256: Chapter 255 Myriad Manifestations Sect

The Immortal Realm.

Vast clouds stretched for miles, casting a sacred and solemn light over the entire territory of the Zhao Immortal Sect, as if it would endure for eternity.

Immortal mountains and jade pavilions floated in the firmament, stretching for hundreds of millions of miles. Restrictions coiled like dragons, and Dao patterns covered the earth. This was the Wanxiang Sect, a top-tier Legacy that had stood in the Immortal Realm for eons.

Unlike those ancient Sects in the Immortal Realm whose members were born as Immortals and had resided in the Upper Realm for generations, the roots of the Zhao Immortal Sect were planted in the Lower Realm.

Within the Sect, all the high-ranking Old Ancestors and core power-holders were not born as beings of the Immortal Realm.

They all originated from the Canglan Cultivation World. Every one of them was an ancestor of the Zhao clan who had climbed up from the humble Lower Realm, surviving the near-death experiences of Heavenly Tribulation, treading over mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and breaking free from the shackles of the plane, step by step, to undergo Ascension.

The core figure who sat at the very top of the Zhao Immortal Sect, holding the reins of the eternal Sect's Foundation, was the current Sect Master—Zhao Xuanyuan.

He was the first ancestor in the history of the Zhao clan to ascend to the Upper Realm, possessing the greatest age, the deepest cultivation, and the furthest vision.

He started as a bottom-tier mortal Cultivator, endured the most terrifying nine-fold Ascension Heavenly Tribulation, climbed from a lowly ant to the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm, and single-handedly established the eternal Foundation of the Zhao Immortal Sect in Liuyun Heaven.

When others looked at the path to immortality, they only saw strength and victory; when he looked at it, he saw the turning of the tides. When others plotted for the Dao, they only sought immediate Opportunity; he laid out plans that spanned eons. The entire Zhao Sect could stand firm and steadily grow in the Immortal Realm—a place saturated with talent, filled with Sects, and plagued by endless slaughter—entirely due to Zhao Xuanyuan's heaven-reaching vision and supreme wisdom.

Suddenly, a Formation in a certain area activated on its own. A slender and upright figure shattered the outer sea of clouds and landed directly outside the Lingxiao Ancestral Hall.

It was Zhao Miao, who had returned.

"Zhao Miao is back? You stayed in the Lower Realm for a long time this time. Everything is fine with the clan down there, right?"

"Looking at Zhao Miao's calm expression, I assume everything in the Lower Realm is stable and fine. It must have been hard work for Zhao Miao; you'll need to spend quite some time stabilizing your strength now."

While in the Lower Realm, Zhao Miao's strength had actually been significantly suppressed. Moreover, since Spiritual Qi and Immortal Qi were different, he would need to convert and stabilize his strength after returning.

Facing the enthusiastic greetings of his fellow Sect members, Zhao Miao merely nodded faintly, but did not stop for a single step, nor did he say a word.

He still had important matters to attend to.

The news he brought back today might be enough to shake the future eternal Foundation of the Zhao clan and affect the landscape of both the mortal and Immortal Realms.

"Yo, they say a day apart feels like three autumns. Is it really true that one day in the Upper Realm is a year in the Lower Realm? Why have you become so cold, Zhao Miao?"

"( ˉ ▽ ￣ ～ ) Hmph~~, you still don't understand him. He's definitely pretending to be an expert by staying silent again. Don't ask anymore, or he won't be able to keep up the act."

Zhao Miao's mouth twitched, but he ignored all the pleasantries. With a calm and steady gait, he walked through layers of Immortal palace jade steps and stepped directly into the Lingxiao Ancestral Hall, which only high-ranking Old Ancestors were permitted to enter.

You cannot speak of ice to summer insects; talking to these bumpkins was useless.

Upon passing the inspection and stepping into the Ancestral Hall, a vast pressure accumulated over eons rushed toward him, weighing heavily on his shoulders and making his mind solemn.

Dozens of ancient, profound gazes that had seen through eons instantly converged upon him.

On the left, an old-timer Old Ancestor with white hair draped over his shoulders and a kind face spoke first, his voice ancient and long-drawn: "Zhao Miao, what has happened that you must report so hastily?"

After all, the Lower Realm was their ancestral land, and they still attached great importance to the situation there.

"Reporting to all Old Ancestors and the Sect Master."

"Within three months, the Daming Dynasty was destroyed, with only a few dozen of the Bloodline surviving."

Boom! This short sentence was like a thunderclap from the Nine Heavens, exploding in the quiet Ancestral Hall!

The dozens of high-ranking members of the Zhao clan, who had been sitting calmly with indifferent expressions, all turned pale instantly!

"What?!"

"The Dali Dynasty was destroyed again?"

"Zhao Hu, it is the Daming Dynasty."

Originally, the Zhao Imperial Dynasty was indeed called the Dali Dynasty, but after it was destroyed once and had a gap in its history, it was re-established with the help of Immortals descending to the Lower Realm and renamed the Daming Dynasty. Some Old Ancestors had ascended long ago, so they were in the habit of calling it the Dali Dynasty.

"Don't talk about useless things."

An Old Ancestor with a fierce and decisive temperament slammed his hand on the table and stood up. His Immortal Aura shook the surroundings; tables and chairs in the hall trembled, Immortal mist surged, and Dao patterns flared with light. Fury burned instantly in his eyes.

"Presumptuous! Canglan is the ancestral root of our Zhao clan, carrying the remnants of our clan's eternal Luck. Even if the plane is low-level, it still has the protection of the Heavenly Dao left by our Sect in the early years! Who dares to shake the Foundation of our ancestral land?!"

"Is it another Sect from the Upper Realm taking the Opportunity to suppress our Zhao clan?!"

"Do they really think our Zhao Immortal Sect has no one left after all these eons, that we can be bullied at will?!"

Several Old Ancestors stood up in anger one after another. Their Immortal Auras surged, and their presence became biting. Killing Intent rose in the hall, and rage filled the air.

These Old Ancestors were all iron-blooded figures who had fought their way out of the mortal world. They cherished their ancestral Origin the most. The Canglan World was their birthplace, the root of their rise, and the source of the Zhao clan's eternal Legacy. Hearing that their ancestral land had nearly been destroyed instantly touched the reverse scale of almost everyone present.

For a moment, the entire Ancestral Hall was filled with tension. Countless cold and sharp gazes locked tightly onto Zhao Miao, waiting for him to reveal the truth so they could hold someone accountable and launch a retaliatory expedition.

Facing the fury of the high-ranking members and the boiling Immortal Aura, Zhao Miao's expression remained as calm as water, showing no trace of panic or fear.

He bowed and said in a steady, measured voice: "Old Ancestors, please calm down. Listen to me as I explain!"

"Explain my foot! The country has been destroyed. Speak! Who exactly did this?"

Facing the towering rage of the high-ranking members, Zhao Miao parted his lips slightly, his expression complex. Finally, he slowly spat out two heavy words.

"The Dragon Clan."

Swoosh! As these two words fell, all the Old Ancestors in the hall stood up instantly. Their eyes were sharp, their expressions shocked, and their rage grew even fiercer!

"The Dragon Clan?!"

"Did they have an Immortal descend to the Lower Realm?"

Someone asked in confusion. They had a steady stream of people ascending, and although they rarely went down to the Lower Realm, they were very well-informed about the situation there.

With the current strength of Daming, the Dragon Clan alone could not have taken it down.

Zhao Miao opened his mouth: "Yes!"

"I knew it, I knew it! Damn Dragon Clan, do they really think my Zhao clan has no one?!"

The next second: "I'll go tell the First Emperor Wuhen right now and have the Yao Race hold them accountable."

Several Old Ancestors shouted in succession, their tone indignant and filled with Killing Intent. The Immortal Aura in the hall almost broke through the building and shook the sea of clouds.

Seeing that the Old Ancestors' rage was burning ever brighter, Zhao Miao quickly spoke up to stop them.

"Old Ancestors, calm down! This matter is not as you all think! The situation is like this..."

He spoke extremely fast, immediately beginning to explain point by point, clearly laying out the cause and effect to resolve this misunderstanding.

"This time the Dragon Clan descended to the Lower Realm, it was not deliberately targeting our Zhao clan. The cause of the whole matter stems from a youth who rose up in a Heaven-Defying manner in the local Canglan world—Yuan Chen. That's right, a youth; this is the key point. He is not even a hundred years old."

"This child broke through to the Mahayana Realm in just a few short years. Although he is in the Mahayana Realm, his combat power is explosive; he can fight a Golden Immortal."

"But it is precisely because he rose too quickly... blah blah, that he aroused the dissatisfaction of the Golden Dragon Clan. Fearing that he would be uncontrollable and cause great disaster in the future, they sent powerful members of their clan to the Lower Realm to capture Yuan Chen..."

"And then the people the Dragon Clan sent to the Lower Realm were beaten."

"So strong? Then how does he compare to you?"

"We didn't fight, I don't know."

"You still haven't said how the Daming Dynasty was destroyed!"

"Yuan Chen, well, since he is that strong, it's normal for him to destroy one or two factions, right?"

"Destroyed by Yuan Chen?"

"Yes!"

"You said you and Yuan Chen didn't fight?"

"Yes!"

"Did you go down there for a vacation?"

"Great-Granduncle, please don't be impatient." Following that, Zhao Miao truthfully reported his handling plan.

"The main thing is that Yuan Chen's talent is too powerful. Not only him, but now the Daming Fortune Spirit is also at his service. If it were one-on-one, I would still be confident, but fighting two at once, sigh..."

"Moreover, besides Yuan Chen, the most bizarre thing is his offspring... I might not be able to win, so it's better to befriend them and provide protection for the clan members in the Lower Realm."

Zhao Miao told everyone everything he had learned over the three months in minute detail.

As his voice fell, the entire Lingxiao Ancestral Hall fell into complete silence.

The air seemed to freeze. All the Old Ancestors had different expressions; some frowned and pondered, some looked confused, and some secretly felt disdain in their hearts.

After a few moments of silence, an Old Ancestor who looked middle-aged spoke first, his tone carrying a bit of disapproval: "And so you agreed?"

"A mere mortal junior, who has only risen for a few years, dares to negotiate a deal with our eternal Immortal Sect?"

"He wants our scarce Upper Realm resources, Heavenly Dao Opportunity, and high-level Cultivation Techniques to nourish the Lower Realm, but only offers empty promises to train descendants for our use? This is too arrogant."

"The Lower Realm plane has a limited Heavenly Dao, and the talent of living beings ultimately has an upper limit. No matter how strong a Genius is, it is difficult to transcend the shackles of the plane. What makes him so sure he can mass-produce Prodigies of the heavens? In my opinion, it is just a young man with a shallow vision, being arrogant and bragging."

Another Old Ancestor nodded in agreement: "That's right. Our Zhao Immortal Sect is full of talent and Prodigies; why do we need to rely on the descendants of a mortal junior? His conditions, which seem like an exchange, are actually a one-sided demand, of no benefit to our Sect!"

For a time, most of the Old Ancestors held a negative attitude, all feeling that Yuan Chen was too conceited and his conditions were too outrageous, not worth the Sect wasting Immortal Realm resources to bet on a vague and ethereal future.

Facing everyone's questioning, Zhao Xuanyuan's expression remained unchanged, his eyes deep as water. He did not immediately take a side and did not judge lightly.

He understood the mortal world too well, understood chaotic times too well, and understood Prodigies who rose against the tide too well.

The more someone emerges from a desperate situation, the more terrifying their potential; the more someone reaches the top without any backing, the more Heaven-Defying their Heart-Nature is.

He was silent for a moment, his gaze locked firmly on Zhao Miao, and he slowly spoke, asking the most core and fatal question.

"Zhao Miao, I will only ask you one thing."

"Is this child Yuan Chen truly so Heaven-Defying? Are those children under his command really all gifted with extraordinary talent, natural Dao bodies, and infinite potential, absolutely incomparable to ordinary mortal Geniuses?"

As long as the person is truly worth it, any price can be discussed; if the person is all show and no substance, all rhetoric is just empty talk.

Zhao Miao's expression became serious. Without a hint of hesitation, he nodded solemnly, his tone extremely determined, every word resounding with force.

"Reporting to the Sect Master, it is absolutely true."

"Yuan Chen's own talent is the best I have ever seen since I began traveling between the mortal and Immortal Realms. It far exceeds the vast majority of his peers in the Immortal Realm."

"And the group of descendants and juniors around him can be called a gathering of monsters. Without Immortal Realm Cultivation Techniques, without Heavenly Dao nourishment, without high-level resources, and relying only on the barren Spiritual Qi of the mortal world, they are born with Dao rhymes, possess Peerless Dao bodies, have divine Comprehension Ability, and have perfect Foundations."

"The talent of every child crushes the Geniuses of the Eastern Wasteland for ten thousand years. Looking at all the Lower Realms, they are one-in-a-billion peerless seedlings. As long as they are given enough Opportunity, orthodox Cultivation Techniques, and Immortal Realm nourishment, every one of them has the supreme potential to ascend to the Immortal Realm, traverse the heavens, and dominate a region in the future."

"Your subordinate guarantees this with my own Dao path and my position in the Sect; there is not a word of falsehood in this. Yuan Chen and his juniors are true potential for the heavens, definitely not frogs in a well or delusional people."

A guarantee with one's Dao path carried the weight of a thousand jun!

Ripples finally appeared in Zhao Xuanyuan's eyes. The solemnity dissipated, replaced by a faint smile of deep, far-sighted planning.

"Well done!"

He slowly scanned the entire room, his voice steady and thick, every word clearing away the fog, fully displaying the top-tier vision of an eternal Sect Master.

"Everyone, do not be too short-sighted."

"You feel that Yuan Chen is arrogant, that he is making demands with empty words, and that he is bragging; I do not deny this either. A youth who suddenly reaches the pinnacle of a world, feeling pride, exaggerating, and making conceited promises is human nature."

"We can even assume that he cannot provide any corresponding return at all."

"But so what?"

The tone shifted abruptly, and Zhao Xuanyuan's gaze was sharp, pointing directly to the essence.

"But peerless Prodigies, future combat power, and potential for the heavens are rare, once-in-a-millennium opportunities that are hard to come by!"

"Even if Yuan Chen can only cultivate thirty percent of them into Prodigies and ten percent into powerhouses, this investment is still a huge profit!"

"What's more, this person Yuan Chen is too special."

"A mortal Cultivator who can suppress his Realm and not ascend must have an incredible secret. Even if this person undergoes Tribulation and ascends to the Immortal Realm in the future, he will certainly not be mediocre."

"By investing first, befriending him first, and paving the way first today, we are binding a future Immortal Realm giant in advance!"

This thorough and profound analysis instantly awakened all the Old Ancestors in the hall.

"Sect Master is wise! It's just that the hatred of destroying the clan..."

Someone spoke up in a low voice: "They weren't completely destroyed!"

"That's right, then it's fine!"

The high-ranking members in the hall reached a complete consensus.

Zhao Xuanyuan's gaze was deep as he finalized the decision, his voice majestic, echoing throughout the entire Ancestral Hall.

"There is no need to worry about whether the return is equal, and no need to quibble over whether the youth is exaggerating."

"This person and this group of Prodigies are worth our Zhao clan's full investment."

"Pass on my order to immediately select Sect elites with meticulous Heart-Nature, low-key manners, and tight lips to enter the other worlds."

"According to what Yuan Chen said, gather intelligence from all sides."

Zhao Xuanyuan's eyes flickered. What Zhao Miao saw was only what Yuan Chen wanted him to see. Before he could even make a move, Golden Immortal Ao Li was taken down. Who could know Yuan Chen's true strength?

Even so, Yuan Chen had not yet ascended, obviously waiting for his strength to be sufficient before doing so. This could be seen from the fact that he asked him to gather intelligence on the situation in the Immortal Realm.

If this was the case, this investment was far more astonishing than imagined...

"Go, withdraw resources from the Treasury, and show our sincerity."