Immortal Road.

late at night.

The Black Lotus Cult camp suddenly extinguished all its fires and lamps, plunging half of Blackwater Cliff into prolonged darkness, a stark contrast to the brightly lit Immortal Envoy camp on the other side.

To prevent them from launching a surprise attack in the dark, a cordon was set up here on high alert.

Little did they know, a clandestine operation was underway in the shadows!
"Are you ready?"

A figure asked a question to the person beside them, and a signal was subtly relayed back from behind.

"Everything is ready. The entire Blackwater Cliff's contingency plan has been fully activated and will erupt at 11:45 AM!"

A number of people then arrived in a blur, roughly numbering less than thirty, and the leader was none other than the old ghost of the scattered demons.

He came up behind Protector Feng, looked around at the familiar faces, and nodded slightly.

“Everyone who was supposed to come has come. These people should be enough to meet the minimum number required by the World Honored One.”

"Sigh, it's still too little."

Protector Feng glanced at the group. Nearly thirty Nascent Soul stage cultivators had come out of the outer void to deal with Layman Jinglian. Their role was not insignificant, but it wasn't as significant as he had imagined.

Because the battle between those two True Immortals had already exceeded the scope of ordinary Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

"Unfortunately, there are still nearly ten people following the Ancient Seeking Cult Leader. They are beyond saving, and there is no way to salvage them."

"They've been shirking their duties these past few days, so leaving them here to die alongside the Celestial Envoys is pointless; taking them out won't do them any good anyway!"

The two made no attempt to conceal their conversation, leaving the few remaining Nascent Soul stage cultivators of the Black Lotus Sect who had been summoned on short notice in their hearts, from doubt to shock!

What do you mean?
Backhand?

To be buried with them?

Are we about to evacuate?
They were all shrewd and quick to glean the startling truth from their words: something big was about to happen tonight, hence the last-minute mobilization.

But the group led by the Ancient Seeker was missing!

Is this a way of abandoning those troublemakers and slackers, using them as cannon fodder?
Upon hearing the news, their surprise quickly turned into unease, and they all remained silent, adopting a "not my problem" attitude.

Anyway, what does it matter to me if my fellow Daoists die but I don't?

Protector Feng didn't explain much, but led everyone through one area after another in the darkness, finally arriving at a secret tunnel chamber.

The red crystal core was spinning in a large pit below, slowly sinking into the ground, and everything seemed mysterious and extraordinary.

Someone finally couldn't help but ask:
"Elder Feng, this is..."

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask!"

The old demon ghost stood his ground, using his powerful prestige to intimidate all his allies, and then quietly watched the scene unfold before him.

The water demon of the Qinghe River, like him, sat there blankly without saying a word.

"We'll be leaving in less than 15 minutes."

Protector Feng kept track of the time, and his palms began to sweat slightly.

"Sect Leader Lin, we've lost You Meiji!"

Chi Hong ran back covered in sweat. Yu Ming Venerable, Han Hai Divine Lord, Jian Gu Han, and others opened their eyes and realized that the situation was not good.

Lin Shan raised an eyebrow.

"They're moving so fast. Their sudden move tonight means they probably noticed your unusual behavior during the day. We can't give them any more time to make preparations. Go find them right away!"

"Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we must find them for me!"

"Jian Guhan, go and inform those fellow cultivators in the Nascent Soul stage who are following us, and tell them to come and join us as soon as possible."

The group readily accepted the order and hurriedly left.

Before long, the other eight Nascent Soul stage cultivators rushed over in a panic. Seeing Lin Shan, they seemed to see their backbone and hurriedly gathered around him, asking questions all at once.

"Leader Lin, you haven't forgotten us after all!"

"What's going on? Why are all the lights off?"

"Where is Protector Feng? Where is Old Demon Demon? Where did all these people go?"

"Why is it so quiet along the way? I feel like the Black Lotus Cult has disappeared?"

"Master Lin, we're following you. Is there any way we can escape now?"

Lin Shan didn't have time to answer them one by one, so he gestured for them to be quiet and then sat down to wait.

In reality, they were using various means to secretly contact the outside world.

after awhile.

"News has come from Chi Hong's side: You Mei Ji has been found. Let's go!"

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. You Mei Ji?
Then everyone followed him closely, afraid of falling behind.

Jian Guhan led the way, winding through the darkness until they finally stopped at a secluded, hard-to-find dog hole.

Then, without hesitation, he crawled inside.

"Don't use any spells, just crawl in quietly. If you startle the rabbits inside, you'll be stuck here forever!"

Lin Shan gave a brief warning, then, seeing that some people wanted to enter using the Rainbow Transformation technique, he stopped them and went inside himself.

Left with no other choice, everyone lined up and lay down one by one.

Once inside, they suddenly felt a weight on their bodies as a layer of gray mist enveloped them, realizing that Lin Shan was casting a spell to conceal everyone's presence.

They traveled through the caves to reach the courtyard.

I was stunned by what I saw!

In the empty courtyard, there was only one person, her slender figure standing in the middle of an array of round pebbles, with a red crystal floating above her head.

The water in all the stone bowls around had turned blood red, as if some kind of ritual had just been performed.

The spatial rift above their heads was stretched into an oval shape, and the spatial storm inside violently blew, causing the entire spatial mirror to tremble. Small spatial fragments scattered in all directions like fine sand. In the darkness, a beam of light shone down from the ceiling, sparkling like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.

A beautiful, delicate body lay below, arms outstretched, quietly embracing this magnificent scene.

She parted her lips slightly, and droplets of blood flew out, forming a line in the air before landing in the crystal above her head.

Chi Hong, hidden at the edge, nodded slightly towards Lin Shan, clearly having been observing for some time.

Everyone was in position, lying down, unsure of what to do, and could only wait for Lin Shan's command.

"What is she doing?" "It seems to be initiating some ancient ritual. I guess it's related to the secret technique passed down by the Azure Lotus Fairy. This woman must have a special physique; perhaps she was the carefully selected chief priest back then!"

"The chief priest?"

Everyone looked over. While donating blood, Youmeiji was chanting incantations, as if she were actually casting some kind of spell. Her face gradually turned pale.

As she cast her spell, a regular upheaval began to stir in the surrounding space. The power silently stained the back of the space red and triggered a chain reaction affecting the inner and outer areas of the surrounding main world.

Chi Hong's face was grim, and he belatedly realized that he seemed to have understood something.

He became emotional and began to mutter to himself:

"Back then, I was the one who first cooperated with Fairy Qinglian. At that time, the Black Lotus Sect didn't even have a single powerful cultivator. If I hadn't helped out everywhere, how could we have achieved our current glory?"

"As a result, the rewards that Fairy Qinglian gave me were far less than those of that bitch Youmeiji. In fact, she often took extra care of that woman and even recruited her into the Black Lotus Cult before I joined, making her a higher-ranking member than me!"

"I've never been able to understand it. I did so much, but I only got so little in return, while she did nothing and was treated like a daughter by Fairy Qinglian!"

"Could it be that this woman has some special talent, or is she a once-in-a-millennium genius, or is she going to be used as a furnace to replace a body afterward?"

"I've thought of so many guesses, but I still can't figure out why he would treat her so well for no reason. Now I finally know, this woman is destined for a calamity, all for the sake of today's high priest."

His voice echoed within the barrier of the forest, trembling, filled with gritted teeth, and pulsating with excitement, deafeningly loud!

Everyone else stared wide-eyed, looking around nervously, unsure of what to say.

Lin Shan also realized for the first time that the reason why Chi Hong hated and was jealous of You Meiji was actually sown long ago.

The Qinglian Fairy's favoritism is obvious to everyone, and people are speculating whether she is an illegitimate daughter, a substitute, a furnace, an heir, or something else.

Who would have thought it was all for a secret technique!
It doesn't matter who recites this incantation, does it require some special physical condition?
They were all commoners from the lower realms, naturally unaware of the methods of the true immortals in heaven, let alone the intricacies of supreme sacrifices. Now, they could only look at Lin Shan with tacit understanding, awaiting his decision.

"Don't act rashly."

Lin Shan carefully observed the woman's movements, the subtle interactions they caused, and the changes outside the space, and a surge of emotion welled up in his heart.

"It's too late. Once this technique begins, it's impossible to reverse it midway. I speculate that it uses blood sacrifice to borrow force through a four-step deflection technique, similar to the resonance of a vibrating string, to incite a spatial storm and cause a devastating blow to the surrounding space!"

"Look at the spatial storm outside. It has been dyed red. Originally, it was just flowing downstream in the spatial passage, but now it is showing a tendency to crash into the main world."

"I estimate that everyone will soon sense that something is wrong. In less than a quarter of an hour, all the space around Blackwater Cliff will collapse under the pressure, causing a spatial storm to rush into the mountain and sweep through, destroying everything, both tangible and intangible, and wiping out all people!"

"It's too late for us to stop her now. Our only way out is to follow her and escape with the Black Lotus Cult's backup plan. Let's get out of here first..."

No one dared to reveal themselves, but they secretly observed as he had suggested, and found that, just as he had said, this secret technique was extremely vicious!

The passages inside Blackwater Cliff Mountain are intricate and complex, but they are long and narrow. If a void space storm were to enter, what difference would it make from a tsunami flooding an anthill?
Every single person inside, even those at the Nascent Soul stage, would surely die.

This would indeed wipe out the Celestial Envoy's army and win the war once and for all.

Meanwhile, the Black Lotus Sect withdrew its key personnel in advance and used the rear route to directly enter the outer void, assisting the Azure Lotus Fairy in besieging the Pure Lotus Hermit as soon as possible, which would turn the tide of the battle in one fell swoop!
At this very moment, the outside world began to sense the danger.

The Holy Lord of the Immortal Envoy faction was having a meeting with his high-ranking members when he suddenly noticed a significant change in the surrounding area. The icy plateau began to flicker and then exploded with a loud bang.

The Blackwater Cliff returned to its original state, but the domain array did not disappear. Instead, it destroyed and collapsed the key mountain passages, and even froze and blocked all the exits!
One message after another came from the rear, causing panic among the people in the main tent.

With their escape route cut off, coupled with the Black Lotus Cult's unusual behavior, everyone felt the aura of impending doom!

"Three grandmasters of formations, how much time do you have to break the ice seal on the exit?"

"Your Majesty, it will probably take at least half a day."

These people were all veteran masters of formations, and they were caught off guard and panicked when they suddenly encountered this situation.

The Black Lotus Sect has blocked our escape route; are they planning to perish together with us?

Someone in the audience immediately spoke up:

"Then why don't we just lift the spatial blockade and evacuate through the spatial passage if things get bad?"

"Absolutely not!"

Immediately, some people objected.

"We finally broke into Blackwater Cliff, established such a huge advantage, laid a trap, and forced the other side into a desperate situation. It seemed like we were about to annihilate the Black Lotus Cult. But what if we loosen the bonds and create an opening? What if they take this opportunity to jump into space and escape?"

Immediately, many voices of agreement arose from the crowd.

"That's right, this is very likely a trick by remnants of a cult, deliberately creating a false impression to deceive us, causing panic so they can take advantage of the situation and escape. We must not fall for it!"

In their view, even a seventh-order supreme domain-level formation couldn't do anything to them, as two of their formations were destroyed one after the other.

How can the Black Lotus Cult possibly turn the tide?

This place is a gathering of top experts from various holy lands; you could say they're practically invincible in this world! Even if Fairy Qinglian came in person, she might not be able to defeat such a lineup!
Not to mention the remnants of the defeated army before us, what can we use to kill them?

The various strange phenomena and even the earth-shaking tremors are nothing but deceptive tricks and illusions; how could they possibly harm a dignified Nascent Soul stage cultivator?

"You're all overthinking it."

Just then, the curtain was lifted, and a person walked in from outside.

"I just checked outside the space. This place is basically enveloped by a spatial storm. The spatial membrane is being squeezed and broken. It will completely collapse in less than fifteen minutes, at which point the entire Blackwater Cliff will be annihilated by the flood."

What? ? ?
Everyone was shocked; the newcomer was none other than Yuan Jian Dao Ren!
The other party immediately went out to investigate and quickly realized something was wrong, so they hurriedly returned to report the news.

The Holy Lord Haoran was startled and immediately took action to check, and indeed it was just as the Sword Daoist had said.

"Is the Black Lotus Cult trying to unleash a spatial storm and perish together with us?"

Nascent Soul stage cultivators have nothing to fear in the lower realms; any natural disaster is just a minor itch. But large-scale spatial storms are a different story!
Unlike spatial turbulence, spatial storms are true void-level disasters, just like the difference between a regular flood and a tsunami!
Once targeted by this thing in an enclosed space, even a Nascent Soul stage cultivator would face certain death.

"No, that's not right. I don't believe everyone from the Black Lotus Cult is willing to die with us. After all, we're just fighting for our own masters, so there's no need for such a self-destructive act. They must have a way out beforehand!"

"That's what I think too. To be able to unleash this void-level catastrophe, it's clearly a premeditated plan. How could they not have left a backup plan?"

"They might be evacuating right now. If we can catch up, we might still have a chance!"

"Quickly, order all troops to launch an attack and conduct a thorough search of all suspicious areas. Time is of the essence!"

The Holy Lord Haoran and the Sword Daoist immediately made the decision, and the Nascent Soul stage cultivators in the tents didn't care about anything else and rushed out in a hurry.

"Hey, where's Fellow Daoist Nirvana? I haven't seen him."

Lord Haoran suddenly remembered that the camp was not full when they were discussing things earlier.

The Sword Master Yuan Jian, who had just stepped out of the camp gate, responded:

"Oh, you mean the Daoist of Nirvana? I saw him just before I came in. He seemed to be leading his army and had already stormed into the enemy's territory before everyone else." (End of Chapter)