207: 'A chicken standing among cranes'

Once everyone had become acquainted, the lively Tang Yao excitedly suggested taking Su Ling to meet the other fellow Disciples.

Ye Hong, Lin Xi, and the others exchanged smiles and then walked together toward the depths of the elegant garden.

In the garden, there were still over twenty people gathered in small groups of twos and threes. After a round of introductions, Su Ling finally managed to recognize all the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters.

True Monarch Fenghuo, Mu Bai, the second Disciple under Immortal Venerable Rong Huo, with an Early Stage True Immortal cultivation.

Flame was at the Late Stage Soul Transformation, the third Disciple who had only joined Immortal Venerable Rong Huo's Sect five hundred years ago.

True Monarch Baihong, Bai Fanyun, the eldest Disciple under Immortal Venerable Yuxia, whose cultivation had already reached the Middle Stage True Immortal.

Lin Xi was the second Disciple, at the Late Stage Body Integration.

In addition, there was a third Disciple named Su Rou, at the Middle Stage Soul Transformation.

Despite Tang Yao's youthful appearance, she was the Eldest Senior Sister under Immortal Venerable Huadie, with a cultivation that had reached the Peak Body Integration, just one step away from the Immortal Gate.

She also had two Junior Sisters: Ji Lan at the Early Stage Body Integration, and Wen Liuyun at the Middle Stage Soul Transformation.

True Monarch Kuangxue, Han Tianyu, the eldest Disciple under True Monarch Kui Wu, with a Middle Stage True Immortal cultivation.

Mo Chen was the second Disciple, at the Middle Stage Soul Transformation.

Although True Monarch Kui Wu had not yet reached the Golden Immortal stage, his eye for selecting Disciples was extremely unique.

According to Ye Hong, Han Tianyu had only been under his tutelage for three thousand years, yet he had broken through all the way from the Nascent Soul Stage to the Middle Stage True Immortal; such speed of progress was staggering.

Mo Chen had only been practicing for three hundred years to date and possessed a strange Physique that was extremely suitable for Body Refining; it was not hopeless for him to attain the Dao of the True Immortal within a thousand years.

However, the strongest was still Ye Hong, the eldest Disciple of Immortal Venerable Rong Huo, who was at the Late Stage True Immortal Realm.

If one were to ask who among the third-generation Disciples was most likely to attain the Dao of the Golden Immortal, it was undoubtedly Ye Hong, known as True Monarch Chiyan.

The others were mostly Disciples of those with the highest cultivation, such as Ye Hong.

At Ye Hong's summons, everyone stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Greetings, Junior Martial Uncle Su Ling."

"There is no need for such ceremony, Martial Nephews."

Su Ling returned the greeting with a slight sense of constraint.

He really couldn't be blamed for his awkwardness... among this group of "Martial Nephews" before him, the one with the lowest cultivation was still at the Nascent Soul Realm.

Today was an internal gathering of Dao Venerable Yun Miao's direct lineage; even the other Golden Immortal and True Immortal Elders of the Star Refining Dao Sect were not present.

Standing among them as a Peak Core Formation Cultivator, he felt somewhat like a "chicken among cranes."

However, those present did not slight him because of his low strength.

Everyone knew very well that as the only Disciple of Junior Martial Aunt Clear Ripple, Su Ling's future would definitely not be poor.

The gathering of fellow Disciples was not about sitting and discussing the Dao, but rather chatting about various anecdotes and interesting stories of the cultivation world.

Especially Ye Hong, Lin Xi, Tang Yao, and others who had set foot on the Plane Battlefield several times; they mostly talked about the scenery of other worlds and the characteristics of various races, which Su Ling heard with great interest and was an eye-opener.

"In the Magic Civilization of distant Star Domains, there is a unique Body Refining method..."

True Monarch Kuangxue, Han Tianyu, took a sip of burning spiritual wine and said with bright eyes, "One can introduce the Bloodline of top-tier Demonic Beasts or high-order demons into one's own body and, through continuous Awakening, obtain their innate Divine Abilities."

"This method is actually similar to certain Body Refining schools in the cultivation world."

True Monarch Fenghuo, Mu Bai, nodded slightly. "Under the Northern Xuanchen Immortal Court, there is a top Sect called the 'Beast God Sect' that incorporates the essence blood of Divine Beasts into themselves. Those with profound cultivation can even transform into Divine Beasts, with a Physical Body that is incomparably powerful."

"Transforming into a beast ultimately limits one to the Divine Beast's Origin."

Han Tianyu shook his head with a light sigh. "I also know a bit about this Beast God Sect; their strongest is only at the Peak Golden Immortal. Meanwhile, those powerhouses in the Magic Civilization called 'Bloodline Warlocks' or 'Demon Knights'—the top among them have reached the Daluo Realm."

"Daluo Realm..."

True Monarch Baihong, Bai Fanyun's expression tightened. "Is that not equivalent to what is called a 'Main God' over there?"

"Exactly."

Han Tianyu nodded. "It is said that the strongest among the Demon Knights comprehended the Dao of Slaughter; his strength even surpassed the Demon God who was the source of his Bloodline, already transcending the shackles of Bloodline."

"Fusing Bloodlines and obtaining talents can actually surpass the shackles..."

Ye Hong couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "Although it seems like taking a shortcut, being able to reach transcendence shows that his talent is extraordinary."

"The Dao of Slaughter, if I remember correctly."

Mu Bai frowned slightly and said seriously, "In the Western Haoling Immortal Court, there seems to be a Daluo Sword Cultivator who cultivates the Dao of Slaughter."

"The one you're talking about is Immortal Venerable Gengsha!"

Ye Hong nodded. "I heard Grandmaster mention it before; in the Dao of Slaughter, it's currently these two who are neck and neck."

"A struggle for the Great Dao!"

Han Tianyu had a face full of emotion. "I wonder which of them will be the first to reach the top."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.

To perfectly Revered Master a Law, besides one's own sufficient comprehension, one also has to compete with others.

In the cultivation world, no one knows how much internal friction has been generated because of this.

Some people even do not hesitate to cross trillions of miles of Star Domains to sneak into other civilized worlds and carry out assassinations against competitors.

"Senior Brother Ye, the Star Refining Dao Sect hasn't launched a plane war for several thousand years..."

After a while, Bai Fanyun asked tentatively, "I wonder if there will be any movements recently?"

"Speaking of which, besides gathering the fellow Disciples, Grandmaster's birthday celebration this time has another purpose."

Ye Hong and Mu Bai exchanged a glance and said with a smile, "If nothing unexpected happens, within five hundred years at most, there will be a major operation."

"Truly?!"

As soon as these words came out, Bai Fanyun, Han Tianyu, Tang Yao, Lin Xi, and the others all showed joy on their faces.

Junior Brothers and Junior Sisters who joined the Sect later might not know, but they remembered it vividly—once the Star Refining Dao Sect launched a plane war, the scale of mobilization would be at least ten million strong.

Of course, these forces were not all Cultivators belonging to the Dao Sect, but also included various races, Yao Beasts from the otherworld planes controlled by the Star Refining Dao Sect for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years, as well as some allied Sects.

The Sects where Immortal Venerable Yuxia, Immortal Venerable Huadie, and True Monarch Kui Wu were located would certainly send some forces to participate.

For Bai Fanyun and the others, although a plane war was extremely dangerous, it also contained great opportunities.

Especially since Breakthroughs in the Body Refining path were inherently difficult, True Monarch Kui Wu had been stuck at the Peak True Immortal stage for nearly ten thousand years. A large-scale plane war might help him break through the shackles.

As Disciples, Han Tianyu and Mo Chen naturally looked forward to their Revered Master's early promotion to Golden Immortal, and were particularly concerned about this news.

"As you all know, our Star Refining Dao Sect is not naturally skilled in conquest and has mostly been responsible for logistical support in the past..." Ye Hong explained with a smile, "However, two thousand years ago, the Qinghua Immortal Court intended to expand outward, and thus issued orders to all the major Dao Sects to conduct pre-war preparations for several major Star Domains that have not yet submitted on the periphery."

*Hiss...*

"Several Star Domains?!"

"The scale of this battle is actually so massive?"

Han Tianyu, Bai Fanyun, and the others couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.

Past plane wars were as small as a single star or as large as a Realm's star system. They didn't expect that this time, it would be launched against several Star Domains simultaneously.

Only Su Ling felt a hidden unease in his heart—a war would be launched within five hundred years, by which time he would likely still be in the Nascent Soul Stage.

If the Bitao Sect participated in this war, he would most likely have to go along. With a Nascent Soul cultivation, even if he could exert Soul Transformation-level combat power, in such a massive battle, he would be nothing more than a slightly stronger pawn.

His mind, which had relaxed slightly due to joining Clear Ripple's Sect, immediately tightened again.

Following his Revered Master across the Star Domains this time, he had truly seen the vastness of the sea of stars. Without entering the True Immortal stage, one is ultimately an ant; even if one becomes a True Immortal, in this magnificent plane war, one might not be able to preserve oneself.

One must know that even the gatekeepers in front of the 'Void Gazer Pass' were all in the True Immortal Realm!