115: outsiders

At this moment, in the innermost region of the Cloud Sea Marsh, atop the Cloud Top Heavenly Palace, a white-haired man sat upon a cloud. Opposite him was a beautiful woman; these two were the only two Soul Transformation Stage powerhouses of the Yao Race—the Yao Sovereign and the Six-Tailed Fox Immortal.

They sat face-to-face in silence, but the atmosphere between them appeared very grim; clearly, something had happened.

The Fox Immortal could not sit still. She stood up and paced restlessly upon the clouds, her glamorous face clouded with anxiety.

"Alright, stop pacing around," the Yao Sovereign's voice was low and powerful, acting as a stabilizing force for her.

"Brother, it's not that I lack composure. It's just that these are troubled times. Devilish Qi has appeared in our Cloud Sea Marsh. Is it an external Devil Head trying to invade our Qingyun Realm, or have the lingering Demonic Cultivators within the Human Race joined forces with those hypocritical Ox-nose Taoists to attack my Yao Race? We must be on our guard."

Her every word was poignant, her voice like a cuckoo weeping blood. The two of them had worked so hard for the rise of the Yao Race, and now that they were finally seeing some results, they truly could not bear to see things go wrong. Otherwise, their very Dao Hearts might be compromised.

The Yao Sovereign waved his hand, signaling for her to sit back down. "Nothing has come to light yet; you mustn't lose your head. In my opinion, this Devilish Qi might truly be an accident and nothing to worry about. The biggest issue now is that the coordinates of the Qingyun Realm have definitely been discovered by someone with ulterior motives. We don't know how powerful the opposing force is."

At this, the Fox Immortal sat down, her mood calming slightly. "If it's as you say, Senior Brother, then I think this might be a good thing for us. No matter where they come from, the current World Master of the Qingyun Realm is still human. They will inevitably clash with the Human Race Cultivators."

As soon as she said this, the Yao Sovereign's expression changed. "Junior Sister, you're mistaken. Your vision is too narrow. No matter how we fight with the Human Race, it is an internal struggle within our world. Facing an external enemy, we must unite. Otherwise, if the Qingyun Realm falls, what use is there in competing to be the World Master?"

The Fox Immortal also realized her narrow-mindedness. Normally, she would have understood this—after all, no Soul Transformation Stage powerhouse is a fool. It was simply that the constant warfare with the Human Race had influenced her emotions, otherwise, she wouldn't have been like this.

"Yes, I was wrong. Then, regarding this matter, should we inform the Human Race?"

The Yao Sovereign thought for a moment and shook his head. "No. We will do nothing. If they can sense it, that's their skill; if not, they deserve what's coming. We just need to take our own precautions. It just so happens the front lines have stabilized as we digest our new territory. For now, until the outsiders reveal themselves, we must not act rashly, lest some unforeseen variable occurs."

The Yao Sovereign was also uncertain. He didn't know which world the outsiders came from, but he knew that small crack was only large enough for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment Cultivators to pass through. As long as they were all killed to prevent them from broadcasting the coordinates, the matter would be resolved. When that time came, having done something beneficial for the world, the world would reward him. Once his Luck improved, it would be of great benefit to both his cultivation and his quest for supremacy.

However, no one knew that the outsiders had already descended. But just as the Yao Sovereign guessed, the outsiders were merely five Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivators. They didn't dare appear on a large scale and chose to go into hiding immediately, which was why they hadn't been discovered.

Gu Yuchuan's secluded healing took seven days. Now, only two days remained until the opening of Linlang Pavilion. His injuries were finally fully healed. This incident had taught him a major lesson: even tribulations he had passed in his Simulations could go wrong. For instance, in the Simulation, he had easily handled the Artifact Refiners Alliance matter, but in reality, he had suffered such injuries. He would have to be more careful in the future.

He tidied himself up and returned to Linlang Pavilion once more. Over the past few days, the people in Linlang Pavilion had become somewhat unsettled. After all, Gu Yuchuan's regard for Linlang Pavilion was obvious to everyone; he used to stay here all the time. But now, he hadn't appeared for several consecutive days, which was clearly not good news. Song Chuan, in particular, knew some inside information and even wondered if the Great King had lost. However, he dismissed the thought—firstly, it was bad Luck, and secondly, if he had failed, Linlang Pavilion certainly wouldn't have remained safe.

Finally, Gu Yuchuan's return put everyone at ease. He was the core of this place and its sole master. His presence gave everyone a pillar of support. Song Chuan couldn't be that pillar yet; he was just an Advanced employee.

Gu Yuchuan didn't say much to the others. He called Song Chuan to a private room upstairs, and the two began to communicate about the opening day. They went over all the activities and potential issues many times, ensuring nothing would go wrong that day. Otherwise, once face was lost, it would be hard to get back, and it would make others lose trust in Linlang Pavilion.

Overall, however, Linlang Pavilion was developing very steadily, just waiting for the opening. Now was also the time they needed to be most vigilant; not a single mistake could occur, or all their previous efforts would be wasted.

Gu Yuchuan entered his secret chamber underwater. He thought to himself that with their current overwhelming promotion, twenty-some Spiritual Artifacts and twenty-some Top Grade Magical Artifacts might not actually be enough. If they sold out in half a day, it would look very bad; he couldn't have everything else be pre-orders.

Therefore, he prepared to rush the creation of a few more over the next two days. His Artifact Refining skills had become even more profound. Now, his speed in refining Low Grade Spiritual Artifacts was very fast; he could refine three to five a day. Adding seven or eight more over two days wouldn't be a problem and would definitely provide a significant buffer. After all, there wouldn't be too many Yao Generals who could afford Spiritual Artifacts.

During these two days, he didn't step out of the door at all, focusing all his energy on refining Spiritual Artifacts. He actually managed to refine a total of nine pieces before the opening. This left his face looking somewhat haggard, as refining Spiritual Artifacts was still a very exhausting task. He wouldn't do this in the future; once Linlang Pavilion stabilized, there would be fewer buyers. However, he needed to hurry with training Artifact Refining apprentices. That way, he could expand into the business of ordinary Magical Artifacts and give himself a rest.

By now, it was already midnight, and the next morning would be their opening day. Now that the moment had truly arrived, he still felt a bit anxious. No matter how much preparation was done, at a time like this, it was inevitable to fear that something might happen. If anyone dared to cause trouble, his gaze grew much colder; he would not show any leniency.