do you really think I, Lin, am afraid of you?"

Last time, I just kept quiet and gave him a warning, and he tolerated it.

This time, he didn't even wait for him to speak before resorting to this tactic. Even a clay figure has some temper; does he really think he wouldn't dare to rebel?

This unexpected turn of events went unnoticed by outsiders, who simply assumed that Lin Shan had suddenly fallen ill.

Everyone was shocked!

"Sect Leader Lin, why are you acting so impulsively? The World Honored One hasn't spoken yet! Quickly withdraw your supernatural powers!"

"Don't touch me!"

Chi Hong was startled. He had just switched sides and joined Lin Shan, but the guy had turned against him.

The hand that was pulling on his sleeve was shaken off, and he stood there stunned, not knowing what to do.

The others could only watch helplessly as the two sides were on the verge of war, seemingly at odds, wondering why things had suddenly turned out this way.

"Sect Leader Lin, I have treated you well, offering you terms that are superior to those of other fellow Daoists. Is this how you repay me?"

The Azure Lotus Fairy spoke calmly, as if she had done nothing and that her actions just now had nothing to do with her.

Lin Shan sneered.

"You've treated me well? The final payment hasn't even been made yet. Does making empty promises count as treating me well? I doubt it."

"Oh? You also know that the final payment hasn't been settled yet?"

The Azure Lotus Fairy showed no joy or sorrow, her emotions were perfectly stable, but her words were full of profound meaning.

"You're being so impulsive today, it seems you don't want it?"

"What, are you threatening me?"

Lin Shan raised an eyebrow, his eyes narrowed slightly, and his hand slowly clenched.

"You can understand that."

The Azure Lotus Fairy refused to yield an inch!

The numerous primordial spirits and powerful beings watching below were dumbfounded, not daring to utter a single word. They gasped in shock at the sight, never expecting things to escalate to this point.

The leader of the Xun Gu Sect has such a fiery temper, like a powder keg ready to explode at any moment. He even dares to openly defy the Fairy Qinglian.

Only a few people with high cultivation levels vaguely saw through the mystery just now and understood why Lin Shan was so sensitive.

The Qinghe Water Demon's blue eyes flickered slightly. Originally, she was the one questioning the Azure Lotus Fairy, but now that the situation had suddenly changed, she thought it was better to avoid trouble and didn't get involved. She just gave Youmeiji a meaningful glance.

On the surface, You Meiji was just as panicked as everyone else, but inwardly she was secretly pleased. She felt a surge of joy as she watched Lin Shan being forced to stand up and confront Qinglian Fairy.

"Go ahead and fight, the better! You want offerings of incense, don't you? I'll make sure you don't get your wish."

During the standoff, the one who suffered the most was not Lin Shan, but the three people he rescued.

The three of them barely escaped with their lives from the hands of the Holy Lord Haoran, and they all planned to follow Lin Shan from now on. But suddenly, their leader broke up with the fairy, which put them in an awkward position. They couldn't leave, and they couldn't stay either.

"Chi Hong, if I remember correctly, you are the commander-in-chief of this route, responsible for leading the army to fight against the Haoran Holy Land. Tell me what happened?" (End of this chapter)