525: Saint! Lu Tianyuan

Since Emperor Hao Tian's return, he had been in seclusion healing his injuries, and the various encounters in the Nirvana Realm had not yet had a chance to be mentioned to him.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Hao Tian's eyes suddenly darkened, and a chilling Killing Intent uncontrollably emanated, causing even the Queen Mother of the West to furrow her brows slightly. Yu Shang, who was following behind, turned pale and could barely stand steady.

Fortunately, he quickly realized his Loss of composure and reined in his Killing Intent.

Before he could speak, the Queen Mother of the West had already said, "It seems my husband encountered an opponent on his trip to the Nirvana Realm."

Emperor Hao Tian first nodded slightly, then shook his head. A rare trace of defeat appeared on his majestic face: "Indeed, I encountered an opponent... but that opponent probably didn't see me as one."

As soon as these words were spoken, both the Queen Mother of the West and Yu Shang showed shock. They knew how powerful Emperor Hao Tian was—even if the other nine Great Emperors of the Heavenly Court joined forces, they might not be able to defeat him. Yet, he said that his opponent did not consider him an opponent.

Could that person... be a Saint?

Emperor Hao Tian seemed to see through the mother and daughter's guesses and sighed, "Do you still remember Wang Xuan, who once saved Pan'er's life?"

The Queen Mother of the West frowned: "Husband, are you saying Daoist Friend Wang injured you? How is that possible? Although he is a Quasi-Saint, he clearly just had a Breakthrough not long ago. How could he injure you?"

"Heh heh..." Emperor Hao Tian's laughter was low, "If I and dozens of Fellow Daoists had not joined forces to Break through the boundary, I fear we would all have been left in the Nirvana Realm forever by him. His strength can no longer be measured by a Quasi-Saint. The next time we meet... I even doubt whether even a Saint's return could affect him in the slightest."

His tone was solemn, and his majestic face was clouded with gloom.

Afterward, Emperor Hao Tian recounted everything that had happened in the Nirvana Realm to the Queen Mother of the West.

After listening, the Queen Mother of the West's expression gradually turned grim.

"So, if that Wang Xuan intends to unify the Immortal-Demon Realm, I'm afraid we will be powerless to resist," she murmured softly.

Yu Shang, behind her, was even paler—she had once spoken disrespectfully to such a figure. Now she knew that even her parents, as the rulers of the Heavenly Court, were no match for him.

Emperor Hao Tian's expression was uncertain, and he turned to ask, "Tell me about the Qitian Sect."

The Queen Mother of the West could only temporarily suppress the shock in her heart and said in a deep voice, "The Qitian Sect is a force that rose after you entered the Nirvana Realm. Their evil cultivation methods are strange, and there are at least seven Quasi-Saints in the sect, with quite a few in the Great Luo Realm. However, they were all previously unknown, which suggests they had been intentionally hiding. "

"They use 'The Heavenly Court is corrupt, Qitian must rise' as their slogan. Wherever they pass, they refine countless Immortals into battle puppets, using ruthless methods. Their evil cultivation can erode Immortal power, confuse the mind, and is extremely difficult to remove."

"They have now occupied 70% of the Immortal Realm's territory. I suspect they had long premeditated this, and only launched their attack after you entered the Nirvana Realm. Therefore, I and the various Holy Lands dare not launch a full-scale attack and can only defend our respective headquarters."

Emperor Hao Tian nodded slightly: "You did well. However, the seven Great Emperors who accompanied me into the Nirvana Realm have all perished. Although only Silver Scale's true body and Severed Corpse were destroyed, the others only lost their Severed Corpse. But within a thousand years, they all need to stabilize their injuries and cannot make a move."

"No wonder when I asked them to come out of seclusion earlier, they all refused." The Queen Mother of the West's eyes showed deeper worry, "Then what is the plan now...?"

"I will go to Penglai and other Holy Lands. You... be ready to invite the Old Ancestor out at any time," Emperor Hao Tian mused for a moment, then said slowly.

When the Queen Mother of the West heard the words "Old Ancestor," her body stiffened, but then she slowly nodded.

In the following months, the Heavenly Court, the Three Great Sacred Lands, and the Buddha Kingdom finally dispatched a large number of masters to meet the Qitian Sect.

However, unexpectedly, the anticipated overwhelming victory did not occur.

As the battle progressed, more masters appeared within the Qitian Sect.

The two sides repeatedly pulled back and forth on the edges of their spheres of influence, and the Qitian Sect seemed to intentionally draw the battle into a prolonged struggle.

Until the seventh month after Emperor Hao Tian's return—

Emperor Hao Tian, accompanied by nine Quasi-Saints from the Three Great Sacred Lands and the Western Buddha Kingdom, officially attacked the Qitian Sect.

However, none of the Qitian Sect's Quasi-Saints appeared.

Large areas of Immortal territory were quickly recovered, but the entire Immortal Realm had lost nearly 40% of its Immortals due to the past century of warfare. Overwhelming Evil Qi permeated the heavens and earth, lingering like an un fading shadow.

Just as Emperor Hao Tian led the Saints to force the main force of the Qitian Sect to the edge of the Immortal Realm—

The Quasi-Saints of the Qitian Sect finally appeared.

And when they appeared, there were seventeen of them.

The leader, with black hair and grey skin, was a figure Emperor Hao Tian was all too familiar with—Great Annihilation Demon Venerable, Hao Duo.

Emperor Hao Tian's pupils constricted. He stared intently at the grey-skinned, black-haired figure, enunciating each word as he uttered the name that made him immensely wary:

"Hao! Duo!"

He had never imagined that behind the Qitian Sect stood the Great Annihilation Demon Venerable!

What shocked him even more was that the aura emanating from Hao Duo at this moment was even deeper and more obscure than when he was in the Nirvana Realm, carrying a sense of control that disregarded everything.

And the sixteen figures behind him each exuded genuine Quasi-Saint pressure, with two of them even only slightly weaker than him!

"Hao Tian, it's been a while." Hao Duo's lips curved into an eerie smile. His gaze swept over Emperor Hao Tian and the eight strongest Immortals beside him, including Holy Lord Hao Yun, the Queen Mother of the West, Holy Lord Yao Chi, and the World Honored One of the Buddha Kingdom. There was no surprise in his eyes, as if he had been waiting there for a long time.

"It seems all those who can fight in the Immortal Realm are gathered here. Good, it saves this Venerable the trouble of finding them one by one."

"Hao Duo! You instigated this catastrophe, slaughtering the common people, what exactly do you intend to do?!" Holy Lord Hao Yun's hair and beard stood on end as he roared, the three thousand white threads of his whisk rising, stirring the surrounding Spiritual Qi into a frenzy.

"Intend to do what?" Hao Duo chuckled, his laughter carrying a bone-chilling coldness, "Naturally, it's to lure you into a trap, to use your lives and the overwhelming Evil Qi accumulated from this slaughter... to help my true body Break its Seal!"

"True body?" Holy Lord Yao Chi's Phoenix eyes narrowed, catching the crucial point.

"Indeed." Hao Duo spread his arms as if embracing this bloody Immortal Realm, "You all know me as the Great Annihilation Demon Venerable, but you don't know that what stands before you now is merely an evil Severed Corpse I cut off! My true body was Seal in Guixu by that despicable Lu Tianyuan millions of years ago!"

"What? Saint Lu!?" The World Honored One of the Buddha Kingdom showed horror, and the Buddhist light around his body rippled.

The name Lu Tianyuan was a forbidden legend among the Peak powerhouses of the Immortal Realm.

It was said that he was the last Saint to briefly appear after the Primordial Great Saint's demise, and an existence who achieved Sainthood through the Dao of Creation. It was rumored that he had long since transcended this realm and his whereabouts were unknown.

However, the various Holy Lands suspected that he had been cultivating in seclusion within the Heavenly Court, but for some unknown reason, he was unwilling to emerge.

"He didn't get off easy either!" Hao Duo's tone turned cold, filled with bitter hatred, "To Seal my true body, he was also severely wounded by my true body and had to hide deep within the Heavenly Court, barely surviving by relying on the Origin of the Immortal Realm! You all stood by and watched the Heavenly Court rule the Immortal Realm, weren't you afraid of that Lu Tianyuan? Hao Tian—don't you know who is hidden in your Heavenly Court's Tianyuan Palace?"

Emperor Hao Tian's expression changed drastically.

The Heavenly Court itself was established by that existence, and even he only achieved his current cultivation because of that individual's intentional cultivation.

But he never knew the other party's true identity, only that... it must undoubtedly be a Saint!