670: Chapter 690 Qingxuan's Disturbance!

"Investigate!"

Tianchen Immortal King, seated at the head, had yet to speak when below him, an old man with a resolute face and prominent brow bones spoke first.

This person was the Grand Elder of the Hundred Immortals Alliance, Cangxuan Immortal King, with a Late Stage Immortal King cultivation; he held great seniority and prestige within the Alliance.

His eyes flashed with sharp light: "Immediately withdraw all personnel from the external strongholds, especially those near the Chengyun Immortal Domain.

Command each hall to activate 30% of the alert level for the main altar's Demon Slaughtering Grand Array, and simultaneously dispatch Shadow Guards to infiltrate that world at any cost.

We must know exactly what happened there! Even if only a single word of news is sent back!"

On the other side, Shi Ji Immortal King also spoke coldly: "The Grand Elder is absolutely right. This matter is shrouded in strangeness.

Either that world contains a great Opportunity we are unaware of, or an ancient Forbidden Ground has been disturbed, leading to unpredictable changes.

Or, there is a force we don't know about interfering in the shadows, perhaps even a conspiracy targeting my Hundred Immortals Alliance!"

The other three Immortal Kings in the hall also nodded one after another, their expressions solemn.

The complete disappearance of the conquest army was a loss that could be described as bone-deep for the Hundred Immortals Alliance; even more terrifying was the sense of pressure brought by the unknown.

Tianchen Immortal King took a deep breath, suppressing his churning Qi, alarm, and anger, and said in a heavy voice: "We shall proceed according to the Grand Elder's words. Pass on my command..."

His command had not yet been fully issued.

"Report—!!!"

A shrill, distorted cry for an urgent report suddenly came from outside the hall, accompanied by a figure stumbling in.

"Alliance Leader! Disaster has struck! Three Immortal Stone mineral vein strongholds in the Heifeng Mountain Range on the western front were attacked simultaneously half an hour ago!

The one hundred and thirty-seven guarding Disciples, including an Early Stage Heavenly Immortal Deacon, have all fallen! All the mined Immortal Stones have been plundered!"

"Report—!! The Earth Fire Essence Gold mine in Chiyan Valley at the southern foothills has been destroyed! The guarding Immortal Lord Elder was heavily injured by a single palm strike; before falling unconscious, he only saw the figure of a giant man carrying a spiked club!"

"Report—!! The High Grade Magic Treasure merchant caravan heading to Liufeng World for trade was robbed in the Star Fragment Belt! The escorting Elder Wang was heavily injured by a single sword strike, the merchant ship was destroyed, and all Magic Treasures were seized!"

Bad news arrived one after another like an avalanche, and the attack points were spread throughout the Hundred Immortals Alliance territory—east, west, south, and north—with no discernible pattern.

But every time, they struck resource nodes or key transport routes with precision, acting ruthlessly and decisively, striking once and leaving immediately, giving the Hundred Immortals Alliance no time to react.

The grand hall fell into complete chaos.

"Who exactly is it?!"

"Is it the same group of people? How do they know our Alliance's defenses so clearly?!"

"Could it be that several rival forces have joined hands?"

"No! This style of action and this level of destructiveness don't seem like them. The Lower Realm side just had an incident, and now here..."

Cold light exploded in Shi Ji Immortal King's eyes; these precise multi-point attacks were so close in time to the mysterious annihilation of the Lower Realm conquest army that one couldn't help but make the connection.

Tianchen Immortal King's face was already so gloomy it looked like it could drip water. He suddenly looked toward the crowd below:

"Withdraw our forces and hold the main altar! Simultaneously, send someone to Wind and Snow Pavilion to ask them to take action and exterminate the incoming enemies!"

"Alliance Leader, do not be hasty!"

Cangxuan Immortal King raised his hand, his aged face regaining a bit of its usual composure, though a trace of solemnity remained deep in his eyes.

"Since the opponent chose this form of harassment instead of pressing in with a large army, they likely do not have the strength to win a decisive victory against us.

This is more like a test, or rather, an attempt to drag us into a state of exhaustion, consuming our strength and patience."

He paused and continued his analysis, his voice carrying a calculated certainty:

"Furthermore, although the opponent is strong, judging from the scale and results of the attacks, their top-tier combat power may not have exceeded the Immortal King level—at least none have appeared yet.

Otherwise, those Immortal Lord Elders would have had no chance of survival. They chose harassment precisely because they are not confident in breaking through our main altar's grand array in a direct assault!"

This analysis was well-reasoned and logical, causing many of the panicked Elders and Hall Masters in the hall to steady themselves slightly. Indeed, if they truly had overwhelming strength, why hide?

Shi Ji Immortal King also nodded slightly and said coldly: "The Grand Elder's words are not without merit. The opponent's actions might be due to wariness of our Hundred Immortals Alliance's true foundation, or they may be trying to lure the snake out of its hole.

If we lose our composure now, withdraw completely, or even go beg those vampires at Wind and Snow Pavilion, we will have to pay an unimaginable price!"

Tianchen Immortal King's brow was tightly furrowed as a struggle played out in his heart.

On one hand, he agreed with Cangxuan Immortal King's judgment that the opponent's strength likely did not exceed theirs by much.

On the other hand, the shadow of the silent annihilation of two Immortal Kings and an entire army, along with this precise and ruthless harassment, made him feel as if he were sitting on pins and needles.

"Pass the order: guard the vital points, maintain tightness within while appearing relaxed without. Withdraw personnel from strongholds that are too remote or vulnerable, and concentrate our forces to defend several core resource points and the main altar.

At the same time, maintain a relaxed posture to make it look like we haven't been heavily affected, so as to stabilize our vassal forces.

In secret, increase the Shadow Guards to uncover the roots of these harassers! Once identified, we will concentrate our power for a thunderous strike to accomplish the whole task in one stroke!"

"Furthermore, be ready to contact Wind and Snow Pavilion at any time. Should we encounter a large army invasion, immediately initiate the request for aid. Our annual tribute has never been short; if we truly reach a desperate situation, they cannot just sit by and watch."

"We obey the Alliance Leader's command!" A group of Elders took their orders and withdrew.

The war machine of the Hundred Immortals Alliance, after the initial panic, began to operate according to the new strategy.

On the surface, they seemed to have stabilized their position, only strengthening the defenses of several key locations; however, beneath the surface, undercurrents were surging.

Over the next few months, the Hundred Immortals Alliance tried to organize several encirclement campaigns, deploying troops and even dispatching several Immortal Kings to secretly oversee the operations.

However, the opponents were as slippery as loaches, always seeming to have the foresight to avoid their main forces and taking another fierce bite out of them in places they least expected.

And every time Shi Wanshan and the others succeeded, they fully displayed the fine tradition of never letting anything pass by, commanding their subordinates to scour the stronghold warehouses cleaner than if a dog had licked them.

As the months passed, beacons of war rose everywhere along the borders of the Hundred Immortals Alliance, strongholds were frequently uprooted, trade routes were nearly severed, Disciples were in a state of panic, and vassal forces began to waver.

An Early Stage Immortal King Elder finally managed to capture Shi Wanshan's movement trajectory during a meticulously planned ambush and struck out boldly.

However, Shi Wanshan seemed to have anticipated it; he didn't engage in battle at all, relying on the life-saving secret talisman bestowed by Gu Changge and his extreme utilization of the terrain.

In the instant before the attack landed, he dissolved into the Void Realm turbulence and vanished once more; the Elder's full-power strike only shattered an afterimage...

That Immortal King returned with an incredibly solemn expression, saying only one thing: "This youth is as cunning as a fox, a rarity in this world. More troublesome is that he knows us like the back of his hand."

Hearing the constant stream of bad news and seeing the daily emptying of the treasury and the low morale, the Hundred Immortals Alliance Leader felt a deep sense of exhaustion for the first time, along with a hidden sliver of fear.

The mist of the Lower Realm had not yet been cleared, and his own doorstep was already being sliced until bloody with a dull knife.

He knew the storm had truly arrived, and this was perhaps only the beginning.

Three months passed quietly.

Xuanhuang Great World, Cangyun World.

"Boom—!!!"

Five terrifying auras, as brilliant as the sun and as vast as a sea of stars, rose into the sky without warning!

In an instant, the drifting clouds above the Cangyun World were dispersed as immeasurable immortal light shone everywhere, Dao sounds rumbled, and golden lotuses emerged!

In the place of secluded cultivation, the Four Ancestors and Xuan Yangzi slowly opened their eyes, which seemed to hold the rotation of the sun and moon and the beginning and end of the Universe.

The majestic Immortal King pressure, like a primordial behemoth awakening, made the entire Cangyun World tremble!

In the Azure Profound Sect, within a single day, the Five Ancestors broke through their realms simultaneously and ascended to the rank of Immortal King!

Under the nourishment of the Taichu Immortal Road and the Cangyun World's Origin, the entire Azure Profound Sect and even its subsidiary forces had completed an earth-shaking transformation.

On the general's platform, Xuan Yangzi's aura was refined and deep as an abyss.

Behind him were the Peak Masters of each peak, core Elders, and legacy Disciples, all with soaring Battle Intent and rapidly advanced cultivation.

Below the platform was the core and most loyal combat force of the Azure Profound Sect, forming the central army and elites for this expedition.

On the flanks of the army and in the sky, another heart-palpitating force roared.

These were immortal birds and fierce beasts from the vast beast domain moved from the Myriad Beast Divine Mountain into the Cangyun World for Disciple training, which had been gradually subdued or had contracts formed with them by Azure Profound Sect Disciples during life-and-death trials.

Among them were even two great demons of the Immortal King realm with ferocious auras; they roared as Demonic Qi and immortal power intertwined, forming a barbaric and violent deterrent force.

And at the very front of the army was a group of figures with complex expressions, their auras faintly constrained by special Restrictions.

Leading them was Mo Chen Immortal King, with a calm face and deep gaze.

Behind him were those four Immortal Lords and over a thousand captured True Immortals, Earth Immortals, and Heavenly Immortals from the Hundred Immortals Alliance.

Their expressions were no longer merely defeated or ferocious; during this time, being in this Cangyun World where Spiritual Qi surpassed all heavens and Dao Rhyme was visible to the naked eye, they had personally witnessed the Azure Profound Sect's profound heritage.

Comparing it to their past scheming and resource struggles within the Hundred Immortals Alliance, a complex and difficult-to-explain sentiment had already sprouted in many of their hearts.

They were prisoners, but they also saw a vaster and more powerful path than in the past—provided they could offer a "token of allegiance."