Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

Xu Yanliu answered without hesitation: "It's incredibly large, mainly because the current Netherworld Ghost Realm, which can suppress the Ash Demon Alliance, basically no longer exists."

"Is it that strong...?"

"At least in my memory, the only one who could keep that alliance leader in check was that elusive Netherworld Fire."

Alliance Leader?

Having caught the key words, Zhang Ruoxue first crawled forward a few meters, then, driven by curiosity, asked, "That alliance leader? The leader of the Jin Yao Dao Alliance? What realm is he?"

This question caught Xu Yanliu's attention. She stopped what she was doing, lowered her head, and pondered for a while: "I remember when I first left the Jin Yao Dao Alliance, he was already at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. Now, so many years have passed, maybe he has already broken through to the Void Realm."

"Dongxu?!"

Does that mean he's no longer in the same class as Chu Xin and the others from the Lantian Empire?!

To be honest, whether in the past or present, for Zhang Ruoxue, even the current peak of her cultivation is like an insurmountable mountain, and the shackles of talent are binding her steps forward.

Whether it's the Void Realm or the Nascent Soul Realm, for some reason, they both seem too far out of reach for her.

Perhaps even she herself doesn't think she can reach that level.

After all, Zhang Ruoxue was just an ordinary girl born in Jingyuan Village who was recruited into the Leiyu Sect because of her tiny bit of cultivation talent...

Unlike Fan Luo Kui, she was not born into a wealthy family, nor did she possess a unique physique or superhuman, rule-breaking cultivation talent like Jiang Yue Tian and Ye Yu Chan, nor did she have the musical skills of Senior Sister Yuan'er.

She seems to have nothing.

The surrounding weeds brushed against my skin, causing a slight sting.

"Compared to this—" Xu Yanliu, who was directly in front of Zhang Ruoxue, suddenly raised her voice, seemingly curious yet cautious: "Why do you want to train your body?"

"Why..." Zhang Ruoxue felt that Xu Yanliu's question was somewhat unclear: "Is it to make yourself stronger?"

"You get stronger, and then what?"

"Then……"

The image of Ye Yuchan unconsciously appeared before his eyes.

Standing beside her were her second senior brother, Jiang Yuetian, the man in black robes, Jiang Shaoguang, Lin Yuan, and Fan Luokui...

And that harmless young man who always wore a smile.

She spoke softly, "Just so I won't be a burden..."

……

Her answer did not elicit any further questions from Xu Yanliu.

The latter even remained silent for a while before letting out a somewhat embarrassed sigh.

"Just pretend I didn't ask."

After saying this, Xu Yanliu got up from her rather ungraceful crawling position and crawled out of the narrow hole.

Zhang Ruoxue followed closely behind, and finally, a moment of clarity dawned upon her.

Before us stretched a series of towering mountains. Unlike the shady forests we had seen before, the landscape was now lush and verdant, a vibrant symbol of springtime life emanating from the mountains.

The soft soil beneath their feet was faintly permeated with a rich spiritual energy, along with the delicate fragrance emanating from some spiritual plants. The two were surrounded by clusters of ordinary grasses and plants, among which were a few spiritual plants whose names could be recognized at a glance.

Overwhelmed by the breathtaking scenery around them, the black-haired girl involuntarily gaped, exclaiming, "This place... is completely different from what it looks like outside..."

"After all, it is one of the spiritual fields of the Jin Yao Dao Alliance, so they will naturally nurture it well."

Xu Yanliu squatted down and reached out to touch the soil on the ground—this soil contained many things that could promote the growth of spiritual plants, and even required cultivators to apply magic arrays to this soil after a while, or even infuse it with spiritual energy.

Zhang Ruoxue then glanced back at the path they had come from—

It was an excessively narrow path, only wide enough for one person to move forward or backward, and the exit of the path was an excessively small opening.

Heaven knows where this path came from. From the outside, it looks like an inconspicuous depression, but only upon close inspection can one discover that it is passable.

"Speaking of which, where did this road come from?"

Inevitably, Zhang Ruoxue asked the question that had troubled her for a long time.

Xu Yanliu chuckled in response: "Well, I used to be the one who took care of this spiritual field. Back then, I spent more than half a year digging out this little path so that I could sneak out to buy wine."

"Woof! (You really are a drunkard... Digging in the dirt for half a year just to buy alcohol is a bit much.)"

Xu Yanliu's gaze fell on the little teddy dog ​​that had popped out of Zhang Ruoxue's chest. She glared at him impatiently and then said coldly, "Why is this annoying guy here too?"

"Woof woof! (Who are you calling annoying?)"

Zhang Ruoxue, holding Zhang Xiaohan who was baring his teeth and claws, trying to scratch Xu Yanliu's face, smiled and said, "Xiaohan doesn't seem to want me to leave him in the shop, so I brought him out."

"This guy..."

She glanced at Zhang Xiaohan, whose face clearly showed his displeasure, then quietly circulated her spiritual energy, transmitting her voice directly into Zhang Xiaohan's ears.

This isn't some particularly remarkable way of communicating; anyone can do it if they manipulate their spiritual energy properly, it's just a bit complicated.

[Hey you, do you even know what's going on? Ruoxue probably doesn't know you've been targeted by that old bald monk, does she? Are you trying to get yourself killed by following me here?]

"Woof~ (If I let you be alone with my sister... or with this idiot, you'll definitely try to touch me again. As for that old bald monk, I'll just be careful not to let his demonic energy leak out.)"

"Then you'd better be careful. If you attract that old bald monk, I won't be able to save you."

"Woof~ woof woof (Don't worry, I'll be perfectly well-behaved; I'm just here to keep an eye on you)"

"Tsk, you dead dog."

Xu Yanliu pouted in dissatisfaction as her plan for a private time with Zhang Ruoxue fell through.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ruoxue, completely unaware of their conversation, looked at Xu Yanliu and Zhang Xiaohan curiously: "You two seem to have a good relationship~"

"Not bad my ass."

"Woof! (Not bad my foot!)"

Although they were speaking different languages, they surprisingly reached a consensus.

Scratching her head in slight distress, Xu Yanliu pointed to the mountains not far away: "In short, just look for the herbs you need around here. No one should be coming here for a while, since it's a special time now."

"Special...time?"

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought you in. There should usually be disciples guarding this place, but I guess they're all busy preparing for that matter now..."

These words left Zhang Ruoxue stunned; she didn't quite understand.

"Wait, wait, what about that matter... what special time?"

"You didn't know about what happened at the Imperial Pavilion?"

"Emperor... Pavilion?"

Seeing Zhang Ruoxue's blank expression, Xu Yanliu was now surprised.

She touched Zhang Ruoxue's forehead in surprise, and after confirming that the other was not out of her mind, she asked, "You didn't know that this has spread throughout the three great heavens? You and your friends must have come from some remote mountain village, right?"

Mountain gully?

To be honest, the location of the courtyard house really is in a remote mountain valley.

So Zhang Ruoxue obediently nodded.

Xu Yanliu shook her head helplessly and had no choice but to take on the role of commentator once again.

"The Emperor Pavilion is the one built by the descendant of Gu Tianren, the Martial Emperor who calls himself the overlord of the Kuntian Domain."

Zhang Ruoxue was taken aback and exclaimed, "Ah, that... I've heard of it!"

"So what happened to that?"

Xu Yanliu sighed, then looked at Zhang Ruoxue with a complicated expression.

"The Pavilion Master of the Imperial Pavilion—"

"It's time to change the player."

------

Did Lao Yu slack off for a while before the New Year? That's why his subscriptions and monthly tickets all dropped...

Sigh, last month's monthly pass count was truly touching...

Has this month...?

(Subtle hint)

68. The Compass and the Evil Asura Sutra

The succession ceremony of the head of the Imperial Pavilion—also known as the coronation ceremony.

Its form is somewhat similar to the succession of the Palace Master of the Northern Ice Palace, or the succession of the monarch of the Lantian Empire, but in truth, there are still fundamental differences between them.

The Northern Ice Palace has a long history, existing since the birth of the Far East Snowfield. Its first palace master was one of the twenty-one ultimate beings, whose status was almost equal to that of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth—Silver Frost Snow Ice. To this day, although the Northern Ice Palace's sphere of influence is not wide, its strength remains unfathomable.

The Lantian Empire is also known as the ruler of the Desolate Heaven Domain. Although it is considered a hegemonic force in the Desolate Heaven Domain along with the Northern Ice Palace, the Lantian Empire has a wider range of influence than the Northern Ice Palace and is the true ruler of the Desolate Heaven Domain in the eyes of the vast majority of people.

What about the Imperial Pavilion?

The succession ceremony of the monarch of the Lantian Empire is a grand event in the entire Desolate Heaven Domain. Every time the monarch is passed on and the monarch changes, the entire Desolate Heaven Domain will be shaken. Sects such as the Northern Ice Palace will go there, and it will even attract the attention of some families in the Extreme Heaven Domain, who will cross the Heaven Domain to offer their congratulations.

The Emperor Pavilion is different—

On the day the head of the Imperial Pavilion is appointed, it is the time of the Emperor's enthronement ceremony.

It's not just the Kuntian Domain.

Instead, it will be people from the three major heavenly domains, whether it be the Lantian Empire, the Beibing Palace, the heavenly families of the Jitian Domain, or even some of the twenty-one ultimate beings, who will personally attend.

Yes, the ultimate twenty-one.

After all, the Emperor Pavilion is one of the oldest sects in the three heavenly domains. Since its establishment, it has never failed to live up to the name of the Empress Wu and has almost always stood at the top of the three heavenly domains. Although countless sects and factions have emerged and risen in the process, and some have even been able to shake its vitality and damage its foundation, they have all been annihilated in the torrent of time.

Only the Imperial Pavilion has survived to this day.

This was a grand occasion.

Some people may never witness such a grand occasion in their entire lives.

"So all the people from the Ash Demon Alliance went to prepare for... that coronation?"

The black-haired girl named Zhang Ruoxue nodded as if she understood, squatted down, and carefully scanned the spirit field in front of her.