108: Catching a turtle in a jar

In the Void Realm outside the Nether Prison Plane, an immortal ship engraved with coiling dragon flying patterns floated quietly.

Inside the immortal ship's main hall, seven Golden Immortals with profound auras sat around a round jade table. Wisps of tea fragrance rose from the green tea cups on the table as the group chatted while sipping tea, occasionally glancing at the projection of the plane suspended in the center of the hall.

The projection clearly showed the tactical movements of the battlefield in the plane below.

"Oh? These little fellows seem to have a bit more on their minds than in previous years."

Immortal Venerable Qimeng gently twirled a strand of shimmering hair with her fingertips. As her beautiful eyes swept over the plane's projection, a flicker of interest flashed in the depths of her gaze, her tone carrying a hint of amusement.

"Where is the 'more on their minds'? It's clearly your Disciples from the Nightmare Sect leading the way. Aren't you lot always the best at those sneak attack tactics?"

Immortal Venerable Lieyang picked up his tea cup and took a sip of the refreshing Azure Sea Green Lotus Tea. Without even lifting his eyelids, he retorted with a tone full of disdain.

The Cultivation Techniques of the Haoyang Sect favored the brilliance of the sun, and they always acted in an open and upright manner.

Forget the stealthy assassinations of the Nightmare Sect; even the Sword Cultivators of the Qingming Sword Sect, known for their sharp aggression, weren't as "straightforward" as they were.

In previous National Wars, the Disciples of the Haoyang Sect had suffered countless losses to the Nightmare Sect's sneak attacks, and Immortal Venerable Lieyang had long harbored grievances about it.

"Brother Lieyang, you've truly misunderstood Fairy Qimeng this time."

Beside him, Immortal Venerable Xuanji stroked his snowy-white beard that reached his chest. His gaze swept over Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple, who was reclining lazily on a soft couch, his tone carrying a bit of teasing.

This Golden Immortal of the Five Aggregates Sect had reached the Peak of mastery in Formations; even Immortal Venerable Mochen, famous for his offensive prowess, was quite wary of him.

"Oh?"

Immortal Venerable Lieyang was slightly startled and immediately released his Divine Sense to carefully scan the plane's projection.

Only after a moment did he realize, and he couldn't help but click his tongue. "Well now, even the Disciples of the Bitao Sect have learned some bad habits!"

The Seven Great Sects each had their own characteristics:

Qingming Sword Cultivators excelled at offense, often launching blitzkriegs in clusters;

Haoyang Sect Cultivators were like the sun in the sky, crushing everything with overbearing strength;

The Bitao Sect was inclusive and eclectic, always fighting steadily;

Yangquan Sect Disciples were skilled at playing both sides, always using the art of vertical and horizontal alliances to win over other Sects;

The Wuji Sect maintained strict discipline, with tactics that were varied and unpredictable;

Five Aggregates Sect Disciples were proficient in Formations, making them their foundation wherever they went, advancing step by step;

Only the Nightmare Sect Disciples were most skilled in stealth and assassination. Whenever a National War began, they would always gather in small teams to launch surprise attacks, causing headaches for the major Sects.

Although the Haoyang Sect ranked second in overall strength, it was the Sect that suffered the most from the Nightmare Sect's sneak attacks in previous National Wars.

But in this seven-nation chaotic war, not only were there many Cultivators from the Nightmare Sect and Wuji Sect forming teams for stealthy raids, but even the usually moderate and steady Bitao Sect had produced several small teams heading straight for other countries' war zones.

Among them was one team whose speed was actually faster than the Nightmare Sect's teams; it had already crossed the buffer zone and quietly infiltrated the area belonging to the Yangquan Sect.

"This has nothing to do with me; I didn't teach them that."

The corners of Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple's mouth curled up slightly as she shook her head, her tone indifferent. "Most of the core Disciples of my Sect are still staying put within our own war zone."

The identity tokens carried by the Disciples of the Seven Great Sects were completely different from those of other Family or Sect Cultivators or Loose Cultivators; the halo reflected on the plane's projection would be more vivid and eye-catching.

Yet, the team that first broke into the Yangquan Sect's area showed a pale gray halo in the projection.

It was clearly a team of about fifty Loose Cultivators.

Behind it, there were more than a dozen other teams of varying sizes rapidly advancing toward the Yangquan Sect's war zone.

"You all... do you really think my Yangquan Sect's territory is a soft persimmon that anyone can squeeze?"

Immortal Venerable Shuyang of the Yangquan Sect was a refined and elegant middle-aged Golden Immortal. He took a light sip from his tea cup, his tone calm but carrying an unquestionable confidence. "After suffering so many losses, one should eventually learn their lesson and make some progress."

"Everyone, let us just wait and see."

Immortal Emperor Lingtian sat in the main seat and smiled indifferently. Then, changing the subject, he turned his gaze to Fairy Qinglian, his expression becoming solemn. "Fairy Qinglian, there is something we have been curious about for a long time... Which Senior left behind that Golden Immortals Cave Mansion that appeared in the Yaoxing Sea?"

The Bitao Sect had been rooted in the Yaoxing Sea for tens of thousands of years; if that Golden Immortals Cave Mansion had been discovered long ago, it wouldn't be surprising.

But previously, a group of Sea Race demon immortals, taking advantage of the Bitao Sect's top-level combat power being away to reinforce the great war in the Jinhun Realm, had boldly besieged Biao Island for thirty whole years.

Despite such an outrageous act, the high-level members of the Bitao Sect remained as steady as Mount Tai. It wasn't until the Golden Immortals Cave Mansion appeared that Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple returned to the Sect with a few wounded soldiers.

The strangeness of it all had long made the several Golden Immortals present itch with curiosity.

Upon hearing this, a meaningful and charming smile immediately appeared on Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple's face. She lightly raised her palm, and three shimmering white spheres of light appeared out of thin air.

Inside the light spheres, three palm-sized demon souls were actually trapped, with strands of strange yet pure immortal power fluctuations leaking from the spheres.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that these beast souls were by no means ordinary monsters, but genuine souls of demon immortals.

"Old Immortal Xuanxi, Primordial Lord Molin, Demon Lord Cangming?!"

Immortal Venerable Mochen's pupils suddenly constricted as he cried out in shock, "You actually captured all three of these old things?"

Old Immortal Xuanxi was a deep-sea mysterious turtle demon immortal who had lived for over two hundred thousand years, his cultivation profound and unfathomable.

Primordial Lord Molin was a black-scaled shark king who had cultivated for a hundred thousand years, with a violent temperament and startling combat power.

Demon Lord Cangming was an Extreme Abyss Ice Soul Dragon immortal with a Lifespan of over a hundred thousand years, controlling the power of extreme cold. He was a renowned Peak demon immortal among the Yaoxing Sea Race.

These three were all overlords of the depths of the Yaoxing Sea; who would have thought they would now become prisoners.

"That Golden Immortals Cave Mansion was left by a Golden Immortal Senior who once traveled to the Canglang Plane. His specific title is no longer traceable, only that he likely came from the Morning Light Immortal Domain."

Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple raised her hand to put away the three spheres of light, a hint of oddity flashing in her eyes as she slowly explained, "Five thousand years ago, I accidentally discovered this cave mansion, but no rare treasures were left inside, only many remains of demon immortals. Later, somehow, these three fellows found out about it. After discussing it with my two Senior Brothers, I simply used it to set a trap..."

"So you're saying the siege of the Bitao Sect's mountain gate was also something you did intentionally?"

Immortal Venerable Mochen realized the truth, his tone carrying a bit of wry amusement. "No wonder when I noticed the disturbances at Biao Island back then and sent a message to you offering to help, you insisted on stopping me."

"If I had let you take action, these three old foxes would have definitely retreated back to the deep sea immediately and never shown their faces again."

Immortal Venerable Qimeng chuckled, covering her mouth, then turned to look at Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple, her eyes full of admiration. "It seems they were trapped in the cave mansion, and Sister Clear Ripple caught them like turtles in a jar."

"If not for that, with the cautious nature of these three demons, why would they be willing to come out from the bottom of the Extreme Abyss?"

Immortal Venerable Clear Ripple sighed softly, her tone carrying a bit of helplessness. "When Sea Race demon immortals are in the deep sea, their strength receives the maximum boost. Even for us, it is very difficult to deal with Peak demon immortals in the deep sea."

"That is indeed true."

Immortal Venerable Lieyang put down his tea cup and shook his head, feeling quite emotional. "The Canglang Plane has a large number of Sea Race demon immortals. We have always wanted to bring them under our command and use their power to stabilize the sea regions, but we have always found it difficult to achieve our wish."

Just like this campaign against the Jinhun Realm, those high-level demons hidden in the sea are extremely difficult to clear out.

If there were Sea Race demon immortals to help, handling the naval warfare would certainly be much easier.